Roaming through different areas of my mind and different times in my life

PAINTING AND RUNES

2012-01-31T11:09:00.000-08:00

This is my final rune alphabet with the numbers that I designed based upon displayed digital numbers.

TOUGHY IS GROWING UP

2012-01-10T15:55:00.000-08:00

NEW RUNE WRITINGS

2012-01-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

THE SKY THIS NIGHT

2012-01-02T23:22:00.000-08:00

Straight above

To the south

To the north

PAINTING

2011-12-19T19:15:00.001-08:00

TOUGHY

2011-12-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

Toughy is growing up.

NEWS

2011-11-20T15:04:00.001-08:00

GUESS WHAT THIS IS

2011-11-15T23:21:00.001-08:00

A pocket water pibe!!
It is about 2x3 1/2" and only 5/8" wide - and it works.

NEW PAINTING

2011-11-06T17:21:00.000-08:00

SIX TRIANGULAR VESSELS

2011-11-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

MY LAST PAINTING

2011-10-21T23:24:00.001-07:00

among older paintings on my wall:

TODAY'S DINNER

2011-10-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

A good meal must contain the colors of Africa: red, yellow and green!The red is beets, carrots and tomatoes,the yellow is eggs and potatoes,the green is lettuce.

COLOR CIRCLE

2011-09-30T19:12:00.001-07:00

KALU RIMPOCHE

2011-08-30T16:47:00.001-07:00

In a lot of religions in this world, gays and lesbians are not accepted… from my point of view, and I would say from a Buddhist point of view, gay and lesbian are welcome in my world. I’m happy to see how they love and take responsibility for each other and for their family.

MORE POTTERY

2011-08-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

Some of the newest stuff.

RETURN TO PRIMITIVE TIMES

2011-07-30T23:31:00.000-07:00

2011-07-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

I bought a bookcase for the ceramic pieces. Less than an hour after it was announced on craigslist it was standing in our living room - pretty good timing!

DIPTYCH

2011-07-09T19:46:00.001-07:00

This began as one painting but there was a conflict or a an urge between the two halves to become separate; so, I did make two pictures but kept them together so far!

CATALPA TREES

2011-06-30T15:58:00.001-07:00

I caught this last flowering Catalpa tree. They are beautiful trees with large heart-shaped leaves and clusters of Orchid-like flowers.

GROWTH

2011-06-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

Humans believe in growth. Ongoing growth, endless growth. Bigger, steadily improved life. Not many seem to worry about how that’s going to turn out.

Nothing can go further than the utterly extreme; then it must turn back. All that is created must decay and transform into something else. So, to aim for constant growth is taking the road to destruction. Yet it is the belief all over the world that the economy should be growing constantly.

TEA SET

2011-06-16T11:33:00.001-07:00

I made a tea set like this and sold it at our pre-mother's-day sale, so I started making this one right away and it came out exactly like the first one.

QUOTE

2011-05-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..."
— Dr. Seuss

TRIPOD

2011-05-20T18:40:00.001-07:00

NEW PAINTING AND BOWL

2011-04-24T14:26:00.000-07:00

RUNE REVIVAL

2011-04-13T18:47:00.001-07:00

Rune Revival.

THREE MORE

2011-04-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

The Picture is not the Thing.

Trinity.

Blessings and Sufferings.

CONTINUING GRAPHOLOGICAL POEMS

2011-04-07T17:28:00.001-07:00

Souvenir of a Meeting.

The Blues.

Jazz.

Overcoming Ignorance.

FOUR PICTURES

2011-04-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

For Bryan.

The Helpers.

No Doubt.

Before Numbers.

I have to admit that the interesting tones in the corners of the paper come from insufficient lighting!

NATURE IMITATING ART

2011-03-29T23:21:00.000-07:00

LATEST WORKS

2011-03-25T17:23:00.001-07:00

TEA SET

2011-03-14T16:24:00.001-07:00

There are three more cups in this tea set.

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

2011-03-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

Japan is a mess. Let this remind us of how vulnerable we are with all our gadgets. I hope it will make somebody think deeply about "clean" nuclear power.
I pray for the Japanese people who are suffering so much loss and distress.

Last night I painted this picture of Hokkaido, the dream island that I was close to visit, but shall never see, I think.
As a child I traveled the world via our two by four feet atlas from the eighteen nineties, and I still have a passion for maps - and for looking at earth from a jet!

