Fire Chief.

Fire Chief, what does it need?

It somehow feels unfinished. Perhaps it needs to be broken down a bit more? Maybe some sort of charcoal overlay? After all, charcoal is just burnt wood, right? Or did I just get to carried away with the ladders. Maybe a stronger foreground  object? Arrgaaahhh.

Barley Pillow

Once again, Barley-Rox serves as the object of Quinn's attention. For most of the dozen or so pictures I snapped, Barley tries, as she often does, to just ignore it all. But, when Quinn decided he wanted to be Thor and pulled out his hammer, someone got worried.

Thor's Hammer © Jeff Murphy, 2012

Quinn enjoyed these photographs so much that he decided to take his own. So, here is Quinn's very first DSLR picture:

Quinn's First DSLR Picture © Quinn Freeman Murphy, 2012

Not so bad for the low tungsten lighting. Just a few months ago the camera was jsut to heavy and awkward for him.

Awkward. That spells funny.

Chorus. Is it done yet?

When I was in Graduate school at the University of Florida, I remember Jerry Uelsmann saying that if he used computers for his work, he would never no when he's done. He preferred the limitations of the darkroom (though limitations is probably the wrong word her - maybe framework?). I've been thinking about that a lot as I've been working on the image Chorus for what seems like forever.

Chorus, © Jeff Murphy 2012

 I was initially drawn to the tree scabs and the way they appeared like open mouths shouting or singing. So they have been a constant. The waves and water were more problematic. Despite the churning water and foam, I seemed to lack the dynamism I thought would be inherent in waves. Also, after the first few versions, where I struggled with placement of the basic elements, I realized I needed a focal point beyond the chorus of tree scabs.

Enter the anatomical structures. These were fabricated from individual diagrams - I couldn't tell you what they are were, but you could probably guess some of the elements. These felt like the remains of on old pier where the deck has long since washed away. I placed these anatomical constructions in a row to mimic this idea (the work is in part about how time buries things).

So I thought it was finished. Then I pulled it out again. Then I put it away. I realized I still didn't have te focal point I was looking for. So I reworked it again. Enter bird skeleton (curiously, as I was taking a break from the computer, my neighbor came by with another bird skeleton he had found at his church). Now it's really done. I think. I'm just going to go ahead and archive the file with my other slides so I won't be tempted.

Soulslinger Black Ale

So the recently bottled, but then unnamed black ale, is now named. This tasted pretty good going into the bottle when it was still flat and warm, so I think it should taste good enough to get it's own label (when it's cold and carbonated). So, over Christmas break beers at Taco Mac with my brother-in-law, we discussed some possibilities. The then working title was First Name Smith Black Ale, as I wanted to get this one named after Smith (Yes, it really is his first name) and this is what he goes by - at least on PS3.

Anyway, I thought it should have something more dramatic, and since Smith is a climber, I thought we should brainstorm in that direction. Not being a very good rock-climber myself (I struggle to do 5.9s), but knowing how cool some of the rock route names are, I asked Smith if perhaps there were some epic routes he had climbed and if they should be immortalized on beer bottles. Turns out there were a few with names suitable for a dark black ale.


Soulslinger.

That's what we decided on. It's a current favorite climb of Smith's in Bishop, CA where he boulders a lot. It's also a V9, which is a pretty frigin hard route up the boulder.

Yep. That's Smith on Soulslinger. Errr, thanks to ? for the shot of Smith (I'll get that credit in there). And yes, of course I did some work in Photoshop. I thought of slinging one's soul, which could be considered a bit dark, though I suppose it depends where your slinging it. So, I gave the label a bit a mystical quality, added the idea of duality (the two sides of Smith) and kept the basic slice of rock and climber.

Note to self: Change the lower landscape drawing to a more dramatic charcoal drawing of a distant mountain range.

Note to self:  Tweek the recipe a bit the next batch to get the ABV up to 9% (matching the V9 climb).

Barley's London Porter

New beer bottled: Barley's London Porter. It tasted great going into the bottle.

It was originally going to be called Otto's Big Bark Porter, but at 5.5% ABV, it's probably the lightest beer I've made. So, it's more like a gentle lick. And so the nod went to Barley. Otto will get Otto's Big DoppelBark, with goes much better with her name. Plus, she had a great bark complete with flying slobber that I have well documented in photographs.

So cheers to the new label.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Ever tried getting a Boxer to sit still?

Indie's Mutt Brown Ale: The Verdict

Indie's Mutt Brown Ale is ready. It is good stuff (Duh. It's beer.)

The taste and aroma of the Belgian aromatic malt is really apparent. If i liked Belgian Ales better that would be great, but I'm not a giant fan of Belgians. The beer poured a light brown/dark amber color. Next time there will be more chocolate malt. I'll bump it up from .25# to 1# of pale chocolate malt. Maybe. I'll give it about 40 more beers of consideration. Then tweak.

Next up: Otto's Big Bark Porter. Yummy.

Beer: Indie's Mutt Brown Ale

Indie's Mutt Brown Ale is bottled.

Now I try to be patient as it carbonates...I really, really want to taste it. Indie was a special pup, my first, and despite her barking flaws, she was an big sweetheart. I hope this brown Ale does her justice. I'm wondering it will have the intensity and drama that Indie's personality had. I've been drinking so much Oatmeal Stout lately (hmmm...does that sound bad?) that I think this beer will be tame by comparison.

I did add plenty of Belgian Special B Caramel Malt, some aromatic malt, honey malt, pale chocolate malt, and Munich malt. Plus, I tossed in some flaked oats because I like to pretend that beer is good for me.

Cheers to Indie Rock! You were the best.