KEN-A-PALOOZA......EX-LANDLORD, FRIEND AND ARTIST......UNLEASHED.

The best view I have in my life (besides blood relatives and good friends) is outside my windows. The next-best view I have in my life is everything inside my windows..........and a whole lot of that is due to my ex-landlord, friend and MULTI-talented artist Ken Richardson. From the first cup of coffee in the morning (in a pottery cup that he made in his shop and fired in his backyard kiln) to the bed I sleep in every night....he has designed and crafted more good things in my life.....animate and non-animate......than I could ever mention. The latest of these non-animate objects is a metal sculpture he has been visualizing since the house was completed. Naturally, I took pictures of it for the bbllllllllog.......and found that I couldn't stop with just the sculpture. Hence, the KEN-A-PALOOZA one man show.




view from inside looking out........little nibs of rebar embracing hard, cold steel.......how's that for a catalogue description?
view of sculpture from the kitchen.....prior to opening the icebox to sort and alphabetize the left-overs.......

the shadow knows........

little nibs of rebar embracing cold, hard steel.......with autumn leaves.

where it's at.......so to speak. And therein lies the newest addition to the best view in my life outside the windows........by Ken Richardson. It has only been there for a few weeks, but I can already tell that the quality of my life has been ramped up a few notches. Dramatic, but true. Now.........on with the show.


yep.........pottery and wooden spoons by Ken Richardson......place settings for eight......preferably, for only two or three people at one time. (food and beverages optional)

...welded metal and glass table in the bathroom for morning coffee or crossword puzzle


nudes in the bathroom........towels by Target

welded metal vase...........with dried grasses gathered from the meadow (that's a lie.....they probably came from a Hobby Lobby in Indiana)


sculpted clay wall things/rocks with holes in them.......but, you knew that....


mystic metal pyramid........knows all.....sees nothing......speaks only to the pure of heart.


who else do I know who would take a bed spring (rescued from a river), apply it to a welded stand, and top it off with a glass disc? (And make several more on commission for the city's only contemporary design store?)

this is the best company for breakfast, lunch and dinner a person could hope for.......mannerly, encouraging, compassionate listeners, no real baggage of their own......and they love the view as much as I do.
on the other hand.......this is more of a flash mob. Obstreperous, but energizing. (And they do know their place.)

seriously, it's easy to see why Ken's work has been commissioned by designers, featured in a variety of publications, included in the Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis and named "Best In Show" at several regional arts festivals. He has spent a lifetime giving "found objects" a new and different use or appearance....he has never stopped acquiring techniques or tools that could broaden his horizons.......and most importantly, his soul and sense of humor are in each piece......before, during and after it leaves his hands.

not your typical IRONMAN triathlete........

"copasetic"

all I wanted was a simple metal frame for a mattress that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.......impossible to find.......but ken whipped it out in no time.......at a bargain price......

.........and I took two.


So.....there you have it. KEN-A-PALOOZA. It's like living in a gallery........both inside and out. Not bad, eh?