Tag Archives: artifacts

Personal Musings

Diary: Suitcases sorted with scraps and books

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Update: each of these majestic suitcases now carries a specific subset of collections, ergo:

one has dossiers and scraps and supplies for making more scrapbooks

another, completed large form scrap books; another has all smaller sized journals, notebooks, diaries etc

next contains “paper point collages“ from various presentations and talks over the years

yet another contains little valuable trinkets from here and there and you

then there are a couple of classic typewriters in cases

a big blue bin filled with percussion odds and ends

another blue bin filled with collections of collections (pins, patches, playing cards, glasses, cameras,…)

another big stack of letter writing supplies with stationery, postcards, paper sets etc.

another satchel bulging with empty notebooks awaiting their turn for scribbles…

And this is just one shelf of many many shelves – below the shelf is boxes of photos, letters, childhood artifacts and the like.

Making great progress and today’s task is hauling up a sturdy shelving cabinet to start offloading records and books / hopefully can get the stereo set up although there’s a little bit of a problem with a broken speaker connector part.
~
Could really use a few elves to enjoy the process with > making sure to keep my pace slow to not “crash” > It’s all quite exciting (oh by the way, yesterday all the clothes and costumes etc. mostly got sorted, folded, stashed)

Personal Musings

Diary: Unpacking the Kura, day one (collections of collections, vinyl, books, suitcases, typewriters…)

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Note: Heading into the barn to play with artifacts. if no update in 3 days, send snacks & tea (we’ve brought enough to last til then) :)

Notes from the kura barn (day one):

As I opened up dozens of boxes today to kind of do a “rough sort“ and see what I’m dealing with, so many thoughts and emotions flooding back – However, work to do with intent of pulling out a few artifacts for upcoming Jack Kerouac workshop (oh yeah, don’t cancel don’t cancel everything proceed normally etc. etc.)…

Anyhow, I collect collections and, in various cigar boxes, shoeboxes, and satchels of different kinds I have assortments of:

  • playing cards (despite the fact that I don’t know how to shuffle or any card games)
  • pins of all sorts
  • lighters and coasters from all around the world
  • belt buckles and belts (many of these used on old suitcases)
  • felt pennants and other classic Vancouver odds and ends including expo 86 artifacts
  • dozens of amusing hats – also scarves and hats and more hats
  • cassette tapes (primarily ones from garage band from decades ago
  • CDs (commercial as well as from people who said “dude you got to hear my band“ and gave me said CD)
  • plenty of vinyl (oh my!) / Many of which I never had a chance to listen to as I ordered them and they were drop shipped to various friends and brothers’ house
  • suitcases filled with hitchhiking signs, presentation “paper point“ collages, and dozens of scrapbooks, journals, diaries, notebooks, sketches… dozens

Overall, I have about six-eight of my old-timey suitcases, two typewriters, all sorts of fun outfits (we’ll see what still fits after I do a lot of laundry as most is a bit musty) and then dossiers of travel ephemera from various trips as well as the already constructed “static montage” story boards that I create for various trips.
In other words, have enough projects to keep me going for a while.

Plus loads of art supplies and office supplies and stationery supplies.
Also a stereo and a bunch of recording gear and another 2/3 of the boxes I haven’t opened yet.

And then of course there is art, both originals and prints and posters… Took the time to unroll some posters and start to flatten them out, then re-organized all the framed art into big boxes with similar pieces as we start to hang up stuff all over the house and barn etc. etc. (we don’t have near enough wall space but that’s another story, we can swap out exhibits if you know what I mean).

Continue reading Diary: Unpacking the Kura, day one (collections of collections, vinyl, books, suitcases, typewriters…) →

Personal Musings

Diary: 40+ years of projects into a “kura” grain barn

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Big day (Thursday March 19) here at Tsuchida cottage as my life archives completes a long journey by a ship and truck from a storage locker in Victoria, Canada to port in Vancouver to port in Kobe and here by truck.

40+ years of scrap books, journals, diaries, book reports, certificates, art projects, school report cards, letters, photos and of course dozens of my paintings, all my various artifacts from talks/spiels/prezos, hitchhiking signs, “important papers”, art supplies, recording equipment, plus boxes of books and crates of records, and of course dozens of amusing hats.

The email thread with the company is about 70 communiqués, quite a bit of paperwork for customs clearance etc. etc. If all goes well, everything will be offloaded and instantly “sort-ganized” into a magnificent olden “kura” grain barn.

The kura barn recently got a good organization and clean-up and it’s going to turn into something very special… A mixed media art studio/archive… It’s gonna work out great!

Need to get a little bit more electricity/light in there and there’s only a little bit of dry rot in a few places but generally dry and solid. Going to be a great place for listening/recording music, reading books and making projects.

You may well especially enjoy the mighty wood beams and construction of this structure.

Anyhow, first coffee, breakfast and pants and of course, I’ve made a little map/plan for the moving crew, what I’m saying is “wish me luck“ it’s a big one. Continue reading Diary: 40+ years of projects into a “kura” grain barn →

Writing Life

Quote: G. Snyder (Wildness)

“Civilizations east and west have long been on a collision course with wild nature, and now the developed nations in particular have the witless power to destroy not only individual creatures but whole species, whole processes, of the earth. We need a civilization that can live fully and creatively together with wildness.”

