by land by air by sea

2012-01-30T23:03:00.000-08:00

Have faith in letters...

how unlikely

that i would be asked to participate in a book project on artist and printmaker will petersen

and be able to find today,

Amongst all these

his letters to me.

they have remained with me for

32 years,

3 continents,

multiple moves

and i again marvel at the power

of the post.

2012-01-29T16:49:00.000-08:00

" she meticulously kept her negatives in hand made negative holders

placed in tupperware containers, trying to protect them from the humidity

of india. she had not lifted her lens for 4 decades."

1913 - 2012

homai vyarawalla

first lady of photography, india

"Nothing that came Homai's way was discarded easily. Everything was put to good use. Her simple and sparse home had pieces of driftwood that looked like sculpture. Her walking stick, polished with age, was carved out of a piece of wood while her nameplate was made from broken glass bangles. Many who knew her intimately wanted to photocopy her hand-written book of recipes and medical home remedies. She could also cut her own hair and tailor her own clothes. She once sawed an oversized baking tray, repaired my slippers and fixed the plumbing in her water tank. All this and more when she was well into her nineties!

She often said she was like Robinson Crusoe. Her island was her home in Vadodara where she lived independently till the end with her plants and a few personal photographs."

2012-01-26T22:30:00.000-08:00

from our curve of the world

to yours

under a slim sliver of moon

a goodnight

and a fine weekend

2012-01-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

Theo Angelopoulos

1936 - 2012

all things greek

2012-01-25T10:49:00.000-08:00

Dearest Michaelito,

we might be calling this time period we are in now

learning to run

know that i am thinking of you

un abrazo muy fuerte hombre

Betho

2012-01-23T21:54:00.000-08:00

from my son, tonight

2012-01-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

sunday

2012-01-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

finding you

and

wondering

where the time goes

2012-01-20T21:32:00.000-08:00

i hear the shrimp

is coming to BBC tv

but no one could imitate the shrimp

not ever

nor bailey

bon weekend

2012-01-14T18:53:00.000-08:00

two rules for living

that will make you happy:

write a letter

go here

and think about buying a photograph

from a living photographer

something we begin to forget about

because of the time we live in

2012-01-13T20:51:00.000-08:00

for mark

and your faithful delivery

of my smythson diary

each january

i thank you

2012-01-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

a computer glitch that has more or less

put blogging out of reach

analogue life

cleaning the studio and liking what i find...

"the past is a foreign country

they do things

differently there..."

2012-01-12T21:58:00.000-08:00

for valery lorenzo

2012-01-11T19:22:00.000-08:00

analog

2012-01-10T22:33:00.000-08:00

on returning from a journey...

for madeline

and her courage

who can no longer dance

i dedicate this to you

con afecto

2012-01-06T21:42:00.000-08:00

one found

shark's egg

holidays

and a new year...

happy one to all.

2011-12-22T23:33:00.000-08:00

for marcus

and alexandra

who managed to get all our letters and parcels

delivered on time

and for all the sunsets this week

and time in the water

and for all good things in 2011

and all those to come

in 2012...

happy christmas

and many fine voyages in the new year

2011-12-20T23:13:00.000-08:00

we continue to marvel

2011-12-17T21:53:00.000-08:00

a gift from tenn

and school holidays have begun...

2011-12-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

"she was

my north

my south

my east

my west"

a courageous, loyal

inspiring and loving

basque woman

and friend

how i will miss you...

jone azurmendi

1954 - 4 December 2011

2011-12-10T18:47:00.000-08:00

1907

Jack London writes:

”He is flying through the air, flying forward,

flying fast as the surge on which he stands.

He is Mercury- a brown Mercury.

His heels are winged, and in them the swiftness of the sea…”

go here

2011-12-07T20:24:00.000-08:00

2011-12-04T18:12:00.000-08:00

20 degrees centigrade

we've been in the water

two days now

but there are thank you letters to write and draw

when you've turned 13

he says

"that surfer looks like a cross between rob machado

and jesus christ"

i couldn't agree more

nor be more content

on this december day

2011-12-02T23:55:00.000-08:00

as the weekend commences

may you be inspired

to write a letter

to someone you love...

