James Castle

James Castle in his work shed, around 1950. From James Castle: His Life and Art by Tom Trusky. The book contains 172 pages and 100 color and black and white photographs and illustrations. Tom Trusky spent 10 years researching James's life and piecing together a story that is both touching and interesting.

James Castle was born in Garden Valley Idaho, in 1899 or 1900, depending on who you ask. He was labeled as deaf and mute, but is now thought to have been autistic. When he was sent to a school for deaf children, he refused to do his chores or learn a trade. He was sent home as "uneducable." James avoided chores at home, too, disappearing daily to spend his time drawing and making books and other objects. He whittled sticks into pens and made ink with saliva and soot. For paper he used old calendars, junk mail and random bits of paper including labels from cans and empty matchboxes.


These are facsimile James Castle books from the Idaho Center for the Book. They are listed under "previous publications" on the web site. To enlarge the photo above, click on it. For me the interesting thing about these facsimile books is that they are bound in the same way James Castle bound them. One even has a combination of yellow and tan string.


Above is a construction by James Castle from Tom Trusky's article in Raw Vision. Unfortunately they didn't include all the photos in the online version of this article. If you're a fan of Castle's work, this issue might be worth seeking out.

What is it about these books and constructions that are so compelling? Even as reproductions they feel so personal. The imagery, the scribbled lines of "text," the letters that appear to be invented, the codes, all speak of one person's idiosyncratic view of the world. There is humor and sadness there. The humor is in the way he uses the photo album format, or the book format, for his own ends. The sadness is in his self portraits, one shows him with no arms or art supplies, after being kicked out of school.

I like to imagine James hiding away, completely absorbed in making these things. I wonder what he thought about, what he wanted to say. In some ways we can see through his eyes, but we can never see into his mind. He died in 1977. For me, he is alive and talking to me through his books.

In September there will be a James Castle show at the Greg Kucera Gallery in Seattle, WA . Tom Trusky will be giving a slide lecture/presentation titled "James Castle: His Life & Art" Saturday, September 8th at 1pm. He will also be signing copies of his Castle biography. At the bottom of the James Castle page on the Kucera site there is an interesting article from the April 26 - May 2, 2000 issue of the Village Voice.

You might also enjoy this James Castle photo set on Flickr.
And here are two books I have enjoyed about people with Asperger's syndrome:
Up High in the Trees: A Novel, Kiara Brinkman
Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant, autobiography, by Daniel Tammet

Metal Works North Opening

We went up to Ukiah (California) this past weekend for the opening of Metal Works North at the Grace Hudson Museum. My repair on the Lorgnette for a Fish Goddess was deemed acceptable by Marvin and Colleen Schenck, the curators. You might be able to guess, I am delighted.


Here I'm talking about Dream Focusing Device with my friend Jennifer. She is an accomplished artist (taking a hiatus to grow organic flowers) and always gives me insightful feedback.


John Marcel has two wonderful necklaces in the show. Here I'm telling him I like the catch on one of them. John, Jennifer, and her husband Jeff have been friends since we were students together at San Jose State.

I went back the next morning to get another look at the work. There is a huge variety of good work in the show, ranging from delicate jewelry to a double bed. You can see samples on the announcement. Click here to download a pdf of the front of the announcement and here for the back. The work is displayed beautifully. I love the Grace Hudson Museum, it's a very attractive, pleasant-to-be-in space.

I promised to send a link to someone at the opening for buying sheet metal. I like R. J. Leahy. My brain is a sieve at openings. If I promised you a link or some other information and you haven't heard from me by now, please email me at artATjudithhoffmanDOTnet and ask me again.

I have more photos of the trip on Flickr. And photos of the opening here.

Repairs Done

The little band on the handle of the lorgnette is my final repair. I am tired, and can't judge how it looks. I think it's okay, but I have been wrong in the past. Tomorrow I will ship it to the Grace Hudson Museum. The curators, Marvin and Colleen Schenck will make the decision. I'm glad it's out of my hands.


I tried two other solutions to repair the lorgnette. The first involved cutting a piece of tubing the long way and riveting it in place. I gave up on this when I realized I wouldn't be able to keep the two parts lined up, and there would be two seams. This second, or actually third try is a fairly simple band. It wraps around the kelp handle and is riveted in place on the back. I have some reservations. The seam on the back looks huge to me. I couldn't solder it, so it isn't really closed completely.

When I finished the repair today, I didn't know what to do with myself. I feel like I need to relax, but I just paced around. I don't always have this much of a problem when I finish a project. Usually there is a little let down, but I always have new ideas and plenty of other things to do. Right now I feel blank and tense. Tomorrow will be better.

Repairs

I will have some work in the Metal Works North exhibit at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, California, July 21 to October 14th. The opening, which I do plan to attend, is on July 21st, 5 to 7:30 pm. The announcement is very nice. Click here to download the front of the announcement and here for the back.

