SCROLL

Here is the finished scroll - click to enlarge!

SNAKE OF RUNES

Mario gave me a scroll that he bought in Japan. It is made of rice paper and is 0ne foot wide and exactly as long as I am tall: 5'7". I have had it for a while, not knowing what to make of it, but now it turns out to be an excellent vehicle for my rune mania. I have filled a little more than half of it with excerpts from Dao De Jing. I make borders in between the different parts and I can also use these to decorate my ceramic bowls. I'll take pictures but for now you'll have to make do with this one:

A STEP FURTHER

FINALS

Here is the flounder I told you about:


and the bowl made on my birthday and inscribed with runes:


the raku piece:


and the pre-Colombian chicken tripod:

COLORED RUNES

THE SAGE HAS NO FIXED MIND

In ceramics class we had this assignment:
Choose a form and give it a texture that is foreign to it.
I thought this was silly until I got an idea: a flounder with runes instead of scales (I shall post it in a few days when the finals are over).

Now, what I’m doing in my drawings is really the same idea: the form being chapters from ‘The Book of the Way and Virtue’ and the texture being runes.
It is still kind of silly because I’m the only one who can read it (until somebody else get bitten by a mad rune)! But, really, it is not that difficult to read – give it a try!

RUNIC ALPHABET

My runic alphabet is taken from Codex Runicus, a Skanian law book from about 1300AD and one of the few examples of runes written on paper.
The missing letters:
j and w are taken from the Older Futhark;
c, y and ng are from Anglo-Saxon Runes;
q is from the Runic Alphabet by Gabriele Campbell (lostfort.blogspot.com);
z from the common Germanic Runes.
V, x and å are created by me (x as a combination of k and s)

23rd DUNUN VILLAGE

These three together spell out the 52nd chapter of 'The Book of the Way and Virtue'

What comes next:

The more I write the runes the more I like them. This one, in ink, is a chapter from the Dao De Jing.

RUNES #4

This one says:
Holiness is everywhere and to accept all as holy is the key. Love is the result as well as the cause.
Pure mind is all pervading Bliss.
The sorrows are like clouds, vital to all creation. The rain of tears moistens the soil, and to accept all with equanimity is to follow the Great Spirit.

SHED

Brian and I build this shed behind the wall we built a week ago. The door is the one I built sixteen years ago when I moved in at Wilkes Circle, and the step below it is an old railroad tie that appeared when we started digging. I'm going to paint the shed.
Can you see the passionflower growing up the wall? I was given it on my last birthday at Wilkes Circle. It is going to come back to life now, after a year in a pot.
It was lovely to get a soft rain yesterday after planting - and more to come tomorrow.
This was my vision for the backyard when we moved in and it's good to see it manifested.

QUOTE

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
(Mohandas Gandhi)

BACK TO SCHOOL

Coming to ceramics class after spring break there were some nice surprises.

PRAYER WHEEL

The Runes say:"Give Thanks".

BLESSINGS TO THE HOUSE

Peter gave me an idea: to make an equivalent to the embroidered "God bless this house" but with Runes and, for my part, without "God" because I think that word creates confusion.
So this one says:

May Blessings
upon this house
cause happiness
to all who live here
and all who enter
by the virtue of
these Runes

If you try to read it note that there are special letters for 'th' and 'ng'.

DRAMA IN THE WILD

RUNES #3

The Unity of the Great Spirit ties everything together.
The affirmation of Unity is a Love that is equal for all creation.
One can nourish such Love as a feeling but it only becomes real as it translates into compassionate action.
That is when one values the interest of others as highly as ones own.
That is Big Love.

TEAPOT FINISHED

It really came out exactly like I planned with one exception: it drips all over when you pour.
Live and learn!
Many potters make teapots that cannot be used, just as an artistic statement, so that's what this one is.

MORE RUNES

This says:
The Great Spirit is one name for the energy that is the substance of the subatomic particles. This basic Energy contains the seeds of every quality imaginable and thus contains the faculties of awareness and intelligence. If these were not inherent in the basic particles, how could they come into existence by simply adding particles to particles?

I LOVE THE RUNES

It says:
Life has a will that is a force in creation
and goes beyond the laws of the material.
Therefore life shapes its own destiny.
Pleasure and pain are reflections
like shadow and light.
The big bang is the beginning of time and space.
Its origin is the still point beyond space-time.
We call it the Great Spirit.

FROM THE LAST KILN FIRING

The teapot was made last fall but didn't make it into glaze firing. It came out nicer than I expected, but it is very heavy and contains only one cup.