2011-12-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

en memoria

1942 - 2011

monserrat figueras

a light went out

2011-12-01T23:53:00.000-08:00

2011-11-30T07:25:00.000-08:00

we stop here

and light a candle

because she has been my compass

in multiple lives lived

and i will not know what to do

when she is no longer

with us

2011-11-27T18:53:00.000-08:00

sol y sombra

2011-11-22T21:07:00.000-08:00

leaving...

with love

see you soon

2011-11-18T21:48:00.000-08:00

we are

building the first log fires

realizing

it is almost winter

in

2011-11-18T19:18:00.000-08:00

may your weekend

be full of love...

While global love is still a utopia, albeit a worthy one, the invitation ‘not to hate’, to combat the ‘culture of hatred’, is an ambitious but realistic objective,” explains Alessandro Benetton. “At this moment in history, so full of major upheavals and equally large hopes, we have decided, through this campaign, to give widespread visibility to an ideal notion of tolerance and invite the citizens of every country to reflect on how hatred arises particularly from fear of ’the other’ and of what is unfamiliar to us. Ours is a universal campaign, using instruments such as the internet, the world of social media, and artistic imagination, and it is unique, in that it calls the citizens of the world to action. At the same time, it fits perfectly with the values and history of Benetton, which chooses social issues and actively promotes humanitarian causes that could not otherwise have been communicated on a global scale, and in doing so has given a sense and a value to its brand, building a lasting dialogue with the people of the world.”

2011-11-14T19:30:00.000-08:00

under the redwoods and stars each summer

they learnt to play music

and know...solo and in unison... what that does to one.

out there by the river, with the moon and the silence

sleeping in cots in the sweet open air

thousands of children felt this gift.

today we have received the sad news

bob lutt is dead

founder of cazadero music camp for 54 years

mentor to many

this is for yoou...

"may flights of angels sing theee to they rest"

( shakespeare )

At age 12, in a small Nebraska town, Bob Lutt persuaded his financially strapped parents to buy him a $25 trombone, making weekly 50-cent payments until it was paid off.

The simple transaction set his life on a six-decade musical journey as a teacher, mentor and conductor to tens of thousands of Bay Area youth.

Mr. Lutt, a beloved Berkeley High School musical director and founder of the Cazadero Music Camp, died Oct. 26 at his Berkeley home, after an extended illness. He was 82.

2011-11-12T19:08:00.000-08:00

2011-11-10T08:11:00.000-08:00

we often wanted to be like you...

louise vava lucia henriette le bailly de la falaise

4 may 1948 - 5 november 2011

2011-11-07T22:20:00.000-08:00

winter

and the sun sinks early

in the west

before we've eaten supper

and the full moon is

almost upon us

and time passes

2011-11-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

somewhere in san francisco...

kelley slater honoured

andy irons

because he died one year ago today

and

then he

autographed tenn's shirt

and won his 11th world championship

on a perfect

san francisco day

or what you might call

true happiness...

2011-10-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

today

robin 1984

robin 2011

2011-10-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

2011-10-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

since breakfast

it's been sol y sombre

and i remember that cliche

the sea was like diamonds

but then it comes true

"wanna walk on the ocean blue..."

and you understand everything.

2011-10-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

may the sun shine

on your weekend

and the sharks be kept

at bay...

2011-10-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

here

where the sun sets

one remembers the

moment

the time came

to leave spain

and i took photographs

so that one day

looking back

the atmosphere of that house

would live again

in the sitting room

lorca and elvis

a gift from walt

and the little blue book

the colour of the sea

where i wrote things faithfully

for you

and for me

and for all that would remain forever

so near our heart

we could hear it beat softly.

2011-10-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

tonight's

gift

2011-10-11T13:26:00.000-07:00

About this time every year

hand written notes appear silently

upon my desk...

They are what a 12 year old

has on his mind

with a birthday in november.

and so they sat

waiting, waiting, waiting,

on a saturday

two boys

suspended in water - time.

Ambhibian is derived from the ancient Greek amphibios

which means both kinds of life

initially used for all kinds of combined natures,

eventually used to refer to animals that live

both in and out of the water

all these things occur to me

as the sun says goodnight again

over the pacific

2011-10-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

ROBERT LOUGHLIN

1949 - 2011

artist

picker

modernist

2011-10-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

write a letter

walk to the post office

think about someone you love...

