REVOLUTION: Art in Chainsaw Carving: Art in the Wood
http://revolution.groeschen.com
REVOLUTION: Art in Wood
Kayak Point Eagles
Whidbey Island, Wa
Kayak Point Eagles
Eagles carved in Western Red Cedar, situated near Kayak Point, Puget Sound, Washington. About 15’ tall altogether.
There are quite a few real eagles living in the area, as they were making their voices heard.
Kayak Point Eagles
Eagles carved in Western Red Cedar, situated near Kayak Point, Puget Sound, Washington. About 15’ tall altogether.
There are quite a few real eagles living in the area, as they were making their voices heard.
Year of the Tiger
Arcata, Ca A carving I did January 2010 in Douglas Fir, Two Tigers. 2010 is year of the Tiger.
Kala Mandala
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A Kala Mandala
Materials, Sitka spuce, (from Trinidad, Ca)
Glass made on Whidbey Island, Wa
Stainless Steel
December 21, 2009
Arcata, CA I have been making wheels / discs for awhile, fascinated by it's simplicity, but realizing now they are mandalas. A mandala is any of various geometric designs (usually circular) symbolizing the universe; used primarly in Hinduism and Buddhism as an aid to meditation. One well known mandala is the Kalachakra mandala.
The Kalachakra Mandala
Kalachakra means wheel of time. The Kalachakra system is clearly related to the ancient Vedic tradition in India which existed long before Buddhism appeared.
"The Kalachakra refers to many different traditions, for example the Hindu; Saivite, Samkya, Vaishnava, the Vedas, Upanisads and Puranas traditions, but also Jainism. For example, the Kalachakra mandala includes deities which are equally accepted by Hindus, Jainas and Buddhists."
An Account of the Kalachakra, or Wheel of Time Kalachakra Initiations and the texts are taught by the Dalai Lama
"The entire meaning of the subject matter of the Kalachakra tantra is included within the three Kalachakras, or Wheels of Time: The Outer Wheel of Time, the Inner Wheel of Time, and the Other Wheel of Time. The Outer Wheel of Time is the external world of the environment, and it is also called "The procession of the external solar and lunar days." The Inner Wheel of Time is the human body, that is an inner Jambudvipa, or earth-surface. Likewise, the inner channels, elements, and movements of the winds are set forth as the Inner Wheels of Time. The Other Wheel of Time is the initiations and paths of Shri Kalachakra, together with their results. It is "other" than the preceding two Wheels of Time. The guru ripens the disciple's psycho-physical continuum with the initiations, and the disciple meditates on the path that consists of the generation process and the completion process. In this way the yogi actualizes the resuly the buddha body that is the divine image of emptiness. This is the Other Wheel of Time." www.dalailama.com/teachings/kalachakra-initiations .
A painting done by Rob Shouten, (Dutch / Whidbey Island Artist) commissioned by the Dalai Lama's family.
"H.H. Tenzin Gyatso, portrayed in a moment of study and reflection. The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet continues to inspire many people with his profoundly simple message of kindness and compassion towards all beings. He represents Chenrezig, the thousand armed Buddha of infinite compassion of the Tibetan pantheon, the source from which all comes into being. In this painting this is also symbolized by the multi-armed spiral galaxy." Rob Shouten
The mandala is simple, using glass as the focus of meditation, inserted in the middle of wood. I also carved it at a time I received a name from a living saint, Ammachi, last June. Kala. It was translated to me by the Swamiji as meaning " Art. Fine arts. Alll the arts, the embodiment of art". Another Swamiji said it means "time, it also means beyond time, beautiful, perfect one." I was simply blown away by the spiritual name as Amma had no idea I had carved on her sacred seat, or I am an artist / woodcarver. Her omnisciences was proven to me.
Ammachi
I was asked to do some carving on Ammachi's pithum. A pithum or peethum is the spiritual holy seat used by spiritual leaders in India to give talks on or singing.
Creating elephants.
The spiritual seat.
Being able to carve on the seat was a wonderful experience, indescribable. Jai Ma!
SAVED
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May 24, 2009,
Whidbey Island, WA Pictures of a couple saved tree remnants turned into wood sculpture.
