the camp site, originally uploaded by bbmarie.

We just got back yesterday after a week end camping trip. We all rode bikes with the two littlest in a Burly trailer. We camped at Wabisis Lake which is about 28 miles from down town Grand Rapids. We were not aware of all the hills we would encounter on our choosen route. At one point when we were just about half way Brenda who was pulling a caboose bike with Dove doing her best to help with the peddeling pulled off to the side of the road on one particularly difficult long climb up hill and sat down and wept hard for a long time. At about this time I was wondering what I had been thinking when I came up with this idea to go camping on our bikes. Eventually Brenda wept her self clean and we continued on our way.

We made it to the camp ground after about six hours. Our journey was a difficult adventure we all were in together. When we finnaly set up our camp it was a great relief to just be there but also in the back of every body’s mind was the trip home awaiting us.

Soon after we arrived a couple of guys came in to the site right next to ours who at first seemed rough and even a little scary….a rebel flag, no shirts, tatoos and plenty of cussing. As is turned out Terry and Danny were very cool and generous. As I got to know them it turned out they were really into music and on Saturday night they managed to burrow a guitar from the chirstian college kids up the way and we were able to make some music together.

Our last night on Saturday about 3:45 AM half of us woke up in our tent to evil moskitos doing there best to bring us over into the pit of hell’s deepest torments when a fit broke out in the camp close enough to here the fists smaking into flesh. There were lots of wicked words and threats exchanged and it sounded awful but at the same time it seemed like we were watching a Will Farrow movie with the just the sound and now picture. The fight provided a wierd distraction from the fact that we were not sleeping, feeling misirable and had a long, long, long bike trip home early that morning to look forward to.

We did get through that night and some even managed to fall back to sleep for a little while. Brenda discovered a different route home which included a long and beautiful bike trail along the Rogue river which saved us from those killer hills we endured on the way there. We even had breakfast in a cool little resteraunt in Rockford at the start of the bike trail.

When we finnaly returened home every one sort of collapsed into rest and a slack dullness for the next several hours. We did manage our homade pizza that night with a double batch of vinilla ice cream filled with big chunks of dark chocolate. We were home and we had done what we set out to do. Thank you God and now help us pay these bills that await there time in the wicker file.

Backyard Garden 7/12/08, originally uploaded by bbmarie.

The bacyard garden has taken on even more importance to our family this year as we have done what we can to actually eat what we grow and reduce our dependency on the grocery store. We are still a long way from total self suffeciency but we are on that journey and our quest becomes even more focused as we watch our nation slip further every day over the cliff of too much consuming and driving and too little creating and saving. Our culture has gone too far away from all that really matters. Read the artical headlines of any of the leading magazines targeting the ladies while you wait to check out with your grocries and see what we are thinking about as a nation…..”sexy tips to turn him on”, “eat what you want and still loose weight”, “new ways to decorate with thrift store finds”…. What in the hell are we thinking and what will any of this matter when we go to the grocery store to stock up and find it closed or go to gas up and find the pumps finaly dry ?

Yes I have been reading Howard Kunstler and it has left me sober, edgey but hopeful. I feel like the life Brenda and I have been living for the past 20 odd years makes more sense now than ever. We have always lived on a wing and a prayer. We have been digging through dumpsters and planting gardens off and on our entire married adventure and now as the storm clouds darken over the “american dream” Brenda pours over her new book on wild foraging as I slowly add to the wood pile and go back to memorizing scripture verses.

Solid Geometry, originally uploaded by bbmarie.

Tomorrow night we are playing our show with John Rybicki at the Literary Life Book Store at the corner of Wealthy and Eastern streets at 6:30 - 9:00. This will be the second time that Solid Geometry has shared the stage with Mr Rybicki. His poetry is visonary and robust. He will be reading from his new book We Bed Down Into Water. John’s wife Julie, my sister inlaw died of cancer this past April and the wound of this great loss is still to fresh to have words but tomorrow night we will find words, melody and rythms to celibrate all that is good in life and that which must continue. The seed has gone into the ground and now pushing up against the stubborn soil. See you there.

view of down town GR, originally uploaded by bbmarie.