Today I didn't make it to school because I hurt my hand. I dreamed that I was attacked and I punched the attacker as hard as I could, but it was my night table that I punched and my hand was bleeding all over.

RUNES

I am making a bowl in ceramics class and I decided to decorate it with Runes. I love alphabets but never seriously looked at the Runes. It's overwhelming because there are so many different sets of runes: German, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, Latinized etc., and the experts disagree, but at least the information is there on the net and I've been studying yesterday and today and can now write two different kinds. I think I'll stick with the Scandinavian because they are my heritage. Here are some of the inscriptions I contemplate using on the bowl.
I also build a fence today to give us more privacy in the back yard. Brian, who lives in the studio in the back, helped me, and he is a pro, so we did it in a couple of hours.

A SCARY MOMENT

ANYONE'S GUESS

A picture says more than a thousand words - but what does it say?

ACCIDENTAL CREATION

I thought I had everything under control, but then I touched the wet painting with my sleeve - and the plans had to change.

TEAPOT

I'm planning a teapot and with my engineer mind I designed it in detail. My teacher was duly impressed!

SATURDAY NIGHT

I watched "Nomad" with the Mexican actor Kuno Becker tonight. It's a highly romantic epic from Kazakhstan. The landscapes of central Asia are something else and the story of friendship, love and destiny called a few tears out of me.
Or was it just the smoke?
This is Kuno Becker in a somewhat different setting!

MY VASE

SAME, SAME - BUT DIFFERENT

I'm exploring this motif, the play of subtle energies.

A BOLT IN THE BLUE

It was a nice rainy weekend and I finished this painting also.

In between painting I read. I just finished 'Famous all over town' by Danny Santiago,a story about Chicano life in LA narrated by fourteen years old Chato. It's a great book and was quite famous when it was published in 1983. Later it caused some controversy when it was revealed that the author was an elderly white man, Danny James, who had worked as a counselor in the Chicano community.
The book is an easy read and funny too, and it seems authentic. I recommend it!

SWASTIKA

For 3,000 years, the swastika meant life and good luck. But because of the Nazis, it has also taken on a meaning of death and hate.
These conflicting meanings are causing problems in today's society. For Buddhists and Hindus, the swastika is a very religious symbol that is commonly used.
Unfortunately, the Nazis were so effective at their use of the swastika emblem, that many do not even know any other meaning for the swastika, and in Germany it is now outlawed.
Can there be two completely opposite meanings for one symbol?

I say no. Even the Nazis used the symbol for good luck in their struggle and the fact that their struggle was hateful does not change the meaning of the symbol.

That's why I want to rehabilitate it in the Western iconography by using it in a way that cannot be mistaken.

AND……

These are the last from my six weeks at John Brown's studio, the blue was a second time in the kiln and the others in the display of the week.

MORE POTS

The ceramic adventure goes on, I actually sold my first bowl yesterday! (Thank you, you know who you are!) Now I'm back in school in the hand building class. It's socially satisfying but I don't have much time to do my own things, so I try to get the best out of the assignments.

IN THE DARK

I took this picture in the dark and changed the exposure afteward, and it made the mood closer to the original than the one taken with flash.

I'VE BEEN CREATIVE

These are my two last paintings. The lower one, the newest, is called 'Nigth falls in the 6th dimension'


and here are some stoneware from the latest firing:


The blue lotus, but the blue is hardly visible:

RAIN

It's good to paint when it's raining, and this Sunday it has been coming down all day. So, I'm back to the watercolors and here is the result.

POTTERY

Click to enlarge.

My six weeks of working at the ceramics studio every day has payed off. The last batch was very satisfying. Several things came out better than expected and it's usually the other way around: bad surprises. I'm also more in command when I throw on the wheel; today I made four bowls without any mishaps.

REVIEW

Here is the whole series with bonus!

BONUS

This is not really part of the series but 12 is too important a number not to be celebrated.

QUOTE OUT OF CONTEXT

The important thing is to realize the least distorted image of the workings of the universe. We are part of the universe; we are both observers and actors. Whatever we do or think or say is part of the ongoing creation. Therefore we need a reasonable framework, a knowledge based on wisdom and compassion that unifies the different viewpoints and celebrates the diversity.
First, let those who adhere to an organized religion follow its message of love and disregard the rest. Trust yourself to recognize your own spirituality if you are seeking it.

