avoid the plague

Avoid the Plague
Rabies and bubonic plague are transmitted by rabbits, bats, ground squirrels, chipmunks, and other rodents. Do not handle any animals. Do not fee any animals.
- Philmont: 1999 Guidebook to Adventure; Chimarron, NM; 1998

2/12/13
saw a crow eating a squirrel in the road. it stood on top of it & pulled @ the flesh w/ it's beak.

what is poetry but the common, made uncommon

from "I Completed the Following Requirements"

On October 15, 1994 I recorded my best in the following tests:

Pushups: 20                        Pullups: 1

Situps: 20                             Standing long jump: 4ft. 0in.

Run/walk 500 yards: 2:10

In October 1994 I presented myself to my leader, properly dressed, before going on an overnight camping trip. I presented the camping gear that I was going to use. I demonstrated the right way to pack and carry this gear.

In October 1994 I spent at least 1 night on a patrol or troop campout. I slept in a tent that I helped pitch on a ground bed that I prepared.

On November 14, 1994 I demonstrated how to display, raise, lower, and fold the American flag.

On November 14, 1994 I explained why we use the buddy system in Scouting.

On November 15, 1994 I demonstrated improvement in the activities listed above after practicing for 30 days. I recorded my best in the following tests:

Pushups: 28                        Pullups: 2

Situps: 30                             Standing long jump: 4ft. 4in.

Run/walk 500 yards: 2:01

On November 15, 1994 I demonstrated the Heimlich maneuver and told when it is used.

In November 1994 I demonstrated how to whip and fuse the ends of a rope.

In November 1994 I repeated from memory and explained in my own words the Scout Oath, Law, motto, and slogan.

In November 1994 I knew my patrol name, gave the patrol yell, and described my patrol flag.

On July 7, 1995 I demonstrated tying two half hitches and a tautline hitch by using these knots to pitch a tent.

On July 7, 1995 I demonstrated the rules of safe hiking, both on the highway and cross-country, during the day and at night. I explained what to do if I were lost.

On August 15, 1995 I identified local poisonous plants; and told how to treat for exposure to them.

On August 15, 1995 I displayed first aid for the following:

·         Simple cuts and scratches

·         Blisters on the hand and foot

·         Minor burns and scalds

·         Bites and stings of insects and ticks

·         Poisonous snakebite

·         Nosebleed

On August 15, 1995 I participated in a Scoutmaster conference.

On September 15, 1995 I completed my board of review for the rank of Tenderfoot.

BSA Art

My mom has often told me that at a young age she and my dad realized that I was into art. Her friends told her that if I was into art that she needed to get me into scouting. I do attribute a decent amount of my development and interest in arts to Boy Scouts, but not in the institutional structure. I liked walking around campgrounds and councils, alone; discovering animals; watching sunsets; fantasizing about ghosts, monsters, psychopaths, and ufo's in the dark; and finding odd natural and man-made stuff (trash, dams, trees growing around nails and fences, odd seeds, etc). I was also obsessed with the (quasi-military) insignia and iconography. I collected (and still own) as many pins and patches as I could. I was interested in what those characterized images symbolized, and the beautiful aesthetic that went with them. They stood for so much, not just some requirements that were fulfilled, but a set of moral and social codes - most of them were often romantic in their yearning for a more simple and righteous time. I never made it to the rank of Eagle (I only finished the rank of Star, two short of Eagle) because that wasn't important to me. I wanted to explore and create the world, and not file my ideas into another pre-determined system.

Some of the things I did in the BSA seem interesting to look at now. Least to investigate the problematic Leatherwork and Indian Lore merit badges, below are the 2011 requirements to get the Boy Scouts of America's Art Merit Badge. (And it's still crazy how easy Basketry is compared to other badges.) I don't understand how this represents how art is currently practiced or taught at all.

1. Tell a story with a picture or pictures or using a 3-D rendering.
2. Do ONE of the following.
   1. Design something useful. Make a sketch or model of your design and get your counselor's approval before you proceed. Then create a promotional piece for the item using a picture or pictures.
   2. Design a logo. Share your design with your counselor and explain the significance of your logo. Then, with your parent's permission and your counselor's approval, put your logo on Scout equipment, furniture, ceramics, or fabric.
3. Render a subject of your choice in FOUR of these ways:
   1. Pen and ink,
   2. Watercolors,
   3. Pencil,
   4. Pastels,
   5. Oil paints,
   6. Tempera,
   7. Acrylics,
   8. Charcoal
   9. Computer drawing or painting
4. With your parent's permission and your counselor's approval, visit a museum, art exhibit, art gallery, artists' co-op, or artist's workshop. Find out about the art displayed or created there. Discuss what you learn with your counselor.
5. Find out about three career opportunities in art. Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you.