2011-10-07T23:10:00.000-07:00

weekend

fin de semana

and all the beauty of autumn...

2011-10-03T22:59:00.000-07:00

red in the morning

sailor's warning...

post,

light,

and the first storm

off the pacific

go here for beauty

2011-10-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

floating words here

2011-10-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

sunday morning...

sunday afternoon

sunday evening...

2011-09-30T22:57:00.000-07:00

how to deliver a letter to kabul

2011-09-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

James Risser

November 1946 - September 1997

artist, photographer

friend, muse

correspondent for twenty years

who left too soon

i miss you

2011-09-27T07:26:00.000-07:00

you

are here

no longer

here

2011-09-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

goodbye dear summer

and doctor surf...

"these are the last of the last

i promise you...

one more berry crumble, no more."

and we took off our wetsuits

and the warm berry smell filled the house from the oven,

and the sun went down

over the beautiful pacific.

2011-09-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

goodbye summer...

2011-09-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

if you happen to be in paris

11 november

henri cartier - bresson

Christie’s Paris
9 avenue Matignon
75008 Paris
+33 (0)1 40 76 85 94

2011-09-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

Goodbye

Richard Hamilton

24 February 1922 - 13 September 2011

father of pop art,

member of the independent group

british and amazing

2011-09-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

we picked berries

on our walk back from the sea

growing amongst the jasmine

and i promised them one last berry tart

because i knew there would be no more

as things turn, like the season

and they each had a book about

things a part of our day

and heroes

and we all watched the sun set

believing in miracles

2011-09-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

sometimes

i think of him

at lunch

surrounded by whale bones

and then everything

is put right

with the world...

again...

2011-09-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

2011-09-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

the shadows are long now

as we

head to the beach in the evenings

nine eleven

all over the papers and news

we are illuminated by the new autumn light

harsh shadow that i love

i watch you now

the child that was still in a crib that morning

when the radio began broadcasting the events that were unfolding

in new york city

a train ride away at the time...

i stand here marveling

that life goes on

and you are 12

remembering that for others

they would not see their boy this day so happy

so alive.

2011-09-08T23:05:00.000-07:00

driving home

on highway 1

and we felt like the heavens had come down to meet us

and we stopped the car and got out

and he said

"listen to the coyotes ama"

and there was a perfect z in the sky

as if zorro had appeared

but he insisted it was harry potter's mark

and i was glad to be alive at that moment

2011-09-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

"ojos que no ven

corazon que no siente"

2011-09-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

summer closing

brings

labours of love

for

labour day...

2011-09-01T23:48:00.000-07:00

on this holiday weekend

keep your...

minds in the water

2011-08-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

Querida Jone,

we always went to the mountains at this time of year

with a picnic

picking "moras"

our hands would be purple in the end

as if we'd invented a new pigment

i think of you miles away now

and how the kitchen would be splattered

with that colour

a colour that reminds me

to you...

2011-08-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

2011-08-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

the second smallest post office in america

is faced with possible closure.

please write:

post mistress
north hoosick post office
22157 state route 22
north hoosick, new york
12133

2011-08-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

the evening hour...

when the boats come in

and he comments upon the light

and all the world stands still

for a moment

2011-08-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

the second smallest post office in america

is threatened with closure

more mail

less e-mail.

"NORTH HOOSICK, N.Y. — In the center of this hamlet sits a tiny building the color of the sky. It is a blue so bright and so rich, it seems more suited to a Caribbean beach bungalow than to the rural hills of upstate New York."

The North Hoosick, New York post office may be closing...

2011-08-16T21:12:00.001-07:00

for my son...

"you can't stop the waves

but you can learn to surf."

2011-08-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

the road to steep ravine

is not for the faint of heart

but once reached

<

you will never

be disappointed

and the world

will be completely put right again...

2011-08-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

mail

the sea, the stars, the full moon coming

and a beautiful sunset.

the constants.

2011-08-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

there are the same marks

in our photographs

in our countries

in our memories

as if we are in the same room

singing...

2011-08-04T00:03:00.000-07:00

all day long

birthday messages

pouring in for walt

from peter de lory

"walt would say , put a red filter on it. "

2011-07-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

today

is walt's birthday...