This painting was done for Calvin College as a commission. I really enjoyed doing this piece as it is coming out of a long study of this particular view. I think every time I paint the city I love it a little bit more. I can’t help but wonder what GR wants to grow into and how can I be apart of it?

The painting does not represent what is there in an exact way. Things got pushed around and exaggerated. I did use my camera on this one along with a ton of drawings and a oil sketch to create the image. If anyone out there is thinking of commissioning a painting don’t put it off, contact me and lets talk. I love a good commission because it takes me beyond my own little world.

facoty girl twins blue and gold, originally uploaded by bbmarie.

I created this little print at the farmers market down the street. I have been at the market the last two fridays and have really enjoyed the experience. There is a great vibe there among farmers and few crafter/artists tossed in. I end up having a lot of interaction with some of the people who pass through. I have a chance to reconnect with friends some of whom I’ve not seen for a long time. Also, it seems that I have some kind of different sort of creative energy that I tap into in a context like the market where it feels some what like performance. It is as if I get a special boost with people around watching that lets me do things I wouldn’t alone in my studio. It is also good to be able to let my art connect with people that would not other wise see it. I believe some thing mystical happens when people encounter art work that comes out of a life that is connected with God in a potent way.

*Typewriter Blossom, originally uploaded by bbmarie.

I learned how to type while in high school. I had a typing class. I never seemed to do very well in that class but I did learn the basic method of typing with all my fingers while looking elsewhere. This was probably one of the only real practical skills I graduated with that came as a result of that entire silly academic experience.

I find myself writing every day. I begin the morning writing three pages in a college ruled spiral bound notebook with a sharp pencil or ball point pen. I write a page and a half with my left hand and the next page and a half with my write hand. When the note book is full I toss it into the recycle bin and begin a new one the next day. I picked this ritual up out of the Artist Way book by Julia Cameron. I do it because it helps the flow of my creativity. I am not sure how it works but it does.

I am working on writing new songs lately. We have begun working on a new CD and it has motivate be to create new material. We have our next gig at the Literary Life Book Store on the corner of Eastern and Wealthy Streets. We are doing a concert along with John Rybicki who will be reading poems from his new book, We Bed Down in Water. This all happens July 11, Friday night 6:30-9:00. John is my brother in law and has long been an inspiration for me to keep writing.

solid geometry, originally uploaded by bbmarie.

We are playing a VIP party in Saugatuck at the Bruce Baughman Gallery this Saturday night during the Water Front Film Festival. I hope to have fun with my friends making music and wearing good outfits. Directors, actors and just who ever.

pray for each other, originally uploaded by bbmarie.

This is a painting I did for Discipleship Journal that will be used as a cover. Praying is something we do a lot of around here. We live a life that is impossible with out constant divine intervention. God has made it this way. Either he is in the center of it or it all tumbles down. Living like this can be scary as hell. Living dependent on God is also liberating because it cuts you free from the dominant world culture and it’s toxic systems.

I really enjoyed making this painting and had help from Rose and Pearl and their friend Rose Shaw. They posed for photos that I used for reference. I decided to turn one figure into a male to make it more interesting. I still think painting is a form of prayer.

Late spring garden, originally uploaded by bbmarie.

Our garden is underway. We are eating lettuce regularly out of the back yard now. Soon we will have kale to harvest. We are planting new lettuce every few weeks to make sure we always have some ready to pick. It is so satisfying to have food for the table coming out of our own yard.

We harvested our first rabbit last week and made a stew which was very tasty. The killing of the rabbit was very difficult for me. I do not look forward to the next one but it was important to go through with it. I have wanted to develop a greater connection with our food and there is nothing like killing a rabbit for the pot to make things real.

kerouac460, originally uploaded by bbmarie.

I have been reading Kerouac. I haven’t spent time with his work since I read On The Road back in ‘83 while I did my laundry in Grand Rapids. That book at that time was like getting hit by lighting. I have always been a little afraid of Kerouac and his friends because of the wild abandon it could possibly send off in me. Maybe at 48 I feel like my life has enough ballast to handle some crazy beatnik energy, some transcendence, some hard hitting all of life embracing, full tilt going at it.

I got a CD of current actors and artists and writers reading his poetry with music and various sound textures underneath. I love this CD and the way the words and images come alive along with the layers of sound working with it.