In Snohomish, Washington. (R) Doug Fir lost its top to lines slicing the sky.
It's Nick, cool neighbor kid with Eagle and the Snohomish River Salmon School.
IN FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON LAST JUNE
Western Red Cedar
Two salmon in Western Red Cedar.
Birth of a Universe, One Drop at a Time
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May 16, 2009
Arcata, CA What is required in creating a universe? All it takes is wood, a chainsaw and some paint. Right? Well, that’s how it’s done in my universe. On a serious note, my wood creation led me on a unique and inspiring journey conceptualizing the birth of the universe in infinite space with multi universes. A birth of a universe from a mother universe.
As someone who is a lover of forests and art, I was intrigued by the December 31, 2005 windstorm that affected the Northern Humboldt coastal region, especially hard hit Trinidad. The place was devastated by the wind, trees yanked out of the ground and strewn about crisscrossing each other on the ground.
On the first tree I was able to get to in the tangled mess with a mill attached to a chainsaw I created some wood slabs out of the Sitka spruce. My thought was to make a simple disc, nothing ornate but a circle from the fresh plank. It would be a simple statement, a great way to display the beauty of the wood. But I felt it needed more joie de vive. In its center, I created a single drop. Like a raindrop, just one. It gave the disc a reason for being, a new dimension, it added excitement to the disc sculpture. I called this art creation One Drop.
Metaphorically, the term one drop has many connotations, for example there is the one-drop Zen Buddhism monastery, one-drop reggae, the one-drop Zen foundation and the one-drop rule in American history. The concept of one drop is multi dimensional. However at this time, the theory for a birth of a universe, one drop at a time in a multi-verse universe did not cross my conscious mind. I didn't think about it.
Metaphorically, the term one drop has many connotations, for example there is the one-drop Zen Buddhism monastery, one-drop reggae, the one-drop Zen foundation and the one-drop rule in American history. The concept of one drop is multi dimensional. However at this time, the theory for a birth of a universe, one drop at a time in a multi-verse universe did not cross my conscious mind. I didn't think about it.
In December of 2008, I was gazing at a Discover magazine, holding my attention was diagram of the birth of the universe. As I was gazing at it, I realized, a baby universe is created virtually in one drop. It triggered the memory of my wood sculpture of One Drop, whereas in my sculpture I had inserted the drop in the center of the disc vertically. But if I were to rotate the disc into a horizontal position then the drop would fall from the center due to gravity, like a raindrop. It would essentially be similar in concept as the diagram. In three dimensional terms I understood. It seems so simple.
Cosmologist Andrei Linde said “Our universe could thus be the result of an inflationary bubble that formed in a re-existing universe - - an arena better described as a metaverse.”
Einstein’s general theory of relativity “objects with extremely large mass or high density stretch the fabric of space-time. Find something whose density approaches infinity - -a black hole, for example—and that stretch can become a tear. This tear in space-time is better known as a wormhole, could in theory serve as a shortcut to a distant part of the universe. In 1980 an idea proposed by Stephen Hawkings expanding on Einstein’s idea, “it could also lead out of our cosmos altogether, creating a “baby universe” that would then expand and grow, forming its own self-contained branch of space-time. (Lemonick)
The general idea accepted about the beginning of the universe is the big bang. Is this possible to do in a lab? Play God? Recreate a universe? People are toying with the particle accelerators, such as Nobuyuki Sakai and his colleagues at Yamagata University in Japan. They have discovered how to use a particle accelerator to create a whole new universe in theory. To create another cosmos with the big bang theory, Linde says, “Could you concentrate enough energy to set off a mini big bang?” And the answer is no according to the theoretical physicists. “All of the particles that you would create in such a process would have their own gravity, pulling them together. So, instead of creating a baby universe in the lab you would just create a black hole.