2011-03-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

First, here is a mug that I just got home from the display case at the studio:

Then, three drawings made these last days. Inspired by the documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat - "The Radiant Child" - I have tried a new approach to painting. I go at it with the same intent and enthusiasm as I did in my childhood. These maps are made from memory. Part of the inner city of Copenhagen, Sjælland, the island where I was born, and Southern Europe, the Mediterranian and Africa.

RUNES AGAIN

2011-02-28T09:58:00.000-08:00

Click to enlarge!

DANCERS IN OAKLAND, CA

2011-02-09T12:38:00.000-08:00

TWO STAGES

2011-02-06T14:59:00.000-08:00

UNTITLED

2011-01-26T22:40:00.000-08:00

TWO OF A SET OF FOUR

2011-01-14T21:14:00.000-08:00

The first one came out like what I aimed for without really knowing. On the second and the rest of the bowls the glaze (Spotted Shino) did different things with shades of gray and brown.

FRIENDLY AFRICAN HAT

2011-01-05T23:23:00.000-08:00

PERSIMMON

2011-01-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

TODAY A RAINBOW

2011-01-02T23:08:00.001-08:00

FINISHING

2010-12-27T23:53:00.000-08:00

I knew that Act of Balance wasn't finished!

ACT OF BALANCE

2010-12-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

FALL

2010-12-14T16:43:00.000-08:00

The last of the trees shedding its leaves

2010-12-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

I sold this cup and took a picture before it left me. I like this African inspired style and have several lined up for next kiln. It's going to take some time though, because the kiln was fired today.

I hung the tree of life on my wall.

SOLD

2010-12-05T23:09:00.000-08:00

The pottery sale was a big success in spite of the weather - or maybe the cool and cloudy day was inviting people to go Christmas shopping instead of tempting them to the beach. Between 2 and 3 it started to rain heavily and it became a bit lonely for those who were set up outside under canopies. My friends, Leela and Tom, both came after I had packed up my stuff. That's the kind of people I know, I joked, but they came in handy to help me carry stuff to the car.

BEFORE THE SALE

2010-11-29T16:54:00.000-08:00

Clay Creation is having a pottery sale in the parking lot on Sunday December 5.

THE LAST ROSE

2010-11-27T22:59:00.000-08:00

FOLI "RHYTHM" THERE IS NO MOVEMENT WITHOUT RHYTHM, ORIGINAL VERSION

2010-11-24T21:23:00.000-08:00

THE MANDALA OF THE TREE OF LIFE

2010-11-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

INFATUATION

2010-11-15T23:15:00.000-08:00

THE VISUALIZER

2010-10-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

One of the most amazing works of electronic art that I know is the original Visualizer on iTunes. Within the limited scope of its elements, it succeeds in constantly renewing itself. It seems there is never twice the exact same image, and the elements keep creating new patterns depending on the music that is played or maybe new elements are added, for every time I watch, something is coming up that I never have seen before.
The Visualizer responds to the music and, as I listen to my music, the Visualizer takes me on a trip out in space among the stars or inside flames of fireworks or to glittering surfaces of water - on and on through shapes and patterns or just colors melting into each other.
There are two kinds of elements: the creative and the receptive – yang and yin. The creative elements are lines of light that vibrate with the music, while the patterns of the receptive elements hold the results of the creative energy for a while, until they fade away, as must all that is created.
It is really a metaphor for the whole of creation and it has an addictive quality in its relentless shifts. It is a temptation to stay on and see what the next development will be – and the next! It gives one some of the benefits of listening to live music because it engages the vision with the music and thereby intensifies the experience.

MORE CERAMICS

2010-10-17T14:32:00.001-07:00

2010-10-02T23:08:00.000-07:00

When I bicycle home from the studio I pass a car on whose windshield is written:
MY GOD IS REAL.

May this god - if he is real - protect us from his followers!

OPENING THE KILN

2010-09-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

On the upper shelf, number two from left, you can see my gray teapot. Unfortunately the lid was stuck and in the attempt to unstick it I smashed the pot.

DETAILS FROM INDRA'S NET

2010-08-23T23:35:00.001-07:00

ARTICHOKE FLOWER (THE MOVIE)

2010-08-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

RARE FLOWERS

2010-08-14T16:20:00.001-07:00

The artichoke flower is the bee's delight.

This cactus I have had for many years but this is the first flower.

Pomegranate, not so rare but one of my favorite flowers.