WALTER EARL COTTEN

1947 - 2008

friend

photographer

lover of wide open space

we miss you

( walt's boots - michael sanders )

you are here

and i believed it.

there was a place on the map

called kodachrome basin

and i thought about the photographs

and all the things you taught me

"you have to wait for the light beth"

that is what you would always say...

we had waited a year

to say our goodbye.

the road was difficult.

he always liked best

those places most remote and silent...

on the way there

i saw him in the clouds

and felt good to have his company

the invitation read...

"the family will be scattering his ashes at his favourite time of day

when the sun is even with the horizon.

we will eat, drink, and read from his favourite writers,

listen to his favourite music

and tell stories...

getting to muley isn't easy,

Mexican Hat is the nearest town.

camping is very rustic

no toilets

no water

and temperatures that reach 100 or above..."

“We need the possibility of escape as surely a we need hope.”

( Edward Abbey, Desert Solitude )

potholes and switchbacks

red dirt and hot sun

you might say the road to muley

was just like him

hard to navigate

but full of adventure

he had informed my aesthetic in a way

where i couldn't turn back

once i saw the sun set on that horizon line

but the road was never easy...

there were his girls of course

all there

to say goodbye

about this time every year

we start thinking about the ghost trail

and how you can carry on missing someone...

just like it was yesterday.

( photos by michael byrne, lourdes gomez, beth nelson, walt cotten, jeffery bishop )

2011-07-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

slow art...

"I feel my work is made for one being, one individual.

you could say that is me

but that is not really true.

It's for an idealized viewer.

I saw the Mona Lisa when it was in L.A. .

I saw it for about 13 seconds and had to move on.

There's this slow -food movement right now

maybe we could have a slow-art movement and take an hour."

(James Turrell, Roden Crater, Flagstaff, Arizona )

2011-07-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

water

is not always

blue

avedon and kertesz

2011-07-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

goodbye lucian...

you stayed true to your paint

and your beautiful women

( lucian freud, 1923 - 2011 ) go here

2011-07-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

goodbye

goodbye...

tomorrow you depart on your first solo flight

so you will have wings now.

2011-07-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

from the first moment waking...

you could see the sister islands

and the names on the container ships

waiting to go through the golden gate

2011-07-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

stay up late

and write

a letter

2011-07-14T22:40:00.001-07:00

day

and night

and a full moon weekend

2011-07-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

Manhattan

7 P.M. tonight

with love

from my dear friend Harry...

2011-07-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

long shadows of summer

and a full moon up ahead

and san francisco could be greece

for all it's gifts it gives me

this fine summer day.

2011-07-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

"The fog horns are extra loud in Sea Cliff,

like we're alone on a ship

sailing through the thickest fog..."

(a visit from the goon squad, by jennifer egan )

2011-07-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

2011-07-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

goodbye cy twombly

with your beautiful marks

and your wilder shores of love...

cy twombly

1928 - 2011

2011-07-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

and you are here...

and here

2011-07-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

i got up early

and left by the coast road

i was homesick for spain

so i opened the door

and everything came back to me...

2011-06-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

photographer - sam lewis, age 12

someone to watch...

2011-06-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

the house

of light

shadow

and happiness

mariner photo here

2011-06-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

check out

moo

in the u.k.

in the u.s. too

fab.

2011-06-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

2011-06-22T22:51:00.000-07:00

dearest jone...

2011-06-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

he has cared for her

through long years of Alzheimers...

this morning

i am working in the garden

remembering what he taught me

benind me

the sea

overcast and grey

one thin white line

where the surf breaks

and silence

i am separating dead leaf and rock

as he taught me

just sound of surf

and this small plot of earth

in front of me.

he knew perfectly

that what we tend

what we put our attention to

is what grows

inside of us

because i can't be there

i am sending this gift

a love gift for my father.

2011-06-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

not a cloud in the sky

2011-06-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

let the summer begin...

2011-06-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

and all day long i am aware of summer's arrival

dinner at a friends

the light i love.

2011-06-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

2011-06-10T23:29:00.000-07:00

the moon is out

and we can hear the waves

and now things take on a different colour

as we unpack those same things

under

the light

of the sea

and sky...

( le marin de venezia photograph by ivan terestchenko )