NUMBER TEN

Ten introduces Zero and closes the circle, returning to before One. So, in the depiction of ten the Zero is shown as a bud and this bud contains the O from on top of the A, standing for Awareness of the true Self, which is all there is in the transition from life to death.

I also read the cards as the circle of life and death:

1. The Bardo state (Death after the ‘Judgement’)
2. Conception and life in the womb
3. Birth & divine infancy
4. Childhood
5. Youth
6. Coupling
7. House of seven energies, spiritual awakening
8. The “best” years
9. Old age
10. Death & confrontation with the pure Spirit

NINE

THE OCTAGON

Here the Å is incorporated in the octagon itself. The center of avareness is in the center of the cross - and the cross is an ancient religious symbol, older than Christianity.

SEVEN

The house of seven energies is the human body with the seven chakras.

HEXAGON

PENTAGON

NUMBER THREE AND FOUR

I did the Triangle again and then the Square made up of three Triangles

ONEANGLE

In the same way that I got from three to two I now shrink the line, which is the ‘Twoangle’, to a point, the ‘Oneangle’ but a point is only an idea, it doesn’t actually occupy space. How to represent this?
With the sight of my telescope I focus on the Point and here I place the o on top of the A as a symbol of my center of Awareness.
The small Å being part of the Great Å is symbolizing the unification of the individual Awareness with the Universal Awareness of the Great Spirit.
It is both the sight and the Seer.

TWOANGLE

I am doing another series of ten pictures. The theme is figurative expressions of the numbers from 1 to 10.

I began with the triangle – that’s the one I posted for New Years.
You all know what the pink triangle means, but that’s just my personal gay joke. Here the form of the triangle symbolizes Being, the eye in the middle is pure Awareness and the color pink stands for Bliss. This is the trinity of the Great Spirit taught in Hinduism as Sat-Chit-Ananda.
The signature symbolizes the single Awareness of the worshipper floating in rapture because I let A stand for Awareness.

When I was in school in Denmark we had the letter ‘Aa’ which is pronounced like an open ‘O’. Later the Swedish form ‘Å’ was adopted and I used it in spelling my name ‘Åge’.
So, with A standing for Awareness, Å would stand for Double Awareness, that is Self-Awareness, and it is in this sense that I now use it in this series.

Representing higher numbers is simple enough but going back to two and one poses a problem.
If you shrink one side in a square until it disappears, you’ll end up with a Triangle; in the same way if you shrink one side in a Triangle you get a ‘Twoangle’ - and it looks like a Line.
A Line, for example the line between the sunny and the shady side of the street, is a symbol of separation, which again is the basic principle of Duality. So this days picture is an attempt at a pictorial representation of the number 2 with a bit of philosophy thrown in.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

THE BLUE LOTUS

Ulysses: "On the tenth day we reached the land of the Lotus-eater, who live on a food that comes from a kind of flower. Here we landed to take in fresh water, and our crews got their mid-day meal on the shore near the ships. When they had eaten and drunk I sent two of my company to see what manner of men the people of the place might be, and they had a third man under them. They started at once, and went about among the Lotus-eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what had happened to them, but were for staying and munching lotus with the Lotus-eater without thinking further of their return."

THE SERIES COMPLETED

Here are the two last drawings in the series:

SPIRIT OF THE WILD

This is the eighth in my series. I had a definite plan for the picture, but the result still was a surprise.

NUMBER SEVEN

I surprise myself with every new picture!

NUMBER SIX

BARON SAMEDI

IS NUMBER FIVE:

NUMBER FOUR

FINALLY FIRING

Two and a half months into the ceramics class the first glaze firing happened and I saw the results of my experiments. Only about half of them were satisfying - oh, well!

NUMBER THREE

My friend Georg from Denmark was here recently. He is a painter and naturally we talked shop. I complained that I had a hard time getting started, now, when my setup in the new house is perfect. He told me that to get going he gave himself the task of painting ten pictures like a series. I have taken the idea up in a series of ten drawings in pencil. I bought some very soft black pencils when I went to Costa Rica and there I made a drawing that is kind of a forerunner for the set. I have already posted that and recently the two first of the actual series, and here is the third.

HERE'S A NEW ONE

NEW DRAWING

THE LIVING SPACE

RAKU

Raku is a Japanese firing technique that takes only about an hour. I had two bowls fired today and that was the first things finished this semester. I haven't been too happy about this class but today's result made me feel better.

PAINTING AGAIN

This painting is called 'Summer Things'. That was the badly translated title of a French movie that I didn't particularly like, but it fits the picture better.

