Carl Art

Dan flew in from the Left Coast on Monday. I picked him up and we went out to lunch together. We went to his favorite, Bread Co. or more formally, Saint Louis Bread Company. What the rest of the country calls Panera, we here in the Lou still call it Bread Co., because that is what it was originally named. I took him to what I refer to as Store #1, because it is situated across the street from where the company’s headquarters use to be. We had a nice lunch and then I dropped Dan off at home and returned to work.

Dan is making furniture. He has sold some and is trying to sell some more. Does anyone want to buy a table? Annie is working with him; meanwhile both of them continue to try to find more work. Dan even plans on scouring the Saint Louis art scene, while he is town. He seems to be doing well and we stand ready to support him, in any way that we can.

The photo with this post shows an example of Carl Art, which is not to be confused with Cal Arts, where Dan graduated earlier this year, with an MFA degree. One similarity between Carl’s more primitive art work and some of Dan’s is the use of IKEA products in their respective works. Dan mounted a couple of his projects on IKEA sawhorses, while Carl has chosen to use as the centerpiece of his piece, an IKEA gnome.

We purchased three of these gnomes, years ago. They were a spontaneous purchase. I think that they were already remaindered by the checkout line. Anne and I hatched our nefarious scheme there and then in the Chicago IKEA checkout line. The next summer, at the cabin, they started to mysteriously appear. We timed their arrival with the arrival of other beach denizens. This added layer of confusion helped to obfuscate our true culpability. Then they started to move around the compound. I had great joy puzzling both my in-laws and outlaws. Two of the gnomes still live year round at the cabin, while the other one now resides in Saint Louis. Occasionally, he/she gets to rejoin its siblings for a few weeks each summer.

Carl has chosen to adorn his gnome with a bouquet of young gull feathers. No gulls were killed or injured in the making of this art. I’m sure that all of them were already dead. Carl has fashioned a tiara using a pink charity wrist ban and a trio of beach glass jewels, quite haute école d’arts. Carl’s pièce de résistance is made by capping the gnome’s obvious phallic member with a firework rocket’s yellow nose cone, racey.

Welcome home, Danny! We love you dearly!! I’ve got a feeling that this post is going to cost me. 😉