Matter Journal 13

While I was in Boulder over Thanksgiving weekend, I happened upon the new Matter Journal while roaming down Pearl Street. Matter is a semi-annual literary journal published by Wolverine Publications in Fort Collins, CO, and their newest issue, Numero 13, is dedicated to the life and times of Cactus Ed.Wolverine was nice enough to send Cold Splinters a copy, and, trust us, it's a humdinger. It's huge, full of great stories, pictures and all that good stuff that, if you're here and reading this, you'll enjoy.Buy it here and then read a much better review at the wonderful High Country News.

Wendell Gilley

During the 1930s and 40s,Wendell Gilley produced primarily small-scale carvings of song and game birds, which he sold to the New York City store, Abercrombie and Fitch for $3.75 each. Larger, more details and animated bird carvings followed as Gilley’s talents emerged. At the age of 52, Gilley decided to make a career out of his hobby and sold his plumbing company, Gilley Plumbing, and devoted himself full-time to his "special calling."Look: Wendell Gilley Museum in Southwest Harbor, ME

Weekend Cathedral

A couple of weeks ago, I received a beautiful package from Faythe Levine. Despite not knowing each other too well, she sent me a calendar of Jacques Coetzer's Weekend Cathedral that she picked up while speaking in Scotland. On twelve weekends, over a span of six months, Coetzer pitched a small cathedral shaped tent (pictured above) in the open landscape of the Scottish Highlands. His show consisted of 12 photos (calendar makes sense now) and you can read more about the project right here.

Daniel Arnold's Arizona

My best buddy, Daniel Arnold, is one hell of a photographer and writer. But I'm sure you already knew that. And if you didn't, then stop what you're doing, head on over to his website, When To Say Nothing, and then read his blog, Born To Be Nervous, both of which are amongst the best places to spend time on the Internet.Two weekends ago, Daniel flew from New York to Los Angeles for a wedding, and on the way, in that big aluminum sardine can in the sky, took some beautiful photos of those pretty red rocks in Arizona. What a view.Enjoy more after the jump...

Jonathan Levitt (Part II)

After a few months of emailing back and forth, I asked Jonathan Levitt if he would write captions for a couple of my favorite photographs of his that I could post on Cold Splinters. The first installment, “Hedgelings and I Bothered By:," can be found here. The second installment in the series, "Ducktrapia," is above and can be seen much larger right here. Here's what I wrote the first time:Jonathan Levitt’s photos are of pet wolves and rural Maine, swimming in ice cold rivers and old Coleman stoves. It’s the morose side of being in the woods, the feeling that I most long for when I’m not camping. When you live in the city, that loneliness, even when felt in the company of loved ones, is the best part. Needless to say, I’ve been spending a lot of time on his photoblog, Grass Doe, over the last couple of months, admiring “Ducktrapia.” (From Jon: “Ducktrapia is a small settlement along the shores of the Ducktrap River in Ducktrap, Maine. For ten years, anthrophotographist Jonathan Levitt has been living among the Ducktrapians, documenting their way of life.”)

Cardboard Bison

I was given this huge cardboard cutout of a bison as a parting gift from my last job, and after having it propped up against my window for many months, it was stolen during a birthday party in March. A couple of weeks ago, I came home from work and the thing was sitting outside of my apartment once again, with no note, no explanation, no nothing. It's good to have it back. Who would have thought that a $35 piece of cardboard could be so desirable?The company that makes the cutouts is called Advanced Graphics, and in addition to the bison, they've got bears, wolves, eagles and more. Pretty awesome gift for someone who wants a two dimensional version of the woods brought into their house/apartment/fort...

Jonathan Levitt

After a few months of emailing back and forth, I asked Jonathan Levitt if he would write captions for a couple of my favorite photographs that I could post on Cold Splinters. The above, "Hedgelings and I Bothered By:" is what he sent back. Lordy. Click here to see a much larger version.Jonathan Levitt's photos are of pet wolves and rural Maine, swimming in ice cold rivers and old Coleman stoves. It's the morose side of being in the woods, the feeling that I most long for when I'm not camping. When you live in the city, that loneliness, even when felt in the company of loved ones, is the best part. Needless to say, I've been spending a lot of time on his photoblog, Grass Doe, over the last couple of months, admiring "Ducktrapia." (From Jon: "Ducktrapia is a small settlement along the shores of the Ducktrap River in Ducktrap, Maine. For ten years, anthrophotographist Jonathan Levitt has been living among the Ducktrapians, documenting their way of life.") I couldn't be more excited that he did some artwork for Cold Splinters.Go to Grass Doe and get lost for a couple of hours.

Peter Parnall

Is it odd that one of, if not my favorite, artists is an illustrator and author of children's books? Probably not, no. Peter Parnall draws sparse nature and wildlife images whose contrast of empty space and bright colors evoke a somewhat morose image of the relationships kids have to the trees, ocotillos, coyotes and barns that they grow up with. Calming, but a little melancholy. At least that's how I feel...Parnall's drawings have accompanied the poetry of Byrd Baylor (when the combination is best), stories he's written himself and the works of countless other authors. (Parnall also illustrated the first edition of Desert Solitaire, but that drawing is, well, not my favorite.) But whoever's writing the book, it's worth the buy if Mr. Parnall is providing the art. It is truly, for lack of a much better word, beautiful. I wish I could say more, but I think the images after the jump do a much better job.If you're looking for a place to start, The Desert Is Theirs is a Cold Splinters favorite.

Ansel Adams

Above: "I found these 4 11x14 prints in a stash of my grandmothers things (she's been gone a long time) in a sleeve that still had it's gold seal still sealed. The stamp on the outer envelope reads 'June 5th, 1964.' The back of the sleeve reads 'Ansel Adams' photographs from Yosemite Valley, 5 Associates, San Fransisco.'"Unrelated to the photo above....Ten years ago, Rick Norsigian, a California painter, bought two boxes of photographic plates for $45, after bargaining the owner down from $75. Today, they're worth an estimated $200 million. What were they? Sixty-give glass negatives made by Ansel Adams, of course. Read more here.Look: The Wisconsin Historical Society's photos of Ansel Adams at workMP3: Jim Croce - One Less Set Of Footsteps

BIG BEND REGION COLORING BOOK

The Chihuahuan Desert straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau, bordered on the west by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, and overlaying northern portions of the east range, the Sierra Madre Oriental. On the U.S. side it occupies the valleys and basins of central and southern New Mexico, Texas west of the Pecos River and southeastern Arizona. The Chihuahuan has an area of 139,769 sq miles, making it the third largest desert in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest in North America, after the Great Basin Desert.Above are drawings from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department's BIG BEND REGION COLORING BOOK, which includes Big Bend Ranch State Park, the largest state park in Texas, with over 300,000 acres of Chihuahuan Desert wilderness and 66 miles of trail. Have at it.

Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program

This year's winner of the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program was Rui Huang, 18, from Ohio, whose Hooded Merganser is on top. (Illinois is in the middle, North Carolina on bottom.) View all the past winners here.

From the FWS:

In 1989, with a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Dr. Joan Allemand developed the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program, a dynamic arts curriculum that teaches wetlands and waterfowl conservation to students from kindergarten through high school. The program incorporates scientific and wildlife management principles into a visual arts curriculum. Participants complete a JDS design as their visual "term papers," thus using visual arts, rather than verbal communication, to articulate what they have learned. Through this program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service introduces the Federal Duck Stamp program and the National Wildlife Refuge System to participants and educates new generations of citizens about the importance of waterfowl and wetlands conservation.