When I got the work out, I was very embarrassed to notice a crack in the handle of the Lorgnette for a Fish Goddess. The handle is kelp, over a brass rod. I imagine the kelp shrank and cracked over the years. I think I can see it in an old photo, I just didn't pay attention to those details. The curators, Marvin and Colleen Schenck thought it would show under the lighting they use for the exhibits, (and I agree completely.) We talked about possible repairs, and they took Spectacles for a Fish Goddess instead. But if I get the repair done, and get the finished piece to the museum by this coming Tuesday, it will still be in the show. Of course, that's what I want to do. With my brother-in-law's recent death, the memorial at our house this past Sunday, and the stuff that has piled up in the last month, I didn't know if I can do it.

I have spent the last three days trying to figure out what to do. I started to make a small piece of tubing that would cover the crack, then decided it would be hard to get it on the handle with both parts lined up correctly. So I decided on a larger piece of brass that would both support the glasses section a little more, and cover the crack. Today, when I finished etching the brass piece and held it up to the lorgnette, I thought it looked terrible. I took the photo above as a way to look at the composition. It looks too busy to me, the brass piece looks so out of place. I will have to try again tomorrow, but for now, I'm off to read for the rest of the evening. Oh, and do the dinner dishes, scoop kitty litter, and take out the compost. I am feeling rather sorry for myself at the moment. Hopefully I'll have a brilliant idea in the middle of the night.

Simple boxes for books and digital caliper

Don Drake gave a fantastic box making demo at a BABA meeting a few weeks ago. Over many years he has developed a simple box plan that is quick and easy, as boxes go. His instruction was so clear my demo box came out impressively good. In the photo above I haven't glued down the bottom liner yet. After watching him measure box parts with a caliper, I decided I needed one.


My caliper came from micromark sometime last week. I don't usually buy complicated tools, preferring the simplest approach possible to anything. When I am measuring that usually means lining two pieces up and making the second match the first. But the digital caliper will switch from inches to millimeters with the push of a button. I don't think these are entirely accurate. In the photo above the dime I measured is between .700 inches and .7025 inches, depending on some mysterious force in the universe. But it's plenty accurate for my needs.

If you're considering buying a caliper, check out this Wikipedia article. It says the dial calipers last longer.

What tools should I buy for a metalsmith?

This is how I organize little bits of tracing paper, sandpaper and labels. It's a business card box, I cut the dividers from a manila file folder.

I got an email today from someone asking what tools he should buy for his girlfriend. He says "Would you be willing to make a list for me of some nice equipment that would help her get started in her field as a metalworker? I want to get her a flex shaft definitely and any other items that would prove useful for her. I apologize for my lack of knowledge on metalworking, but hopefully you could steer me in the right direction."

Here is a list of tools for metalsmiths from the orchid mailing list. I have been meaning to add this to the links on my web site. It looks like a good list of basic tools. Maybe you could leave out the t.v., though. I am anti-television myself. How about a nice stereo instead?

Although Don suggests buying locally when you can, my personal experience is that you pay more for poor quality when you buy locally. This is based on one bad experience. I bought a jeweler's saw in Daly City, California years ago. It required a pair of pliers to tighten the nut that holds the blade in place. This really slowed down the working process. I still keep it around to show students what to avoid. For the same price I could have had a lovely one from Rio Grande that is a pleasure to use.

Although Rio Grande charges for their catalogs, once you place an order, you get them for free. They are huge and full of useful information. I am not affiliated with them in any way, just a happy customer. They have great customer service, too.

While you are at the Orchid site, check out the rest of the site.

And think about what you can make, instead of buying it. The file box for sandpaper, above, and the drill bit holder work as well as anything you buy. They could be prettier, but they make me smile when I see them.

MicroMark Summer Sale

Because I like to include a picture with my blog entries, this is a homemade holder for my flex shaft accessories. You can make all kinds of simple tools to fill your needs. For this one I found a drill bit slightly larger than the shafts on my tools, and made rows of holes in a scrap of wood.

One of my favorite places to shop for the tools I don't make, MicroMark, is having their summer sale. It ends on September 11. Some good things: a gauge for drill bits and screws; #10123, a ball peen hammer for riveting; #22119, or a chasing hammer; #80811. They also have drill bits and brass and copper sheet metal and tubing.

I don't buy cutting hand tools from them, like wire cutters. I find the less expensive cutters just don't cut well. But I think for the "passive" tools like hammers, lower priced things are usually okay. I haven't used their digital calipers; #83857, but have ordered a pair for myself. I'm hoping they will be middle of the road - not too expensive, not totally precise. I also ordered the metal bending brake, #82817. It will be fun to test these out.

If you are considering a tool, look closely at the gauge specifications. Their claim that the bending brake will bend metal up to 16 gauge may be too optimistic. I think 20 gauge would be fine, though. I'm not sure about their power tools, either. They sometimes claim they work on both wood and metal, but they may not be powerful enough for metal. I haven't used any of them.

These optimistic claims aren't unique to MicroMark, I don't mean to imply that they are dishonest. This is a common thing that happens with tools. They may work at their maximum occasionally, but doing it all the time would wear the tool out too fast. And I am a tool snob. I like tools that last forever. It annoys me to use a wire cutter for a couple of years and find it has little nicks in it and won't cut anymore.