PARANOIA-DIALOGUE

I tell myself I’m so lucky – within the frame of the possible.

Do you know the possible - or the impossible for that sake?

Well, I know one thing that’s impossible! – You cannot live forever.

So, within your slow descent towards mortality, you are lucky? That’s what you’re saying?

Yes, I know I am lucky – but I do not always feel it.
And then I feel guilty for not appreciating my luck.
There are also assaults of negative moods that must not take root.
And then sometimes I feel that I should not give in to the pleasures that accompany my luck – like I’m using up my good karma.

You complicate things. Just live your life and keep your heart open.

But I’m kind of misanthropic. I mostly just tolerate people.

Oh, you are just too focused on young male beauty.

And so what? It doesn’t hurt anybody - au contraire!

What do you mean?

Well, I mean it could help someone – it could be my natural way to be positive.
I think openness is positive. And I just do open up towards young men - like a flower turns to the sun.

But you always sit and gape at their beauty.

Just live your life, you said – and now you want me to cramp my style. I think you are the one who complicates things.

We are just driving each other crazy!

Shit, no! We are just passing the time.

Are you actually going to post this?

What do you think?

It was you who said openness is good.

But it can be boring.

ALIEN FRIEND

My friend, whose name is Ned Lap Ehsey, comes from a parallel universe where he is in fact something like my alter ego. Because of our super-universal connection he succeeded in transferring himself to our universe for a short visit and this is how I am able to present you with this authentic photo of a being who is truly alien.
Ned says: "What do you need two eyes for? To have one is like only having the 'Third Eye' - I can see things with mine that you can't even see with your two eyes . And what do you need nostrils for? You can breathe through your mouth, just keep it open!"

ANOTHER DUNUN VILLAGE

This Gathering was small and sweet. Early September Indian summer weather.
Wadaba, The Great Panther, blessed us with his presence thanks to Aaron who raised money for his transportation. For those who don't know: Wadaba is a master drummer in the traditional village music, right at the source of African drumming.

The blogger with Wadaba

Peter and Nathan

Wadaba dancing Dununba, the Strong Men's Dance

The Dunun section

A perfect tomato

Cooling off at the swim hole

Mister T

Nuyma

Ronin and Madu

FLOWERS

In the evening the house on the other side of the street reflects the rays of the setting sun:

STARTING UP AGAIN

I lent Shawn a book on Daoist art and seeing it inspired me to try out my Japanese brushes:


My next experiment resulted in this minimalist drawing:


Tony didn't think it was finished. Looking at it he took a paper and drew some lines with a ruler and said I could use that. Since he had used a ruler I thought I would continue with the templates used for curves in technical drawing, but in the end I drew over it all by hand:

THE PARTY

The house-warming party was great. The house is ideal for party and we drummed for hours without any complaints, which is promising for the future.

HOUSE WARMING

The best part of moving is when the boxes are unpacked and the rooms are taking shape. This is the creative part, finding a place for each thing you brought and making new things where needed. Our old kitchen table has got new life with white paint and wood finishing:

Here are two pictures from the living room, my work table transformed into coffee table:



And two from my room; so far only my thanka and Lama Yeshe on the wall:



Tomorrow is the house warming party and everything is clean and ready - that is almost clean and almost ready - but who will see the difference?

IT'S COMING TOGETHER

For almost three weeks I was without connection to the net, but anyway I was too busy moving and unpacking to want to post. I took some pictures of the living room and my room:

THE NEW HOUSE

In two days we are moving into the new house! It's been good to be spoilt by my friends for a month, but I'm ready to be on my own.

POGONIP

The Pogonip is a nature reserve in San Lorenzo valley just behind Santa Cruz. Today Shawn took me there for a hike. I have lived 30 years in Santa Cruz county but I had never been there before, that's incredible, isn't it!

AT LAST

Today we got a new home!
It is the one that, all since I saw it, was the one I liked best, but I had given up on it after not hearing anything for ten days after we gave in our applications. The landlady had been out of town and she called two days ago and wanted to meet us. So we had lunch together yesterday and she is really nice and cool, and today we looked at the house again and struck the deal. The house will be ready for us to move into at the end of the month.
I was beginning to get depressed after more than four months of house hunting in vain, but all the ones who said: "You'll get something!" were right after all. I feel I'll be happy in this house.

PASSION FRUIT

MORNING GLORY

I have a hard time feeling confident or thankful in the morning and the days are long. This house hunting seems hopeless. Or do we have too high hopes? Either the houses are too small or too far away or there are a hundred people competing to get in.