MINI PAINTING

2010-08-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

BUMPER STICKER

2010-08-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE

2010-07-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

My house mate Peter gave me some strips of expensive watercolor paper that he had cut up for a project that never got further. They work for writing runes!

click to enlarge!

THE FINISHED PAINTING 2

2010-07-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

WORK IN PROGRESS 2

2010-07-22T10:34:00.001-07:00

MORE POTS

2010-07-20T10:17:00.001-07:00

These are three sides of the same pot

These are inside and outside of the same pot

I'm such an idiot - I made another teapot that doesn't work!

THE FINISHED PAINTING

2010-07-20T09:55:00.001-07:00

FIRST STEP

2010-07-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

This was painted Saturday night. I will try to post every phase of its creation.

A PASSIONATE INTERLUDE

2010-07-17T15:25:00.001-07:00

In December 1956 I went to Majorca to paint with my friend Ole S. We worked every day for a month and lived a frugal life in a small rented room about 15 minutes on the bus out of Palma De Majorca.

When New Years came I was ready for an adventure and I went alone to town in the afternoon. In the street I met a gay boy, who did not really interest me, but he invited me to a party in the evening and that sounded good to me. So I accepted and he took me along to show me the house where the party was going to happen. I was introduced to Mimi, a Swiss lady past her best years, and her chubby younger lover who went under the name of El Gordo. Two young men were helping with the preparations for the party: Carlos and Lili. Carlos was a nice homely Spanish boy but Lili was striking. He was blond, a golden honey color streaked with sun bleached strands, and his eyes were a deeper golden brown. He was unmistakably male but his youth and his androgynous beauty softened his masculinity; he still had some puppy fat and was smooth as a seal.
They all welcomed me and I helped out a bit, but I had to tear myself away to go home and change.

At the party Lili took charge of me and I completely neglected the boy who had brought me and had only eyes for Lili. We danced and we made out, and we ended up in bed together.
Next day everything was out in the open: El Gordo and Lili lived in the house and Mimi paid the bills. They wanted me to move in and be part of the “family”, but when I told Lili that I was not rich he cried. It really touched me that this little hustler would cry because I was not rich enough to be his sugar daddy. Yet Ole S. was about to leave shortly and I was ready to follow up on my adventure, so we agreed on the arrangement and the day after I moved in.
I found out that Lily already had a sugar daddy when I met him, an English tourist, and I came to suspect that after moving in with me he still kept up with the Englishman. His disappearances were cause of bitter recriminations followed by sweet reconciliations. Carlos was a daily visitor in the house and he became my confident when Lili’s absences drove me crazy. Mimi said I should take him as my boyfriend, he was a sincere boy, he was in love with me and would make me happy, but I was in the throes of my passion and could not give up because there was some drama.

One time Lili had been gone for two days and when I came home and opened the door to our room, there was a single candle burning and Lili was lying naked on the bed with a pair of scissors fallen from his hand and a wound by his heart from which a trickle of blood had run down his flank. The tableau was so convincing that for a moment I was taken in. When I touched him he shivered and my shock turned into rage, but after having cussed him out it ended up as usual: in the bed. Even though the suicide was fake, his going to the extreme of drawing blood touched my heart.

We were asked to leave the house; I don’t remember why, but I think it had to do with our disreputable lifestyle. We found a big gloomy house in the countryside whose only redeeming trait was a big lemon tree. The house was cold too and we sometimes “found” some firewood on the path. This decided our fate: the firewood belonged to somebody else and we were again asked to leave.
I had been on Majorca for three months now and my money was running out. I decided that it was time to go home and when I told Lili he cried again, but what could I do? I had embraced this experience and followed the path of passion but after all it was not the only thing in my life. My feelings of responsibility had taken over, but the tender memory of a hustler’s tears stayed with me.

The house with the lemon tree

JUST FINISHED

2010-07-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

QUOTE

2010-07-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

All her life auntie was a staunch atheist, but everybody knows that it is precisely the atheists who, having passed the dialectical stage of rebelling against God, most often becomes devout believers or simply are infected with various forms of mysticism – that’s what happened to my aunt; in her declining years she joined some strange esoteric society. This was a kind of New Age group with a Russian twist, where everything went into the mix: the manuscripts of unrecognized messiahs, silver-maned unicorns, the poetry of ancient Russian spells, the horoscope of the druids, the ritual laments of southern Croatians and Australian didgeridoo…

(Dimitry Bushuev in ‘Echoes of Harlequin’)

That's pretty funny. I grew up atheist and now I'm infected with mysticism, albeit not specially of the New Age kind. More like this quote from Zen master Hui Neng:

There is nothing true anywhere, the true is nowhere to be found.
If you say you see the true,
This seeing is not the true one.
When the true is left to itself,
There is nothing false in it, for it is mind itself.
When mind in itself is not liberated from the false,
There is nothing true, nowhere is the true to be found.

