Bloom

The original bronze sculptures of James LaCasse are truly inspiring and remarkable. The Masks of Comedy and Tragedy come across as the theme of  LaCasse’ work, a theme which, effectively translates his works back into the human spirit. It is the artists connectivity with the circle of life, that draws in, even the most casual viewer. It is James LaCasse’ background into the study of the human form, as well as his metal casting and metal fabrication abilities, that contributes to this artists ability to communicate, with such power and elegance, the essence of the “kaleidoscope” of life.
Mr. LaCasse says, his process ”flows through a certain evolution”.

After the painstaking process of creating his forms with wire and clay, James then creates a bronze cast in which his final sculpture will be formed. But, just as impressive is LaCasses’ use of patina.

Patina is a natural process on metals caused by weather and time. By design the artist will deliberately add chemicals to the metals surface for color or texture or both. While there are other artists who have been known to encourage you to urinate on their work, in order that they may achieve a patina finish, LaCasse chooses to use chemicals and heat in his patina process.  LaCasse has a wonderful way with the patina and the placement of color that, standing alone speaks to the talent of this fine artist. Once the desired finish is achieved a patina surface may be polished with wax, lacquers or oils.

“There abounds awe and inspiration all around us, if only we can open our minds, hearts, and bodies to it. This act of truly seeing is the foundation of my work, which, builds on layers of meaning and metaphor with the intention of giving the viewer pause for thought, reflection and inspiration”  James Lacasse

Please visit LaCasseStudios.com

Marc told me the “security guard” is actually himself from years ago. That is Marc on the right side of the photo.

The two main ingredients of a wetland is saturated soil and vegetation that has adapted to wet or flooded soil. Some of the more common plants found along coastal shore wetlands are mangroves, pond pine and cypress trees. They have special root systems that provide exceptional support in soft soils. Some other examples of wetland vegetation are torpedo grass, sweetbay magnolia, royal fern, water hickory, buttonbush, sawgrass, white-top sedge and water-lilies.

Wetlands serve as a natural habitat for wildlife and fish as well, many of which are endangered and rare native species. American alligators and the endangered American crocodiles, live in Florida’s wetlands. Other large critters like Florida panthers, wild boar, deer, foxes, bobcats and black bears, use the wetlands for food and shelter. Beautiful birds such as storks, herons, egrets, ibises and spoonbills also thrive in the wetlands. Florida’s wetlands support nearly three-quarters of Florida’s endangered birds as well as, 20 percent of the Atlantic coast’s wintering waterfowl.

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Courtesy requires you to see past your own nose and consider others. It may be as easy as greeting someone with a smile or holding the door open for them. Saying, “Excuse me” ”Please” and “Thank you”, being on time, allowing others to speak, and acknowledging someone who is waiting for you, are all signs of respect, as well as self respect.  It basically comes down to anticipating the needs of others and acting upon it.

Of course, there will be times when people will walk right past you as if, you are their personal, lowly door man. If you are expecting something in return for your kind gesture then this may upset you. Remember, people will always disappoint you, sooner or later. You won’t be disappointed if you do not have expectations. The idea behind courtesy is giving with out any expectation of return. Being a courteous person will strengthen your character and change how people perceive you. And I, for one, will thank you for doing your part in making this a better world.

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If you are considering relocating plumbing and/or walls, of course you are looking at much more labor and expense. In a small bathroom these are not usually on the agenda unless you are thinking of expanding the bathroom into a neighboring room or closet. In some instances a person will want to remove (or add) soffits, rearrange the lighting and exhaust fans which will call for some minor drywall work.

In the case of the two jobs pictured below, bath tubs were removed and a shower put in their place. Obviously, this calls for the removal of the tub, relocating the drain in the floor and recapitulating the diverter plumbing. If this were the only tub in the home, I would advise against it because, the day will come when you will wish you had a tub to soak in.

Each of these jobs required new ceilings due to the changing of ceiling exhaust fans and removing soffits and new lighting arrangments. Aside from that, the only other drywall work was to the walls due to removing those gigantic wall  mirrors, relocating outlets and switches, relocating the plumbing to accommodate for the larger vanities and the removal of the side wall medicine cabinets. All the tile in the bathrooms were replaced including the floor tiles and the marble window sill. The photos were taken prior to the frame-less glass door installations.

A final note of caution. A lot of people are getting rid of those old wall to wall mirrors and medicine cabinets and replacing them with ornamental mirrors and larger vanities with lots of drawers in lieu of a medicine cabinet. I just want to point out that if you decide to remove these large mirrors by yourself , it can be done. I remove them on my own all the time. Just know that they are extremely heavy (you may want to enlist a helper). Also know that they are not safety glass, when broken they turn into shards and can cause serious damage to you and your property, ie. flooring, counter tops and tubs, etc.

Let’s get this straight!

Obama’s health care plan will be written by a committee whose head says he doesn’t understand it.

Passed by a Congress that hasn’t read it and whose members will be exempt from it.