Gary Snyder in Etiquette of Freedom / Practice of the Wild

Kinfolk + Pals

Collage of Pals and Experience by Kris Krug including #DRO420

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Collage of Pals and Experience by Kris Krug including #DRO420

My pal KK made a photo /ephemera collage (which he does from time to time) and is a form we both dig. To share with you – and make sure doesn’t get disappeared in some folder somewhere – sharing here for goodness at shares extra artifacts from DRO420, our wedding and his trip around Japan making pals in April 2019.

Writing Life

Quote: J. Garcia, re: J. Kerouac

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More Jack #Kerouac riffs – this one from the mighty Jerry Garcia

 “I can’t separate who I am now from what I got from Kerouac. I don’t know if I would ever have had the courage or the vision to do something outside with my life – or even suspected the possibilities existed – if it weren’t for Kerouac opening those doors.”

Jerry Garcia, remembering Jack Kerouac who was born in Lowell, MA on March 12, 1922

PS Remember Jack Kerouac’s “on the road“ scroll is coming to Kobe in May with my workshop kicking things off on April 29.

Kinfolk + Pals

Items: US Navy, Thanks Brother Bob (and me)

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This is really and artifact of an artifact – a screenshot of a now long deprecated and lost twitter to a former handle – regardless this was worlds colliding for brother Bob and i – as it goes, i had lent a hand getting this US Navy-related account rolling on Hootsuite and mentioned Bob’s service (think he was deployed in combat zone at the time) and they chimed-in to give a special thanks.

When i excitedly told then Lt. (now Commander) of the mention, he was confused and didn’t really get the significance (and really what is the significance, really?) but years later, it is a moment we can share fondly, maybe. Just glad he came away from war-zones safely.  

Update: now archived thusly with date stamp and more context

Collections of Artifacts, Personal Musings, Writing Life

Items: Gary Snyder signed “Passage Through India”

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Gary Snyder signed “Passage Through India”

Some years ago (1996 maybe), poet Gary Snyder was doing a reading at Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington. Folks are lined up with stacks of books for him to sign, including, books not by him but my other  “associated“ writers. Thought this was very cheesy.

Anyhow, I only took a ragged copy of “Passage through India”. He gave a big chuckle and says “I don’t see many of these anymore” as he signed. Told him how i’d rambled with his books tucked in my rucksack through and arriving in Japan and reading Backcountry in Kyoto waiting for a bus to make me to Mochigase and start work on a mushroom farm.

Also, I had mailed him a documentary film I made (Hempenroad), and he recognized me from that and talked for a while about hemp and ecology while others waited impatiently to have him sign some Burroughs book or something. Felt so incredibly proud that he was aware of my existence.

Continue reading Items: Gary Snyder signed “Passage Through India” →

Hootsuite, Portraits of the Artiste

Mementos: NHL Defenceman / coach Doug Lidster & Me at #Hoothockey, SXSW 2013

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With Canucks’ (NHL ice hockey team) rookie Quinn Hughes looking likely to best a long-held team record for points by a defensemen, seems a good idea to share this snap of me with the strapping gent who’s record may fall (plus this is 7 years to the day as though that matters).

Mementos: NHL Defenceman and coach Doug Lidster and Me at Hoothockey, SXSW 2013

[update: march 12/13 – NHL season indefinitely paused so Lidster’s record may yet stand for a bit due to this shortened situation]

This oak tree of a dude is Doug Lidster, long-time NHL player and at the time of this snap (March 2013) on coaching staff of Dallas Stars, since then has had another stint coaching with Canucks and no doubt other gigs. 

He graciously came out to support #Hoothockey – a charity street hockey event put together at the noted SxSW event in Austin, Texas by Hootsuite (note colleague Connor Meakin between our shoulders) and Richard Loat spear-headed Five Hole for Food campaign. March 11, 2013 for the record.

In brief, various company-sponsored teams paid admission to compete in games played in a “rink” of inflatable boards – Dallas Star sent along this great space plus various side-games, a trio of cheerleader (note: i should include that pic too!) and more. The money and 7,500 lbs of food were in-turn donated to the local food banks.  Lots of fun of course and lots of “internet famous” types joined in.

Dave (L), then Hootsuite VP and Richard Loat (Five hole for food) atop of the Hootbus blasting some flags and scarves out of air cannons, March 2013, Austin, TX

More artifacts from this event are scattered all over the internet including some in this Hoothockey round up.

Scrapbooks + Journals

Scrapjournal: Pacific Crossing / sketches & annotations (2017)

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Pacific Crossing: map and conditions to Dutch Harbor, Unalaska (unable to port due to weather so head to Japan)

This scrapjournal is an “accordion-style” book (think that’s what you’d call it… though doesn’t create the dulcet tones of the musical instrument)  anyhow the paper unfolds in one long swath in vaguely Japanese-style.

Appropriately, the book is laden with sketches sketched in Japan whilst traveling by ship and stopping in a various ports of call from Hokkaido to Kyushu. First in pencil, then pen, then coloured with watercolours (sometimes pencils), and decorated with ephemeral bits. 

Pacific Crossing: annotations and observations re: ship life and operations (pen only)

What follows are a few sample hastily-snapped pages for archival amusement as not all are photographed and, as life goes, i no longer have this book, alas. If this situation changes, i’ll diligently update.

Pacific Crossing: annotations and observations re: ship life and operations (colour)

Continue reading Scrapjournal: Pacific Crossing / sketches & annotations (2017) →