Saturday, December 31, 2011

Found Stencil

I saw this on the corner of a building, in downtown Northampton, on Pleasant St.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

In the News

This blog appeared in the local newspaper a few months back. The surprising thing was that the paper never contacted me for permission or to ask about anything. I had no idea until a friend told me on Facebook, and saved the paper for me. There are a few things the paper got wrong in this tiny article: the credits for the pictures are swapped, the poem is by John Bauman, not me, and the poem also has the wrong title. A week later, I got a letter in the mail from the local roller-skating rink. They sent me two free passes because the blog had been in the news, as well as a copy of the article. It was surprising and fun. And strange.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Earring Trees

Guy Constantine made these earring trees to display on them the earrings that he made. I think they are fun. Another fact about them is that they are made from recycled materials. The wire is part of a left-over electrical cable from a friends house-building project.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

On the Path

Walking down the bike path a day or two after the heavy snowstorm, I saw a couple of trees fallen across the path. Someone had carved this into one of them. I took some pictures in the late afternoon. I went back a few days later and the trees had been removed.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Snow Sculptures

A few weeks ago, when the power went out during the heavy October snowstorm, I went downtown and found my friend Guy making snow sculptures. Here's some pictures of them.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Digital Experiment

Art preview with digitally modified poem. By Jim DuBois

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

No Loitering

This is a film I made about driving around Northampton in the 1990s. Starring John Bauman.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Bad Hair Day

Bad hair day,
yet a good day.
Please accept my condolences,
for uh…
whatever it was that happened.
It’s good to be a spectacle,
I mean skeptical.
If I could just get your social security number, please.
We just need it for our scam, I mean our records.


-John Bauman

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Spider

We went up for a swim at a nearby lake, and saw this huge spider. Selena took this picture.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Outdoor Painting

Saw this painting on the wall outside of Thornes Market in Northampton.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Sculpture at the Peace Pagoda

I went up to the Peace Pagoda, in Leverett, MA, with some friends, and there was this sculpture in a field near it. I thought it was interesting, and I have included a picture with the text from a nearby sign.





The Peace Pagoda itself.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Painter on the street

Saw this woman at the main crossroads in Northampton today, painting the view of the Silverscape building and the Calvin.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Gift

I breached your borders
Broke your boundaries
Invaded your country
Burned your villages
Killed your people
Tortured your families
Destroyed your crops
Tortured you
Contaminated your water
Laughed at your resistance
Spoiled your lands
Lied and lied and lied
Even though you knew I was lying
And I knew I was lying
And I knew you knew I was lying
But now I’m tired so I am leaving
And I am leaving you The Power Of Now,
English language edition.


-Dimitri Oram

Monday, June 6, 2011

Free Compliments

I was walking downtown in Northampton the other day and saw these folks. They were giving out free compliments and talking to people. I thought it was fun, so put up these pictures.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Sculptures on the Courthouse Lawn






I've been seeing these great sculptures on the lawn of the county courthouse for a little while now, and decided to take some pictures to share here.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Transition Northampton


I was walking home from town, and saw this structure on the lawn of the Forbes Library. I took some pictures and talked to the people putting it up, and learned that they were with Transition Northampton, which is an organization which aims to promotion sustainability and resilience in the local community. I thought that sounded like a good idea.

Here's a link to their Facebook page.


Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Ben's Paradise Diary - 1



[This one has a lovely zen feeling to me. - Jim]

Introducing: Benjamin Kalish

I think I met Ben at a swing dance, but I had seen him at the library, and over at the bridge street coop many years ago. And by met, I mean actually introduced myself and had a conversation. He is an interesting person, who plays music, dances and works as a librarian. I invited him over to play games a few times, and we had fun. He brought a comic he had made over one time, and I thought it would be nice to post some of it here.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Slack and Slackers, definitions

To slack:
1. to make loose, or less tense or taut, as a rope; loosen.
2. to become less tense or taut, as a rope; to ease off.

Ambition:
1. an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment.

A slacker:
1. a person without ambition.
2. a person who gives up the idea of ambition in order to become less tense or taut, and to make the world less tense.

-

From Return of the Slacker

Monday, January 31, 2011

Watercolor Flower

Introducing Eliza Cooney

I met Eliza when I was making prints of my art at the local copy shop. She liked them and bought some for her grandson, and told me that she was an artist, and had been an art teacher in a school for a long time.

I went to see her paintings, and we also got together to talk about art, and visited each others studios. She is a very friendly and creative person, and those are two attributes I value highly. She's also teaching a new series of art workshops, and I will put up the info for them here.

Here's some of her words from her brochure:

Everyone has greater powers than they realize.
“To engage and persist”
…a multifaceted approach...
Making art is a continuum of making choices, connections.
Art is vital to happiness.

Background

Eliza Cooney studied at Smith College as an Ada Comstock Scholar and has been teaching art for thirty years.

(click below for more info about art classes with Eliza)


To enroll and for more information
Email: elizacooney@verizon.net
Call: (413) 268-7108

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Return of the Slacker - The Book


I made a book of the poems on my other blog, Return of the Slacker, and now you can get a copy yourself. It has around 182 poems in it, and a bright modern painting of mine on the cover. Many people have enjoyed reading my poems, and I wanted to make them available in another way, so more people can.

Get one today!