Signed by a president who smokes.

Funded by a treasury chief who did not pay his taxes.

Overseen by a surgeon general who is obese.

Financed by a country that is broke.

What could possibly go wrong?

Antonio Guerrero/Artist

Cuban artist, Rigoberto Antonio Guerrero is truly a renaissance man. His boundless energy transposes his seemingly limitless ideas, into beautiful expressions of  fine art. Using a wide range of media, Guerrero creates murals, paintings, drawings and sculpture, as well as, mixed media montages.  As part of his background experience, during his early youth, Guerrero worked as an artisan specializing in painting, engraving, woodcarving, sculpting and metal work. While he reaches to the limits of expression in every media, all of his works seem to be held together with a common thread, that is uniquely Guerrero.

The essence of his work is free styled and good nature d. He is not a student of Professors but rather, a student of life; a colorful life that has shown him oppression and strife, as well as, exhilaration and happiness. While in Africa, Guerrero encountered many varied experiences and was exposed to a culture, that profoundly impacted the artist within. Not the least of which, was his new found interest in modern expressionism. He began to apply various forms of modern visual art and has transformed himself, to become one of the great impressionist of our time.

Although he is a young artist, Guerrero has already presented dozen’s of one man shows at institutions through out the United States and abroad, including Washington D.C. where he was recognized by US Rep, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who had him included in the “Cubans In Exile” exhibit, there.

Guerrero’s work flows freely as if, there is not a care in the world. A closer look, reveals intense subject matter; some of it political, some of it distressful and even lonely at it’s root. Above it all, rises a happy sense that everything is alright, all is well with the world. Not unlike Guerrero himself and the life that is his teacher.

Below are samples of Guerreros works in the mediums of color pencil, gouache, ink and acrylic. To learn more about the life and times of the artist Antonio Guerrero and to see more of his fine art, visit the “Guerrero Art” website: http://www.guerreroart.com

Jayson

My friend Jayson kindly agreed to allow me to post his Triumph Motorcycle pics on the blog. Jayson is currently fighting over seas in defense of our country, and going about the business of seeking out evil doers. As you can imagine, it’s been a bit of a challenge to get him to stop and chit chat, about the details of every photo he afforded me. Frankly, I don’t want to distract him from his work. He gave me the pics. I’ll try to make sense of them.

As you know, Classic motorcycles is a passion of mine. Jayson’s got some very nice vintage Triumphs, not the least of which, is this rare 750cc  Trident (the black one below). The  Trident was the last motorcycle developed by the original  Triumph company in 1970. They sold them up until, the closing of the company in, 1973. They were sold under both the Triumph and B.S.A. brand names. It is basically, the same bike and engine as the  750cc B.S.A. Rocket 3. They are renowned as the first true super bike of modern times.

I feel pretty confident, the silver bike with the girder front end, is a 650 cc Bonneville. Most likely from the mid 1960’s.

The bare bones, flat tracker with the white peanut tank is a B.S.A. I am going to guess, that it is a 1969-1970 Royal Star.

I have always been partial to all things chopper. (I was raised that way.)  This purple California style 650cc is definitely one of my favorite styles. I’m not a 100% sure, but it appears to be a 650cc TR6. There’s an outside chance that it’s a 500cc Daytona Trophy from the mid 1960’s.

If you’re like me, you are wondering what, in the hell, is that eggplant coloured, suicide-type-looking-unit, with the gas shock front end. My wild guess is a 500cc Tiger Cub. Like I said, just a wild guess.

What I know for sure is, I can’t wait for Jayson to finish cleaning up over there and come safely home . Maybe then he’ll have some time to help me straighten out this mess.

Thank you Jayson. Thank you for everything, man.

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I have yet to do a ceiling job that didn’t turn into a major re-do. Often I get the paint, molding, tile, kitchen, bath, doors and all sorts of work and referrals from one ceiling job, done right. These photos show a recent job where the ceilings were 16 feet high in some areas and the skylight boxes as high as 20 feet. The home owner did not want a scaffold in the house so I did it all with ladders (this also sucks). The textured walls remain as they were. Each wall had a different texture. Due to the mold damage found in almost every room in the house, many areas of the drywall had to be removed and finished to match the existing. In spite of my misgivings about pulling this off, I surprised myself. Even I have a hard time seeing where the patch work was done. So I’m happy about that.

The happy eventuality of all this is a clean and updated look. In this home  3/4″ X 6-1/2″ square stock was used as base molding and 3/4″ X 3-1/2″ square stock became the casement around the doors and simple 4-5/8″ Colonial crown was used on the lower ceiligs and 6-1/4′ up high. Also on the exterior French doors I installed a wood valance right in the jamb to hide the window shade hardware. In the guest bedroom where there is a sliding glass door I built in a valance across the span of the room made of drywall and hand matched the texture of the existing walls. This way, the crown molding is installed directly on the valance, so that it looks like, it was always there as part of the walls and continues that clean look.

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