A WORK IN PROGRESS

2010-07-15T23:26:00.001-07:00

SIMULATED WRITINGS

2010-07-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

UNFINISHED?

2010-07-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

MONOCROME PAINTING

2010-07-01T23:20:00.001-07:00

click to enlarge.

JUST FINISHED

2010-06-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

KILN OPENING

2010-06-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

I made a sauerkraut maker, but it stuck to the tile it was standing on in the kiln and was broken when it got unstuck.
Otherwise the results were pretty satisfying, especially the teapot.
The colors don't quite come out right on the photos.

DIVERSITY CELEBRATION

2010-06-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

ESPERANZA SPALDING

2010-06-04T01:04:00.000-07:00

EXPLORING GLAZES

2010-06-01T23:44:00.000-07:00

THE COLDEST DUNUN EVER

2010-05-26T23:31:00.001-07:00

The third picture show the hail that fell Saturday afternoon.
Sunday morning the sun came out.

NEW STYLE

2010-05-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

I have done a lot of carving and I decided to try more decoration with the glazes.
This is my first batch which came out of the kiln yesterday.

TAURUS 85 PARTY

2010-05-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

TODAY'S CROP

2010-04-19T18:55:00.001-07:00

MALA NOCHE

2010-04-13T23:07:00.000-07:00

Gus van Sant’s first movie is about a young gay man’s love for a wild Mexican boy, a teenager who says he is 18 but is more like 16, just emerging into manhood. I can so feel with this story; I think it’s an essential gay experience. It is a play between love and sexual attraction where sex comes to be truly a longing of the heart for closeness. From this boy comes a stream of raw life-energy that elicits a response of tenderness and protective love. It is, at the high point of the movie, a playful open banter about sexual favors. The actual sex is with the boy's friend, who is more accommodating but will accept it only in the dark. And the dark prevails; shot in black and white, it seems to be 80% black and 20% white, which makes it hard to see what’s happening. On the other hand it’s not difficult to follow the story and the way the images flow is full of beauty, sometimes made more magical because it is exposed only in glimpses. It had the feeling of an intimate documentary, more raw reality than I remember from his other films.
Apart from a few moments of frustration when the dark took over and there was a series of movements that I didn’t get, I liked the wholeness of Gus van Sant’s vision and his concept of filming a story so in the face of emotions flashing. Shot in Portland, Oregon, in 1985 it was also a courageous issue to take up at that time.
The pictures are of Doug Cooeyate, the Mexican boy.

MINI-MONSTER

2010-04-09T23:51:00.000-07:00

IDOL

2010-04-05T22:42:00.000-07:00

NEW CERAMICS

2010-04-05T15:00:00.001-07:00

I got 11 pieces out of the kiln today. There were some minor disappointments.
Here are the pieces I like best.

MASK

2010-04-03T23:12:00.001-07:00

This is another mini painting.

CONFUCIUS SAID

2010-03-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

There are three methods by which we may learn wisdom.

Reflection is the noblest.
Imitation is the easiest.
Experience is the bitterest.

DENSE BREAD

2010-03-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

I bought bread at Whole Foods today. They had a long bread that they sold in pieces and I got about 8" for $4. "That's expensive", I said; "yes, but it's dense", she said.
But look at all the holes!

NEW MINI PAINTING

2010-03-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

JAZZ & VERTIGO

2010-03-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

The show Monday night with Jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano and his Quintet 'Us Five' was wonderful. I have never before heard Joe Lovano live and I really liked his strong clear tone and inspirational drive. There were two trap drummers and that worked great, but I was specially taken with Francisco Mela, the young Cuban drummer who has already got a big name in the US. Last but not least was Esperanza Spalding on Bass. Oh my! Can she play! She is slim and light skinned with a gamin face and I loved to watch her slender hands work the strings of the bass with incredible speed and precision. Another proof that Jazz is alive and home for some of the most talented musicians of our time.

