Beginning Piece that Inspired the Series The Passing of the Warrior Class The consensus on this piece was that it represents a passing of the need for a warrior class in society. The piece is interesting because it appears to use the motif of an older Japanese print by Katsushika Hokusai called “The Wave” where […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #1 March 16th: 3 Days before Start of U.S./Iraq War This is my first visit to the cemetery. Getting oriented and trying to figure out how to find graves of those who died in war. I wander through cemetery and finally sit down to sketch. >> Next: Journal Entry for […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #2 March 23rd: 4 Days After Start of U.S./Iraq War 0 Dead Day 1 2 Dead From Day 2, Both buried at Rosecrans This is my second visit to the cemetery. I am still trying to find ways to locate those who died in war. Next: Journal Entry for Sketch […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #3 March 29th: 20 Days After Start of U.S./Iraq War This is my third visit to the cemetery. I am still trying to find ways to locate those who died in war. I have not yet started journaling. Initially I am drawn to research war dead through cemetery records but not […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #4 April 6, 2003: Researching The Cemetery I discover a kiosk near Visitor Center where records of burials and a map machine for locating graves by name is located. Begin to research locations of war dead by going through record books. Strategy is to find soldiers who were in their […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #5 April 12, 2003: Palm Sunday Slowly the logic of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery reveals itself to me. My first several visits found me wandering through the gravestones looking for those who had died during our wars. There is a truncated language here which reveals itself only slowly to observation, intuition, […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #6 April 19th-Easter Sunday Today about 100 feet along the road from Brian Kennedy’s grave, I find two more who died during the first two days of Iraq War—one a marine who died in the same accidental helicopter crash as Brian Kennedy and the second a navy lieutenant who died […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #7 April 28th-Vietnam Warriors Near Iraq War Dead I sketch near the grave of Lance Corporal Martin Wells, U.S. Marine Corps, who died at 21 years of age 10/16/70 in Vietnam War. He is buried with his father who was a WWII veteran and outlived his son by 9 years (buried10/1/79 […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #8 May 4th- Two Persian War Dead I make another visit to the grave of Brian M. Kennedy. There are now three small American flags placed on the grave near the tombstone. The flowers are gone. At the base of each flag is a placemat with the pole from the flag […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #9 May 18th The Vietnam War Dead Today I decide to focus on the Vietnam Dead since I feel that I have made my peace for the moment with the Iraq dead and need to start moving back in history to other wars. As with the Iraq dead I follow my […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #10 May 26th – Memorial Day & First Iraq War Because I have just arrived back from an out of town trip, I am not planning to visit the cemetery this weekend. However, before leaving the house in the morning, I am moved by a story I read in the paper […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #11 June 8, 2005 – Two Weeks After Memorial Day Medal of Honor Winner Two weeks have passed since Memorial Day. All the flags and plaques are gone. Only the sewing machine sounds of insects and birds now with occasional rumbling noises from traffic along the access road on the ridge […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #12 June 15th-Father’s Day-Korean War Dead Like Memorial Day I should have suspected but was still surprised to see so many people visit today to place flowers on their dead father’s graves. Called my own dad earlier in the day (90 years old) and he had had an accident earlier in […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #13 July 4th- U.S. Independence Day: Last /Visit Another Iraq Warrior to be Buried Secret of WWI Graves I have decided I must end the project at this time because I find sitting with the dead has caused melancholy and negativity to seep into my life. I have visited soldiers who […]
Journal Entry for Sketch #14 I leave the building and walk down the hill to the gateway by the road. I am reading the pamphlet as I walk. It tells me there are 9 Medal of Honor Winners buried here. I think maybe I am to sketch by one of these graves today. Surprisingly only […]
First Piece After the End of the Series Poseidon’s Epiphany When I finished the series I needed one more piece to fill the final kiln load to be fired. Poseidon’s Epiphany was the piece chosen. When I brought this piece to a group naming event, it emerged that all felt it had to do with […]