transition

like walking on water

like walking on water
in brilliant sunlight
frozen snow
in the woods
by noon
the spell
was fading

ok,
so what do
you guys want?
he said to the trees
they
after having
putting up with him
amused at times
for a while now

since last they had spoken
together the trees
had decided what
they had decided

like walking on water
frozen snow in the woods
by noon the spell
has passed

the dress rehearsal
like rearranging the furniture
with silver grey and snow
sweet glistening wood
under a clear blue sky
laughing

we had some fun at
the end of the day
the last tree hung up
I took a line up with a ladder
and pulled it over

like walking on water
frozen snow in the woods
by noon the spell
had passed

into another tree
did I mention that  then
I got one saw pinched
so I had to go get the
" O'eight S" and cut it out
man
talk about an over-weight saw

by the light of
a crescent moon
I feel your pain
at the base
of my spine
and remember
what once was
was once
new

like walking on water
frozen snow in the woods
by dark the spell
had resumed
as
painting

spring

a whisky moon

has lurched into

the gloom

the season's snow

thunders off 

the metal slopes

as spring displays

an angry face

sunshine at zero

one of the three maples

from my island

is split and stacked

after being

so hung up

that the tractor 

couldn't pull it over

so I dragged the butt
off the stump
and down the frozen lane

the ply-wood remembers 

being alive and growing tall

remembers the warmth of 

spring sunshine when

it was small

I see you 

in passing

and revise your image 

in the book-matched veneer

through my eyes

in the windy 

spring moonlight

where 

in the tree-tops 

there is singing 

as the sap is drawn

skyward

into the

dawn

I found the 

table saw 

and

planer, and router 

and

air tools  

and some Ash

from amongst the Maples

who wanted to

come into

the house

to hang out

as the woodenboat

catalogue

so eventually 

some of the 

neighbourhood wood

might sail amongst whales

...another vain attempt at defining art

as "inspiration"and "art"

 share an orbit.... 

Inspiration:

 breathing 

    involuntary

      essential to life

painting to dissolve 

into the interconnectedness of all things

through the eyes of others.

the box grand piano 

that stands outside my back door

as a giant gargoyle because

it was beyond repair and 

that was as far as 

I chose to move it that day

has taken on a new function

Part of the living lightly is

in dancing with the forces of nature

the canoe that I built becomes a familiar 

standard of comparison

The steady motion of the sailboat 

that caught my eye

The angle of the piano 

while splitting the prevailing westerlies

increases the velocity of the wind

which clears the snow from the 

up-wind side of the base

so, what looks like an 

inert obstruction 

or art 

is in effect, 

shovelling snow.... 

so by definition, 

it is not art

thanks to the tractors.... a toast

fresh snow in a glass
to celebrate the distillers art
fresh snow to reflect sunlight
into the house to enable the
interaction of sensation of reflection
that we call seeing
to blanket the forest floor from freezing so
spring can prepare back-stage
Thanks to all the friends and neighbours 
busily, silently capturing and storing
with-out fanfare or fatigue  
the radiant heat of the sun
that comforts my bones

The house is a reflection of values passed down and
observation in that light from childhood
As my friend Nat says, design is compromise.
as Frank LLoyd Wright says, form follows function

the requirements for the studio/ house, as seen from the perspective of a 25 year-old aspiring carpenter,
and painter with a degree in art history were specific .. Modular, passive solar with the
heating requirements compromised by the need for a high ceiling  and  north-light in the studio.
Maple forest provides heat and sunlight in winter and the cool shade of summer.
The integrity of the envelope re.  site appropriate materials, heavy insulation, convection air circulation
and mechanical concentration were priorities. Prevailing winds were taken in to consideration.
Aesthetics were achieved by balancing modular efficiencies with site requirements through symmetry
and a combination of  timber and balloon-framing. 

Frozen clothes 

at twenty below

become animated

as the wind picks up

The wood stove groans

but knows of the thaw

blowing in from 

beyond the horizon

finally February has come and gone

The whole back room 

has been a 

refrigerator 

for months 

so

the beer's 

cold

but the potatoes 

froze

 I lit the stove 

out in the shop and

low and behold

I found the 

table saw

and my choice of 

freshly 

sharpened

carbid tipped 

blades

Snow shoes 

hang on a post 

near the door

firewood stacked 

behind the stove

so I paint

another 

plywood portrait