Then yesterday I woke up to a bad surprise. I was so dizzy that I had to hold on to things when I walked. I have felt it a little of it these last weeks but now it was incapacitating. I took my blood pressure thinking that it was too low but it was 183/90; that freaked me out a bit. I called Shawn who has been giving me treatments lately and he said: Get an ambulance and go to the hospital. To make a long story short, I was in the hospital till after 4 o'clock and went through innumerable tests and the verdict was: nothing serious! It is an inner ear thing stemming from my recent sickness and should go away by itself and meanwhile I take pills for the vertigo. But I'm still kind of wobbly today.

IN SEARCH OF THE GOLDEN CASTLE

2010-03-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

A fairie tale

Jacob was fond of his father and mother and they were always kind to him and granted all his wishes.
One Sunday they brought him along to the forest. It was a fine day and the rays of the sun warmed up the soft moss and made the many flowers stretch and reach up and emit such lovely fragrance. The Parents sat down in the shade of a gnarled old oak while Jacob picked flowers in the meadow. He wanted to gather a big bouquet with one of each kind to be found in the forest. At first it was easy to find new ones, but as he looked for more he removed himself further and further from his parents.
At length he thought he had all the ones that he could remember, but when he now looked around he discovered that he was deep in the forest. It was quite dark and sinister around him, but Jacob was not frightened; his big bouquet of flowers wholly intoxicated him and when he saw a distant gleam behind the trees he confidently set out. He did not think of anything; the chirping of the birds filled his ears and the freshness of the forest air lightened his step. The closer he came to the clearing, the stronger was the gleam from it and when he stepped forward from the shadow of the trees it was as if his heart would stop, for anything as dazzling, as splendid, he had never seen.
A golden castle studded with sparkling gems stood before him. It was more radiant than the sun itself and it blinded him with a bliss surpassing all he had known. For a long time he stood as petrified before he slowly set out towards the radiant vision. When he came close he caught sight of a girl who was playing in the tall grass in front of the castle. Her skin was like copper, her eyes like black diamonds, yet so mild that Jacob’s heart was warmed and its violent beats felt like small leaden weights in the body.
Now he felt he weariness after the long ramble in the forest and it was almost impossible for him to walk the last distance up to the little princess – for a princess she had to be. Maybe that is why his heart became so heavy, for he was quite an ordinary boy and his parents were not of royal blood. How could he hope to be loved by the most lovely of princesses?
And to be loved by her, that was his wish.
As always when he fervently wished for something, he thought of his parents, but now he understood that this wish they could by no means grant him. All these thoughts made him quite dizzy and he slumped into the grass right in front of the princess; the strong light blinded him and became a deep, deep darkness into which he fell and fell. Then he did not know anything until he heard his name called: “Jacob --- Jacob!” It was his mothers voice and he opened his eyes. There he was again in the meadow by the old oak and his mother was nearby. He ran up to her and she hugged him and comforted him, for he cried and cried. Where were the golden castle and the princess? He was in despair, but his mother just thought he was frightened because he had been alone.
Since this day Jacob was changed. All his toys and all the tasty treats he was given to eat were like nothing against the memory of the radiant castle, and even his parents’ care could not make him forget his love for the princess. Sometimes he was afraid it had only been a dream, but then he clearly remembered that he had placed his bouquet of flowers at the feet of the princess and that it had not been there when he woke up again in the meadow, and then he knew that the castle and the princess were real enough. He had to find her again or he would never be happy.
So, he told his parents about his adventure in the forest and he asked for permission to set forth to find again the princess. But his parents would not hear of it.
“It is only a dream,” said his mother, “Here you get all you wish for; why would you leave us and suffer for the sake of a dream?”
“But it is not a dream,” said Jacob, and he told about the flowers he had left with the little princess.
“But even if it was not a dream,” said his father, “The summer is over now and it is cold in the forest; you would freeze to death out there.”
However much Jacob begged and pestered they would not let him leave. In the end the father got angry and the mother wept.
“You are an ungrateful wretch,” they said, “Everything we have done for you and you will only cause us grief.”
Alas, how sad Jacob felt. Though he understood what his parents said, he could not forget the princess or believe that he had only dreamt about her – yes, even if it had been a dream he was convinced that she was real and that he could find her again.
That night he lay awake till it was late and the half moon rose, big and yellow, and looked into his room. Then he dressed while he took care not to make noise, and with his shoes in the hand he slipped out the front door. It was freezing cold outside, but he paid no heed for he was warmed by the thought of the little princess, and now he walked swiftly down the road where the moon shone for him.
He had walked for many hours when the sky began to turn pale and the stars to be extinguished. He was both cold and tired and hungry and the road went through a desolate landscape with rocks and low scrubs. Then he saw a cottage on top of a hill not very far off and at once he left the road and walked toward the cottage. How hard it was to walk on the sharp rocks and how the thorny bushes tore at his clothes. At length he sat down in a hollow and cried bitterly. Oh, had he only listened to his good parents! Now it also appeared to him that the golden castle was a dream and that he never should see neither the black-eyed princess nor his father and mother, whose kindness he had so badly repaid.
With the cheeks streaked by tears Jacob fell asleep, and perhaps he would have frozen to death as his father had predicted, had not the old wizard, who lived in the cottage on top of the hill, found him – but that he did! The old wizard always rose with the sun and when he went down to fetch water from the brook he found Jacob all gray from cold and he carried him up to the cottage where a nice fire burned on the hearth.
