Junior Vermeer

My dog Junior.  The camera loves him.

religious right.....stop messing with me!

Okay, I believe in live and let live, but they've gone too far this time.

For years I would always put a roll of Brawny Paper Towels in my grocery cart.
Then, my green side showed itself as believing that paper towels were going to destroy the world as we know it, so I stopped buying that big absorbant roll.....opting to ruin all my dishtowels to clean up my messes (I can be very messy).

Well, after ten years, I finally said "enough!  I am going to have a roll on hand for "special clean-ups"....
"I won't abuse the priviledge of owning a roll."

Excitedly, I pulled the thick, absorbant, brighter than a snowstorm roll of my favorite Brawny off of the shelf at the store.  Much to my dismay, the super butch and decidely gay Brawny MAN has been made "straight" sometime within my period of abstinence.

What's next Religious Right.....disney animated characters like Tarzan or that hot animated Honda man ?

...and don't even get me started on Mr. Clean !

my Brawny Man

(...ok, he looks a little dense, but don't we want that in a paper towel?!)

"...have you talked with Jesus lately?"

views of winter

a wall in the "boys fort" in the back yard...reflecting the greys of winter

GIVE A HOOT!

Kenton Collective has the great fortune of residing in one of the most artistically diverse cities on the west coast.  Portland, Oregon.  Not only does it boast more "strip clubs" per ca pita than any other city in the Union, it also has a vast and unique art scene that calls Portland it's home.

"Mary's Club"...my favorite. A Portland institution for over 45 years.

From an amazing music scene to photography, screen printing to film, literature to pole dancing, Portland has a surprise for you every time you turn the corner.  For example, I was downtown and as I crossed the street I looked up and found myself face to face with a magnificent flock of white owls landing before a large Raven.  They are part of an art installation called "Raven and Owl", a collaborative project by artists Cystal Schenk & Shelby Davis.  It magically appears in a vacant window on SW Park & Morrison.  It is one of many art installations sponsored by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. 

I was mesmerized!  I have always had a passion for bird life and especially Owls.  It was as if I were in a magical story of whimsy and fable, right there on the street corner.

The artists used expandable foam insulation spray to create these amazing sculptures.  Each Owl is unique and the wings carefully created to simulate the magic of flight.

It truly is spectacular for a vacant downtown window.....

plus you can take the kids to see these hooters.

http://www.racc.org/

http://www.crystalschenk.com/

Reflections....

I am really not much of a magpie….shiny bits of things don’t really attract my attention.

But long ago, I fell in love with the amazing qualities of gold/silver leaf.  I did the obligatory “first” projects before moving on to larger territories.  Indeed, once, not being able to afford replacing the hideous 1970’s yellow Formica counters in my kitchen, I said “what the hell”, sanded, primed, painted red and then silver leafed them.  The result was a triumphant, if somewhat unusual solution to the dilemma of the counters.

My dearest friend Tad is a gilder-extraordinaire.  Seeing Tad working his craft is to realize that certain skills are actually god-given talents and nothing less.  Tad asked me one day what I intended for a small wall in a hallway in my house that I could not seem to decide what to do with.  I had thought about it for weeks (designers can seldom figure out what to do with their own homes!)  Knowing me well, Tad suggested I silver leaf the wall.  He had silver leafed a wall a few years earlier in a Street of Dreams condo that I was working on and the resulting wall was positively jaw dropingly beautiful.  I immediately stated “you mean, you think YOU should help me silver leaf the wall???”  The rest is history.  The entire process took an evening.  It will still require a protective “top-coat” and some darker, antiquing glazes to tone it down a bit, but oh, how it shines and gives such a sense of magic to the little place I call home.

laying the extraordinarily thin sheets of silver on the

already mostly dried sizing (or glue)

gently brushing away excess silver leaf

and VOILA!

And away we go...

Sporatic ruminations from the world of Kenton Collective.  A collection of some of our favorite and most inspiring people, places and things.  ....Served up with just the right amount of wit, style and insight.

Over and out-
Rolfe & Jake