These investigations often lead me to consider what things could be making/doing now if I had gone to a progressive school in a city - or even an after school program like Gallery 37 or Spiral Workshop. (Even-though I did attend the art summer camp at Eastern Illinois University for two years in high school - even in its flaws I am very grateful for it.) In the end, it seems like I should not focus on what I could have been or done if I had had a better early arts education, but what I can do with what I have.

 a gate I made for our campground at a summer camp in Kentucky, 1996

owl and mirror

I built an owl today; from the Owl Puzzle that I bought yesterday. I spray painted a different color on each side of the 4 sheets of balsa wood before I popped the pieces out. The construction was a little more complicated than I expected; mostly because the instructions, diagrams, and photo were vague.

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY
1. First, carefully push out each piece from the wood board.
2. Before assembly, use the enclosed sandpaper to smooth all rough edges.
3. Get [sic] general idea of where each part goes by referring to the front photograph and the diagram below.
4. Put all parts together by following the right order of numbers shown on the diagram. Join pices by interlocking the exact two areas together that have the same number (1 to 1, 2 to 2, 3 to 3, and so on).
5. Glue can be used to assemble kit permanently. Glue is not included.
6. Before or after assembly, stain, varnish or paint can be applied on the wood according to personal choice in color and design.
7. String included for sails. After assembly of boat, lace string through holes noted by number in black circle (give example of number in black circle) on diagram on the right. Start with #1 and lace to #2 then to #3 and so forth. [evidently step 7 is an unedited step for a sail boat puzzle, and is included here by mistake]

With instructional issues aside, the owl has been made. For me, he is a magical owl. Flat pieces of wood that existed only as abstract shapes in the wood boards have been transformed into detailed feathers and body forms. The magic here is three-fold.
Working on this I understand the puzzle in a variety of ways: artistically, as a brainteaser, and as a playful child-like fascination with objects and games (similar to Legos). The latter is a quality of mine that I hopefully will never loose. I often feel like I am my current age (26) and 12 simultaneously. So on one level this puzzle is a game, and fun!
Secondly, through art, the owl addresses culture within it's mystical transformation from raw materials (cheep wood and spray paint) into a signifying object.
In the owl's last move he references a personal history. When I was in Boy Scouts I could sometimes hear owls calling to each other late at night. This only happened when our troop was camping deep in a scout reservation, well away from buildings and lights. Through seclusion and unfamiliarity these places were already mystical in their own right. The owl seemed to be an invisible watcher-protector of the forest. The following is a description of the Barred Owl (Strix varia), the most common owl in Illinois.

"Voice: A loud, barking hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hooo-aw!; a variety of other barking calls and screams.
...
This owl is seen only by those who seek it out in its dark retreat, usually thick grove of trees in lowland forest. There it rests quietly during the day, coming out at night to feet on rodents, birds, frogs, and crayfish. If disturbed, it will fly easily from one grove of trees to another."
-John Bull and John Farrand, Jr. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Eastern Region. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1977. 634-635.

I placed the mirror behind the owl to show his back. This move has led me to some other questions about mirrors that I have been thinking of in other pieces. The following poem speaks to some of my interest in mirrors and mirroring effects as well as the sound of owls communicating across a forest.

Kenneht Koch
Aesthetics of Echo

Echo was............................Us
A nymph who lived in.........Din
Every Cliff..........................If

Owl (cardboard, wood, hot glue, acrylic, spray paint, glitter, sharpie, plastic rhinestones) 65" x 6" x 6" 2008

Some other work with/about owls from my image library:

Joseph Cornell - Untitled (Lighted Owl) (assemblage) c. 1949

Brian Kapernekas - Owl (mortar, pigment, straw, horsehair, twine, wood and nails) 2007

Gabriel Orozco - Owl (photograph) 1993

Roni Horn - Dead Owl (2 iris printed photographs) 1998

Ashley Morgan - Collar Bones (bones from owl pellets and glue)