Sacred Heart of Artichoke - isbn 978-1-894897-23-5

Sacred Heart of Artichoke is a precious metal vegetable. The artichoke is a solid gold pin which can be worn as a lapel pin, brooch or tie pin. It is cast in 14 karat green gold. Colored gold is created by alloying gold with other metals, rose gold is made by alloying gold with copper, white gold happens when gold is alloyed with nickel, green gold occurs when gold is alloyed with silver. The Sacred Heart of Artichoke pin was inspired by my excellent friend, Barbara-Jo.  Barbara-Jo asked If I could make an artichoke, and this is what I came up with. I hope you like the artichoke as much as Barbara-Jo. Like much of my art, this work has a literary component; delivered upon a prayer card featuring the beneficent image of Jesus Christ , the prayer for The Sacred Heart of Artichoke , and published complete with it's own international standard book number. Delicious, free-range, organic jewelry, made by my hand, for all whom we love. Prayer: Sacred Heart of Artichoke Sacred Heart of Artichoke Guide me in contemplation of the beauty found in your divine proportions and Teach me to savor the ecstasy surrounding your immaculate consumption amen Photo Credit. Peter Lattimer This lovely pin makes a suitable gift for apostate and practicing Catholics, Protestants, Brights, Atheists, Buddhists, Confucists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, Vegetarians, Young lovers, Newlyweds, Old folks, and people of good will everywhere. If you would like to own a ‘Sacred Heart of Artichoke’ or buy one for a friend, simply contact me by email: robertchaplin(at)lightspeed.ca

Cosmologia Universalis : World’s Largest Book

‘Cosmologia Universalis’ 

isbn 978-1-894897-26-6 

‘Cosmologia Universalis’ 

By Robert Chaplin

copyright the publisher

admmxiv

Cosmologia Universalis

the universe and all we are, 

every galaxy and star

all the matter, all space-time, 

all the music, verse and rhyme

each and every moon and planet, 

every asteroid and comet,

each eclipse and each black hole, 

every critter, plant, and soul 

every molecule and atom, 

each electron, all the quarks

the antimatter, missing socks

the gravity, imagination,  

cosmic book 

that is,  Creation.

What more is there to say ? This stone, a Shiv Lingam from the Narmada River, was carved by my hand using diamonds and water. Arguably this is the largest book, ever. It has an International Standard Book Number and it fits nicely in your hand. As this was my intention, to publish the Universe, I’m obligated to put the isbn on it somewhere. So why not a stone ? I suppose I could launch it into outer space, but the earth is already in outer space so that would be redundant. 

One Tough Cookie

Revolution and art are practices done without consent. No one will give you permission to burn a city and kill your oppressors. No entity can rightfully permit the creation of a work of art. This, an Oreo Carved by my hand in Ebony and Ivory. On the surface It’s POP, but You and I know this is loaded, and really what good art isn’t ? What’s the life of an elephant worth ? what’s the value of a rainforest ? How long can we feed corporate greed ? How long are people going to hate and when can they please stop ? I was struck when I read, ‘Nothing Personal’ by James Baldwin, and came to the understanding that the social division caused by racism provides benefit to a small number of people in power. The Roman epithet,“Divide and Conquer ”, comes to mind. Sir Paul and Stevie Wonder make me wonder, why all these tough questions for such a little cookie ? 

There’s more, each oreo i make, has a secret inside. Some open and have scrimshaw inside. Others are permanently sealed with a silver word inside. It’s invisible, you can’t see it, but if you x-ray the oreo the word is there. I provide a signed x-ray print with each oreo so the owner can see what’s in their oreo. I sign the x-ray print, not the oreo sculpture. Regarding the use of ivory, i use recycled ivory, and in a world where people see the need to save cardboard, it seemed wrong to let a valuable material go to waste. 

For all its worth, Jerry Saltz said it was good art, and that’s alright by me! 

I’m horse trading oreos, so get in and play.

The Band-aid Solution

“  Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

 All the King’s horses

and all the King’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again.”
                             - anonymous nursery rhyme

A nursery rhyme’s the perfect crime, Treason ! For what could be more subtle than to teach the following generation about the injustices which surround them, coded in clever rhyme and allegory ? To plant the seeds of dissent that they might flower in political upheaval. After all, what were all those kings, horses, and men good for anyways ? The powers that be can do nothing in the face of the ravages of time and calamity. Some have postulated that Humpty Dumpty might have been a satirical portrayal of The last Plantagenet King, the hunchback. Richard III. Despite his willingness to trade the whole damned Kingdom for a horse, they found his twisted remains in a car park some few years ago.* Academic discourse not withstanding, could it be an allegory for a broken heart, a broken home, a love long gone, or some sad song ?  Could it simply be a riddle about an egg ? Perchance to smile, as there is often humor found in  literal interpretation, a situation running parallel to the absurdity of 1:1 scale representation**. And like questions regarding the quantification of the stickiness of adhesive bandages over time,  a discourse best left to philosophers and theologians. 