Here Jacob woke up and was thoroughly frightened when he saw the old wizard, because he looked nasty with warts on the nose and a long grey beard full of bits of food. But he was not so nasty, you know, he was actually a good-natured wizard who only practiced magic for the fun of it, because he was living all alone. So he was really happy to have Jacob in his house and he put him in his warm bed and made hot gruel for him so he could recover.
In the evening Jacob told him his story and the old wizard listened and nodded his head, but he didn’t say anything for he had now become so fond of Jacob that he wanted to keep him in the house. Instead he made a warm drink, a real sorcerers brew with herbs of oblivion and passion fruit, and that he gave to Jacob before he had to sleep.
When Jacob woke up next morning he had forgotten his parents and he remembered neither the golden castle that he had set out to find, nor the lovely princess that he had loved more than anything else. Now it seemed to him that he only knew the old wizard and loved the old wizard – and that was a curious feeling! Every night he had a glass of the sorcerers brew, for its effect was only limited, but the wizard said it was to keep him warm at night. Otherwise he was good to the boy and abundantly returned his love; he showed him all his conjuring tricks and taught him to make kites that could fly high, high up in the clear air.
One day Jacob made such a kite of yellow material while the wizard was out gathering firewood. When he flew it and it caught the rays of the sun, it shone so golden that it seemed to remind Jacob of something – but he could not think of what is was. At the same time it was like the kite tore and tugged the string so Jacob had to jump along on the rocks to keep hold of it, and further and further did he get away from the cottage. When he finally got the kite down and wanted to go back home he could not at all see the cottage anymore. He climbed the closest hill to look further, but neither from here could he see the cottage, and now the sun was setting. The kite was like a little yellow tent and Jacob crept in under it and lay down to sleep. Then he would find his way home to his dear wizard next morning at daybreak.
When he woke, the sun was shining right on the kite and Jacob, lying underneath, was steeped in golden light. Then he remembered the golden castle studded with gems and the little princess whose skin was like copper and whose eyes were like black diamonds, and he was quite taken aback that he thus could have forgotten her long, long time, and had loved an old wizard with warts on the nose and bits of food in the beard, and he decided immediately to set out again to find the forest where the castle stood.
Since it was the kite that had helped him to escape from the wizard’s cottage and had restored his memory, he decided to let it show him the way. He therefore set it up and like the day before it pulled him along, jumping till he was nearly out of breath, until finally it went down next to a river meandering between the low mountains. The clear water rushed over round stones filling the valley with thousand little voices and the sun stood high in the sky warming with such blessing that Jacob realized it was springtime again. All winter he had been with the old wizard.
He now quenched his thirst and ate some fresh shoots of the tall rushes that grew here and there at the edge of the water. “Now you must lead me further,” he said to the kite as once more he launched it up in the air, and right away it dashed along down the river so Jacob had enough to do avoiding to get stuck in the bushes and trees.
The rest of the day they traveled like this; Jacob was very tired but the kite seemed to be more fit the more it flew. Suddenly it tugged so hard that the string snapped and it soared up and up until it was a tiny point shining like a star against the darkening sky. Jacob stood staring after it; he had so much hoped that the kite would guide him all the way to the princess’ castle and now his eyes filled with tears because it had failed him – or maybe it was just because he stared for such a long time. He carefully noticed the direction in which the kite had disappeared and drew an arrow in the sand before he lay down to sleep.
When morning came poor Jacob had very sore feet, but he could not give up since he had the direction of the arrow to follow. It pointed across the river and laboriously he climbed the slope, and when he reached the top he entirely forgot his weariness, for there, not very far, was the edge of the forest, and behind it a golden light gleamed. Finally he was at his destination! At once he started running as fast as he could until he reached the forest, but when he entered it the gleam disappeared. He then ascended a hill to look around, and now he understood how cruelly he had been taken in, for it was the light of the rising sun he had mistaken for the radiance of the castle. First he was dejected, but then he thought that perhaps, after all, it was a sign or an omen that both the kite and the sun had shown him the same way, and so he went on.
A light mist veiled the forest and as the sun ascended in the sky its slanting rays fell through the branches creating golden columns among the dark trees. Jacob thought it was like a greeting from the princess and it cheered him so that he forgot both hunger and sore feet. Pluckily and lightly he walked along a narrow path straight toward the sun. Then he heard a voice saying: “Where are you going in such a hurry?”
He looked around and there, in the shade, stood a girl who was a bit taller than him. She was slim and strong and had long auburn curls and green eyes twinkling merrily. She also smiled a little.
“My name is Usuk,” she said, “What is your name?”
“My name is Jacob,” said Jacob, and now he told where he was going, how he had come this far, and that now he finally felt that he was close to his goal. Usuk didn’t think he was! She lived not far from here and she had never heard that there was a castle nearby. If he would come with her home they could ask her mother, and when her father came home they could ask him too. Maybe they knew something, and then he could also get something to pick him up before he continued the journey.
Jacob should like to, and Usuk took his hand and led him in between the quiet shadowy pines. They went rather far, thought Jacob, but now and again Usuk lightly squeezed his hand and then he didn’t want to say anything. At length they reached a small clearing with a green field and a thatched farmhouse from whose chimney a thin blue column of smoke rose in the air. In the fields stood a cow the same color as Usuk”s hair. They went up to the house and into the kitchen where Usuk’s mother was busy testing the brandy, but she had never seen any castle, she said, and besides she didn’t have time to take care of them, so Usuk would have to make sandwiches for Jacob. Jacob ate salami and cheese and tuna and then cheese and tuna and salami and finally tuna and salami and cheese. Oh my! How tired he got, but Usuk wanted to show him the farm. They looked at the chickens and the pigs; they tried the weight of the tools and climbed up in the hay.
