Archives: My News

As with most people in the United States when news of COVID-19 (at the time known only as coronavirus) first hit the airways in January 2020 I didn’t think much of it. Even as the first deaths attributed to the virus became known in February there was no panic, urgency or even much worry. We all continued with our everyday life which for me was making final preparations for a return trip to Greenland in early March. By the time I boarded my flight from Orlando to Reykjavik, Iceland (you cannot fly directly from the US to Greenland, must fly-in… Continue reading 

Surfboard art #15 – The Beginning, the final chapter in this saga known as 15 Surfboards by 15 Shapers. I stood looking down at the board that Bill McLean had just finished glassing and became emotional thinking back to how far this project had come. It didn’t start five years ago with the first surfboard, Firo’s Pipeline. No, it goes back much further. Back to when my father bought me a surfboard at the age of 13 and I fell in love with surfing. Back to when he gifted me my first camera, an amphibious Nikonis III, for graduating a… Continue reading 

It was not an easy day. It was a long, at times cold, other time scary and constantly challenging day. Furthermore there was no reason to put myself through this ordeal. After all I was skipping out on my responsibilities of work, you know the kind that puts food on one’s table and furthers a career. Instead I was working on self-indulging my physical and mental senses, not to mention copping an adrenaline rush. The payoff? A day of rejuvenation, of feeling alive, and maybe a bit of creative reward. The alarm sounded at 6 a.m. A check of the… Continue reading 

I’m not sure if I should refer to the hand shaper of board #14 in the 15 Surfboards by 15 Shapers project by his name, Jim Phillips, or his alter ego, ‘The Genius.’ In actuality there is little that differentiates the two personas, though I do believe there is a transformation that happens when a piece of wood or foam is placed in Jim’s hands. It is at that time that one witnesses a true genius at work. Prior to meeting and working with Jim I asked the previous shapers in the project to suggest a top shaper/craftsman from Southern… Continue reading 

When a second B.A.T. surfboard was shaped by Brian Tudor and adorned with the #2 of 8 “Down The Line” print I envisioned it being ridden by a skilled surfer that I could photograph to showcase the ‘functional art’ aspect of my Surfboard Art Project (SArtP). The pictures could then be used to promote the functionality and aesthetic beauty of a hand crafted surfboard with an in-layed original photographic print. What I did not foresee was donating it to charity. An astute intern at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) came across one of the boards from the SArtP while… Continue reading 

Photographic panels

The City of Boynton Beach, Florida put out a call to artists for an Art in Public Places project. Nine six foot by six foot cement slabs are offered to place art in outdoor public locations. Once a year artist compete for the spaces and money that is given by the city for a year’s lease of the art work.