Saturday, November 3, 2007

Chasing Rainbows

PONIES, HORSES, DONKEYS AND MORE!

“Sweet Dreams,” is a finalist in the 2008 NICHE Awards competition in the Recycled category! Niche received more than 1,100 entries this year, and it is truly an honor to be selected as a finalist.



THESE WORKS OF ART ARE A COMBINATION OF FORGED ELEMENTS WITH FOUND OBJECTS.
I REFER TO THE CREATIVE PROCESS UTILIZED TO MAKE THESE AS "ABSTRACT ANATOMY STUDIES".
ENJOY!

"SWEET DREAMS" STANDS 24" HIGH

Hand Forged Black Beauties!

Kalamazoo's First Cool Cities Winner!

2003 COOL CITIES WINNER!
SMARTSHOP IS PROUDLY LOCATED ON THE NORTHSIDE OF KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN...SMARTSHOP HOUSES AN ART GALLERY, A METALWORKING SCHOOL AND A SCULPTURE GARDEN. ENJOY, PURCHASE AND LEARN HOW TO MAKE METAL WORK! CLASSES ARE OFFERED IN WELDING, BLACKSMITHING, CAST ALUMINUM, BRONZE AND IRON! find out more at www.smartshopkalamazoo.com

GOVERNOR GRANHOLM'S COOL CITIES INTIATIVE MAKES LIFE BETTER FOR EVERYONE!
Kalamazoo County is already benefiting from Michigan’s Cool Cities Initiative grants program for economic development and more jobs, which was introduced in 2003. Cool Cities are places where talented and imaginative individuals find places to work and to enjoy the benefits of rich cultural, social and recreational opportunities. Kalamazoo has an abundance of these ingredients that are already combining for an outstanding lifestyle. Community leaders and business owners agree on the importance of attracting and encouraging young adults to reside, work, shop and help create the Cool City in which they live.


516 East North Street After Renovation


516 East North Street BEFORE Renovation

THE PEOPLE I LOVE BEST!

To labor is to pray.  ~Motto of the Benedictines


A lot of what passes for depression these days is nothing more than a body saying that it needs work.  ~Geoffrey Norman

God sells us all things at the price of labor.  ~Leonardo da Vinci

Work isn't to make money; you work to justify life.  ~Marc Chagall


It is necessary to work, if not from inclination, at least from despair.  Everything considered, work is less boring than amusing oneself.  ~Charles Baudelaire


When I work I relax; doing nothing or entertaining visitors makes me tired.  ~Pablo Picasso


There are moments when art attains almost to the dignity of manual labor.  ~Author Unknown

People love chopping wood.  In this activity one immediately sees results.  ~Albert Einstein

As a cure for worrying, work is better than whiskey.  ~Thomas A. Edison


Sweat silently.  Let's have no squawking about a little expenditure of energy.  ~Martin H. Fischer


It is better to wear out than to rust out.  ~Richard Cumberland


Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it.  ~Lord Acton

Thank God every morning when you get up, that you have something to do that day which must be done, whether you like it or not.  Being forced to work and forced to do your best will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle never know.  ~Charles Kingsley

”When people honor each other, there is a trust established that leads to synergy, interdependence, and deep respect. Both parties make decisions and choices based on what is right, what is best, what is valued most highly.” --Blaine Lee

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will themselves not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.
Daniel Burnham

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.
Thomas Jefferson

My ability to concentrate and work toward that goal has been my greatest asset.
Jack Nicklaus


He has achieved success who has worked well, laughed often, and loved much.
Elbert Hubbard

People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society.
Vincent T Lombardi

Our forbears worked hard this difficult land, and their reward was the freedom and independence of self-sufficiency.
James H Douglas

A job is something we do to get a pay cheque and pay our bills. Jobs are legitimate, at times, but work is why we are here in the universe.
Matthew Fox