The hay was nice to play in and they wrestled and rolled around, but Usuk was the strongest and Jacob had eaten so much that he became quite limp. Then Usuk pulled her shirt out of the pants and said: “Put your stomach against mine, it feels good.” So Jacob also pulled his shirt up, and indeed, it did feel good! It tickled so sweetly in the whole body when Usuk rubbed her soft warm stomach against his that he kind of dissolved inside. “I love you,” said Usuk, “You may touch here.” But then Jacob was startled for Usuk wasn’t a girl at all, but a boy like himself. He was glad that it wasn’t a girl that had defeated him, and so he liked Usuk even better. Like this they played with each other for a long time, but the scent of the hay was so strong that at last they fell asleep.
Jacob was all bewildered when he woke up, but then he found Usuk by his side and he was so beautiful that Jacob thought he looked like the princess – especially when his eyes were closed.
Jacob now stayed with Usuk and his mother while he waited for Usuk’s father to come home, for he was out traveling. Perhaps he knew the castle. Meanwhile Jacob and Usuk were always together, they played together, they ate together, they slept together and at first they never disagreed. Jacob thought he had never had such a good time – and the princess and the castle was a dream, he supposed, even though it was a beautiful dream. But about that Usuk would not hear anything.
When she had finished the distilling Usuk’s mother became friendlier. Her name was Utsuk and she liked Jacob well; she even cuddled him often. One day she put Usuk to work in the pigsty while Jacob had to help her in the house. When they were alone she said: “I know what kind of games you are playing with Usuk. Show me what you do.” So Jacob showed her how they rubbed their stomachs together and what other things they had thought of, and Utsuk liked it and showed him some more things too. But Jacob was afraid of telling Usuk what had happened, and when he had to watch what he said he became confused and often Usuk got angry with him. He was not as happy as before!
It had now become early summer and Jacob felt sad because a whole year had passed and he had still not found the golden gem-studded castle and the little princess whose skin was like copper and whose eyes were like black diamonds. Usuk didn’t look like the princess at all when he was angry and Utsuk didn’t look like her even when she was at her friendliest. Oh! Whatever should he do? One morning he sneaked out in the forest to think about it and there stood all the flowers nodding at him like they were saying: “You could just pick us and we will show the way.” So that is what he did! He clearly remembered all the flowers that had been in the princess’ bouquet but there was still one missing and he had to have that one too, that was quite plain. He searched and searched and soon he was far from the house of Usuk and Utsuk and had completely forgotten them. Many days did he wander like this and every day he picked a new bouquet of flowers, but always the same one flower was missing.
Then, the seventh day, he suddenly saw the flower he was looking for, but it didn’t grow in the grass, it sat in the hair of a girl who was sleeping in the sun. Yellow it was, in her black hair. Jacob sat down next to her waiting for her to wake up. It didn’t take very long before she opened her eyes, and she had the most beautiful eyes one could imagine. Jacob didn’t know at all what to say to her; he didn’t think he could ask her for the flower, so instead he handled her the bouquet. He could see that she liked that and then he asked her name and where she was going. Her name was Luna, she said, and she was on her way to a golden castle were a prince is living, who is the most wonderful prince in the world. “Oh!” said Jacob, “I am also on my way to the golden castle. The prince I don’t know about, but there is a princess living there and she is the one I am looking for.”
“Couldn’t we go together,” asked Luna, “it is so hard to be alone.”
Yeah, Jacob thought that too, and he would help her as well as he could. So that was settled and Luna got up and asked Jacob to hold the flowers while she brushed off her dress. All summer did they walk together, but they didn’t get on very fast for they had to gather berries and roots to satisfy their hunger, and when autumn came Jacob had to make fire every night rubbing a stick against a piece of wood. He was good at that and meanwhile Luna made a bed of grass and when they had eaten the wild roots, that tasted good when roasted in the fire, they lay down and warmed each other until sleep overcame them. But now winter approached, it got colder and colder. How would they fare when it began to freeze?
One day they came to a strange rock. It stood all alone and thrust its pinnacles toward the sky and all around it there was no trees but tall reddish brown grass. But the most extraordinary was a black hole that, like a hole in an old tooth, sat all the way down on one side. When they explored they found a small cave behind and Jacob thought it would be a good idea to stay there during the winter.
“Then we can gather a store,” said Luna, “of nuts and fruit and firewood.”
They started doing that, and Jacob made a fireplace and a nice table of a flat stone. He really got strength from all that he struggled with. At the end the little cave was warm and cozy and here they passed the whole winter telling each other stories or inventing wonderful games.
One day when they were walking back together from the spring, where they had been drinking, the air was suddenly so mild and the sun warmed them. They looked at each other and they knew that spring was coming. It was quite sad to think of leaving their home, for they had had such a good time in their little cave. But it was impossible to feel sad on a day like this; the light of spring penetrated them, there was light everywhere. It played on the green leaves, was reflected in them, shone through them and ran along the glossy branches and gilded every little bend and knot. They saw how the fresh blades of grass waved and breathed, yes, it was like they could see the air itself. It was like a huge sea that also poured into them, wave upon wave, and made them quite light.
They forgot they were Jacob and Luna, they were themselves and each other. At this moment they came back to their own green meadow where their rock stood, but they had never seen it like this before. The sun gilded its points and pinnacles and gleamed in its thousand crystals. Now they both recognized the golden castle studded with gems, and they understood that they didn’t have to travel further, for Jacob at last had found his princess and Luna her prince.