Then the idea of inflation theory developed by Alan Guth of MIT, Linde modified his idea, and “relying on the fact the “vacuum” of empty space time is not a boring, static place Instead, it is subject to quantum fluctuations that cause strange bubbles to appear at random times. These bubbles of false vacuums contain space-time with different and very curious properties.” (Merali)
A baby universe is born. A new universe sprouts from its parent, the inflationary multiverse. The inflationary theory is the very early stages of the evolution of other universes. Stanford physicist Leonard Susskind “believes the anthropic principle, the multiverse, and string theory are converging to produce a coherent, if exceedingly strange, new view in which our universe is just one of a multitude.” (Folger) So our universe could just be the result of a big bubble that formed in a pre-existing universe. Princeton astrophysicist J. Richard Gott says, “In a timeless mulitverse, in fact, a baby cosmos could beget a baby that would beget a baby that might ultimately give birth to the universe that started it all. It’s quite possible, that the universe could end up being its own great-grandmother.” (Lemonick)
Artistically, I created a single drop in a piece of wood as a metaphoric analysis for explaining many things, but I ended up learning from my own creation, my conscious mind melding with my subconscious in a deeper understanding of the birth of a universe.
BIRTH OF A UNIVERSE
WARP IN SPACE-TIME occurs within our universe, in a location where a lot of mass is concentrated
OUR UNIVERSE
FALSE VACUUM BUBBLE
A COSMIC DROP forms as the warp expands, creating a passage from one region to the next in the form of a wormhole.
IN THE CENTER OF DROP IS THE WORMHOLE, GROWING INTO THE FALSE VACUUM BUBBLE
NEW UNIVERSE results when the wormhole closes up, leaving almost no trace as the drop expands into a baby universe of its own.
BABY UNIVERSE IN A DROP
REFERENCES
Michael D. Lemonick (2000) Will We Discover Another Universe? Time
Retrieved April 25, 2009 from www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,996608,00.html
Zeeya Merali, 10 July 2006, Magazine issue 2559
Create your own universe. New Scientist
Tim Folger, December 2008, A Universe Built For Us, Discover
Cosmologist Andrei Linde said “Our universe could thus be the result of an inflationary bubble that formed in a re-existing universe - - an arena better described as a metaverse.”
Einstein’s general theory of relativity “objects with extremely large mass or high density stretch the fabric of space-time. Find something whose density approaches infinity - -a black hole, for example—and that stretch can become a tear. This tear in space-time is better known as a wormhole, could in theory serve as a shortcut to a distant part of the universe. In 1980 an idea proposed by Stephen Hawkings expanding on Einstein’s idea, “it could also lead out of our cosmos altogether, creating a “baby universe” that would then expand and grow, forming its own self-contained branch of space-time. (Lemonick)
The general idea accepted about the beginning of the universe is the big bang. Is this possible to do in a lab? Play God? Recreate a universe? People are toying with the particle accelerators, such as Nobuyuki Sakai and his colleagues at Yamagata University in Japan. They have discovered how to use a particle accelerator to create a whole new universe in theory. To create another cosmos with the big bang theory, Linde says, “Could you concentrate enough energy to set off a mini big bang?” And the answer is no according to the theoretical physicists. “All of the particles that you would create in such a process would have their own gravity, pulling them together. So, instead of creating a baby universe in the lab you would just create a black hole.
Then the idea of inflation theory developed by Alan Guth of MIT, Linde modified his idea, and “relying on the fact the “vacuum” of empty space time is not a boring, static place Instead, it is subject to quantum fluctuations that cause strange bubbles to appear at random times. These bubbles of false vacuums contain space-time with different and very curious properties.” (Merali)
A baby universe is born. A new universe sprouts from its parent, the inflationary multiverse. The inflationary theory is the very early stages of the evolution of other universes. Stanford physicist Leonard Susskind “believes the anthropic principle, the multiverse, and string theory are converging to produce a coherent, if exceedingly strange, new view in which our universe is just one of a multitude.” (Folger) So our universe could just be the result of a big bubble that formed in a pre-existing universe. Princeton astrophysicist J. Richard Gott says, “In a timeless mulitverse, in fact, a baby cosmos could beget a baby that would beget a baby that might ultimately give birth to the universe that started it all. It’s quite possible, that the universe could end up being its own great-grandmother.” (Lemonick)
Artistically, I created a single drop in a piece of wood as a metaphoric analysis for explaining many things, but I ended up learning from my own creation, my conscious mind melding with my subconscious in a deeper understanding of the birth of a universe.
