Footprints in Time

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ 07848
973-383-6057

Confucius said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".

Shoes...they take us everywhere and they identify who we are...a worker, a ballerina, a princess. These reliable old friends carry us through our daily routine, a momentous event, or an exciting adventure. The styles of these "works of art" reveal if we are practical. fanciful, trendy or chic. Their design tells us about the times in which they've walked to destinations of joy, sorrow or discovery...all without fuss. Oh, the tales they could tell!

Reality, with An Abstract Twist

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ 07848

973-383-6057

Richard Kapral's paintings are like New Year's Day...everyday, all year long. Ordinary subjects are seen with a fresh eye. The colors are alive. The compositions are quirky and, no matter how many times I study them, I always find a surprise that makes the painting new, all over again.

For example, "Windowledge" (pictured) is a "view" for the viewer. The outside world lies on the other side. We must look through. The landscape sometimes seems somber. At other times...dramatic, as if a storm is moving in, while we are safe inside, looking out. In certain light, the painting is playful and all about the friendly objects inside, with peaches rolling along the bottom edge, about to fall off.

I guess Richard's paintings are like life itself...reality at the whim of perception. It's all in the way we look at things.

Lasting Impressions

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ

973-383-6057

It's no wonder we have such a crush on old wooden foundry patterns. They are strong and graphic, without pretense. Skillfully crafted years ago by incredibly talented carpenters, they were the precise form to be cast in steel. Pressed into a sand/cement mixture, then removed, they left a void to be filled with molten metal.

Stored for years in the lofts of old factories, they are now being rediscovered as genuine articles of American Art.

These patterns, once again, are leaving a lasting impression...this time on the viewer. Used as wall art, sculpture or as part of a deconstruction, they embody a hard-working, rough and ready attitude and remind us of how resourceful we can be.

Deconstruction

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ 07848

973-383-6057

My creative friend Barbara, who can envision and construct just about anything, stopped by the shop the other day. She needed a coat rack. Twenty minutes later, she was motoring away with a few odd bits and pieces...an old iron mannequin base, a wooden foundry pattern and a handful of zinc hooks.

The next day...there it was...a quirky work of art!

Constructing useful furnishings out of old stuff, repurposed, is a trend afoot that gives new life to the mundane. It's thrifty and clever and makes the viewer smile. The endeavor challenges one's ingenuity. The result is always "one-of-a-kind."

Coat Rack - Barbara Stanek 2010

Global Interest

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ

973-383-6057

World globes...As a schoolgirl, I remember my first encounter with them as a proud moment. Having such a grown-up navigational tool in our classroom could only mean one thing...we had arrived.

There were the crisp, efficient lines of longitude and latitude that always let you know exactly where you stand. And crazy-shaped continents, vast oceans and wiggly rivers that, together, promised a lifetime of exploration. And the colors...azure blue, viridian green, mountain brown, surely confirming our status in the solar system as the "prettiest" planet.

These old globes remind me of the world as it used to be. They provide an interesting, nostalgic and studious artifact to any environment. Now, when I look at them, I find the ever-shifting borders and renaming of countries fascinating. It reminds me that change is always on the horizon.

Carpenter's Tools

Carpenter's Tools

Bogwater Jim
Lafayette, NJ 07848

973-383-6057

As simple carpenter's tools get more colorful, more clean-edged, more slick...the more I like the old ones. There are brass-hinged wooden rulers with their numbers nearly worn off and mahogany-handled squares inlaid with brass designs, along with chunky, old handsaws that seem too sweet to ever threaten a piece of wood.

Arranged in haphazard or organized fashion, these manly old everyday buddies give you a world of interest at bargain prices.

When you feature these craftsmen-made artifacts, it is easy to see that they are not ordinary at all, but individual, personal and extremely beautiful.