THE END

MINI PAINTING

2010-03-21T12:46:00.000-07:00

This painting is 4"x6", I start small after more than a month without painting (and without smoking!)

LOST HIS HEAD

2010-03-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

FUTHARK POWER

2010-03-19T18:32:00.001-07:00

TODAY'S POTTERY

2010-03-06T15:11:00.000-08:00

This last one is a copy of a mug by the Danish potter Hans Vangså.

NATURE

2010-03-05T10:47:00.000-08:00

MY FIRST CAR

2010-03-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

I was 35 years old when I got my first car, a Citroen 2CV camionette. With that car I drove through all of Europe and Morocco. It had incredible good mileage and when parking was difficult, as it was in Paris, you could drive the front end to the curb and lift the back end in place. It had front wheel drive and I took it on crazy roads into the mountains; it could go where others had to give up. Once a river had flooded the road and there were five feet walls of gravel on each side of the water and a long line of cars who had given up on crossing, but I just knew my 2CV could do it and I went right over the wall and through the water.

ARILD, KULLEN, SWEDEN

2010-02-28T18:24:00.001-08:00

This is two drawings from my favorite summer refuge from 1966.

STILL SICK

2010-02-24T21:23:00.000-08:00

Every time I feel it's over and start to live my life, it comes back. I'm so tired of it.