ABUNDANCE

VAJRASATTVA

Even though I had help with the heavy carrying, the move of all my stuff into the garage was exhausting. But I'm getting over it and I have no more excuses for not posting.

So here is a thanka of Vajrasattva, Buddha of purification, painted during a retreat in 1986. He is manifesting in the landscape of Utah that I had just explored with my friend Tyler

FUJI-SAN

This is inspired by a Japanese print in a series of views of Mount Fuji.
I forgot who did it.
I guess I'm a little distracted.

Today I passed most of the day having a moving sale. The weather was cold and smoky in the morning and few people came by and bought only small knick-knacks, but later friends and neighbors passed by and some of the best deals were picked up. I ended up having sold for about $60!
I'm moving out the first of July, to the day 15 years since I moved in. That's in three days and the mess is growing around me!

Susanne and Toby, who are to live here, are already working in the 'studio' and in the back yard. They are a sweet young couple - and Toby, tanned and golden-haired, trim and muscled - well, it's hard to not stare at him all the time. He's cool, and he says I can put all my stuff in the garage till I find a place, so I'm free to float around.
First I'll house-sit in Shawn and Michelle's nice house for a couple of weeks. They have internet, but I may run into problems and you'll have to bear with me if it takes time.

THE GOLDEN GATE

When i first came to the West Coast I stayed in the Berkeley hills with a view right through the Golden Gate. From that time dates my love for this bridge that has become for me a symbol of connection between opposites, a crossroads between a natural water way and a man made road.

FULL MOON BY THE SEA

DJEMBE & DUNUNS

MANBABIES 2

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

I know I have shown you ManBabies before, but this one is so hilarious that I can't pass it by.

THE LATEST

This one I had to fight with and it took me several days to finish.

PAINTING AGAIN

All this house hunting and school and the many parties of early summer kept me away from painting for a while, but here is this week's new water color.

FINALS

Yesterday was the last day of the ceramics class. We showed our work and everybody talked a little about the class. There was really a lot of nice things, but nobody had made as many things as I, 26 pieces!
I'll miss the class, but it's time to concentrate on the next task: finding a new house and moving into it.

RAKU

Raku is a Japanese glazing technique. Here are some pictures from our recent session:

Me in fire protective clothing

Kevin lifting his red hot drum out of the kiln.

And my three pieces:

DUNUN VILLAGE SPRING 08

MANBABIES.COM

GET MORE AT ManBabies.com!

COLLAGE

This is Alaya. I met her outside my house yesterday and hardly recognized her. Some of her friends are moving in two houses from me.

Tomorrow I'm off to Dunun Village. The weather forecast says 100° (38° Celsius)!
The moon is near full and the nights will be warm. Bolokada is coming and I think it will be a big gathering this time.

When I come back there is barely two weeks to the first of June and we have not found a house yet. Wish me luck!

FUN

This is a small painting made on the computer and worked over with color pencils.

CERAMICS

Yesterday a bunch of things I have made in class came out of the kiln. Out of thirteen pieces only two were disappointing, so I was really happy with the result.

ANOTHER YEAR

Today was my birthday - 83 years old. I am lucky beyond belief, being surrounded by young beautiful friends who keep my inner child alive.

Today we looked at a house in Bonny Doon that seemed ideal except for the distance to town. I don't really care, but the others, who commute every day, are worried about the cost of gas and the change in lifestyle. I liked the house a lot; it is spacious and sunny, and if we were five the rent would be reasonable, but……
It's hard to make a decision and when four or five people have to agree - even harder.

THE TRUTH

My friend Shawn got this t-shirt at a powwow.

TIME OUT

Napoleon takes a rest after a hard days patrolling the neighborhood.

TIBETAN MONKS

Photos and letter sent by a friend living in Lhasa












Passed over in all the hype about the trials of the
Olympic torch, is the fact that the monks at Serah,
Drepung, Ganden and the Johkhang monasteries remain
confined in their monasteries.
"Being re-educated" is what we're told by the government - wonder what that means?
I sincerely doubt that these monks are enjoying their confinement, so let's not forget them. Please, say a prayer for them; they're a big part of what makes Tibet such a great place.

May they be safe from harm.
May they be healthy and strong.
May they be filled with love and compassion.
May they be happy.

ANDREW JOHNSTON

LISTEN TO HIM!

NO WORDS NEEDED

Speaks For Itself!

Copy this pic post it on your blog and tell your readers to do the same thing; see if we can get it on as many blogs as possible.