Drove through a little snow at Oklahoma Texas border yesterday. Am in Amarillo this morning, will drive up into the mountains to Sante Fe later and be there this afternoon. I love this landscape and began to relax as soon as we crossed from Arkansas into the Native American lands of the West. Why do i continue to live in the claustrophobic eastern US?

Next stop Sante Fe.

Mary, Sandy (the dog) and i are in D.C. today. We arrived 1am thursday morning and spent a fun and festive

Christmas eve and day with M.'s brother Kip, his wife Donna, their children, Garret and Catherine and dog, Cocoa, (a playmate and antagonist for Sandy).

Early tomorrow we head southwest and hope to be in Sante Fe wednesday the 30th of December, where we'll stay for New Years eve. On the road again!

Lead soldiers as painted objects.

As a young paperboy i noticed a store-front that a retired dentist had turned into a studio for the manufacturing of lead soldiers. i peered through the frosted plate windows and hung around the doorway until the man finally let me in to watch.

He started with wire armatures which he coated which wax, and into which he carved the details of the figure. From these wax models he then made latex molds. Into these molds he poured molten lead. He then painted these grey cast figures with brilliant enamel paints. To my young eyes these were the most beautiful icons i'd ever seen. Lining the shelves of this dusty little wooden room were true art objects, all in bright shining color marching into glory right across the street from the boring grey grammar school i dreaded.

All john murray Classes weeks of December 7 and 14, 2009.

Please bring materials for a paper mache object or painting.

Another material that you may want to consider using as a structural base is a can of expanding insulation foam.

This will be the final project for the term, and both painters and sculptors should try and push into new ground

on this one.

Thank you for your excellent work this year. -john