BIRTH OF A UNIVERSE
WARP IN SPACE-TIME occurs within our universe, in a location where a lot of mass is concentrated
OUR UNIVERSE
FALSE VACUUM BUBBLEA COSMIC DROP forms as the warp expands, creating a passage from one region to the next in the form of a wormhole.
IN THE CENTER OF DROP IS THE WORMHOLE, GROWING INTO THE FALSE VACUUM BUBBLENEW UNIVERSE results when the wormhole closes up, leaving almost no trace as the drop expands into a baby universe of its own.
BABY UNIVERSE IN A DROPREFERENCES
Michael D. Lemonick (2000) Will We Discover Another Universe? Time
Retrieved April 25, 2009 from www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,996608,00.html
Zeeya Merali, 10 July 2006, Magazine issue 2559
Create your own universe. New Scientist
Tim Folger, December 2008, A Universe Built For Us, Discover
Columns and Supports
www.groeschen.com
March 15, 2009
Arcata, CA COLUMNS and SUPPORTS, the latest finished project... 32 columns plus 64 supports for a very unique home being built in LA. The columns are not at all corinthian, doric, or ionic, rather my own invention of inspired nature vine wrpage mets art nouveau, inspired by architects, Spain's, Gaudi and Belgium's, Victor Horta. It has been an incredible challenge with tool break downs, logistics, weather, deadlines, but rather satisfying to harvest wood from the Trinidad blow down, eco wood. 
HAVE A NICE DAY!
BLOW DOWN
SPRUCE I HEART YOU! 
The column moving truck, one by one, sometimes two. Moving the supports was easier, sometimes 7 at a time!
With the barked peeled and wood wizard.
The vernissage
And here are the supports.
Leaves...Cones...Trees
Some leaves, cones, trees in the area. The wonders of nature!<< MORE >>
Going back to Amsterdam ... (via Belguim)
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November 8, 2008
Arcata, California A one year anniversary of sorts on the 1st ever Chainsaw Carving Sculpture Championships held in the Netherlands. A photo diary, leading up to it.
A Tin Tin exhibit in Oestend, Belgium
A rad burnt wooden very giant sculpture oustide the train station in Bruges.
Sofie peeping in the peep hole. Art installation created by Valerie, lady on left.
The Rijksmuseum.
Bicycles rule in Amsterdam, and I rode mine to the Van Gogh museum.
Steet artist juggling chainsaw, while eating an apple. Very funny guy.
The flower connection at the tulip museum.
On the the Veluwe park, a moraine created by glaciers. In the middle of the park is a museum, perhaps featuring the best collection of sculpture in Europe. Only way to get to the museum is by white bicycle, located at the entrances. A live video installation of the park, I stepped in front of the camera, resulting in me being in the moraine.
Primitive chainsaw art? at the Veluwe! By A.R. Penck born 1939 in Dresden former East Germany.
On the the Veluwe park, a moraine created by glaciers. In the middle of the park is a museum, perhaps featuring the best collection of sculpture in Europe. Only way to get to the museum is by white bicycle, located at the entrances. A live video installation of the park, I stepped in front of the camera, resulting in me being in the moraine.
Primitive chainsaw art? at the Veluwe! By A.R. Penck born 1939 in Dresden former East Germany.
Getting a start on my carving
My lily bench.
Richard Austin of Wales and his version of CORN and a closeup of CORN
Evaradus Smit,(local carver) is the man! Great kind guy, loaning me saws.
Windmill by Si O' Rourke of England
Quirky carving by IGOR.
I love this carving, and so did the judges, Winner, Gert Eussen from the Netherlands.
Finished Pictures of the Stagecoach Road Totem Pole
Arcata, California These photos taken last year. I finally have some time to post pictures.
Bear and salmon
tracks on up after bear
Also check out article of Charley and Pams house featured in From House to Home, October/November 2008. On the cover, the article titled Dreaming in Green The totem is featured.
Views from the Scaffold: Stagecoach RD. Totem
The tallest I ever worked previously was 20 feet restoring a historic totem pole on Seattle Lake Union.<< MORE >>