It is with pride this presentation is made for your perusal! ‘The Band-aid Solution for Humpty Dumpty’, carved by my hand using diamonds and water. A permanent solution in Hematite, a band-aid is forever  ;)

Photo Credit: Peter Lattimer

* the exhumation of Richard III
 ** 1:1 scale representation

United Artists

 35 mm, sterling silver, film/bracelet. A Love Story...

  16 mm, sterling silver, film/bracelet. A Spaghetti Western...

There’s something special about you, star quality. As such you were born to participate in a magical story, an action adventure, romantic comedy, documentary, sci fi, period drama, musical or spaghetti western. whatever the genre, you pick, it’s your life. In the late teens of the 20th century, the brightest stars of the silver screen formed United Artists * in order to maintain artistic control and decide for themselves what movies they would make.  So too might you, write, direct, produce, and star, in the story of your life. As we slide through time and shoot digitally to create movies, the celluloid and magic lantern recedes into the remote location of memory, some brilliant, bittersweet, flickering mystery.  Life is like that, fleeting fast. Making it last is the trick, and so I created these bracelets, to commemorate the adventures of my dear friends, Sneeky Pete and Sandra. These sterling cuffs, were carved by my hand and made in the form of film stock. That we might cast you for the starring role in the story of your life, please do, be in touch.

 robertchaplin (at) lightspeed (dot) ca

Photo Credit: Peter Lattimer

*Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith formed the United Artists Corporation in 1919.

Heads or Tails

Last weekend saw the leaves in color,  clinging fast to the last vestiges of summer. 
The fog rolls in and taking half the day to clear, the sun reveals autumn...
It is time for letting go. 

It took a while to finish this one, I started it in 2004 then put it aside, published some books, started a snowflake collection, played some chess, traveled, visited with friends and relations. I would work on this carving whenever I had a spare moment, and in those moments had the time to reflect on important matters such as the Elizabethan notion of artifice; transformation, and the relevance of les objets de virtu in the age of the smart phones. And so this piece is finished, made in hematite, carved by my hand using diamonds and water.  Heads, tails, its your call. Things happen gradually in nature,  invisible processes working away in their own time. Then, in the flashing of an instant we notice,  everything is different. Context is variable.

 robertchaplin (at) lightspeed (dot) ca
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Photo Credit: Peter Lattimer

Royal Canadian Snowball

This snowflake tessellation incorporates principals of geometry to randomize the surface of a sphere. Carved by my hand using diamonds and water, this piece was commissioned by Deana Grinnell for Jim Smerdon's 40th birthday. The latest addition to The Royal Canadian Snowflake Collection, lead crystal completely carved, a Royal Canadian Snowball. Heat resistant to 600 degrees centigrade because context is variable.

Photo Credit: James Manning Smerdon

Incendiary Literature

‘ The MatchBook- a fireside fable ’

is perhaps my most incendiary creation. It is a pack of paper matches, published complete with poem, illustration, copyright, and ISBN. I made 10,000 copies without creating a warehousing problem. It can be found in public and private collections and is most recently available in The Paper Hound Books. Since I never do consignment Kim Koch the proprietrix, was generously disposed to acquire a box for the store...they can be found in this little drawer on 344 West Pender.

The Brussels Sprouts of New York

Phillips established in 1796

Papaya King since 1932

Manhattan fire hydrant

The Cloisters

in Cesare’s Sprouts

Near Joe‘s

I was surprised by an exquisite gift, a short notice trip! so I brought my silver sprout to do a little research on this question, is context everything ? Picture the Brussels sprout in New York City,  seen with an Ellsworth Kelly at Phillips, which by the way sold for a very respectable price. Picture the silver sprout in spaces sacred, profane, street, and mundane. It is my postulation that a work of art creates it’s own context and surrounds itself with magic, transforming the world, leading us to state of wonder...context is variable !

Thanks Scott !

For Brussels Sprout in Bronze or Sterling

current Price $1050.

Thanks Mark !

 

Happy Valentines Day

With all due respect this heart I've  made in solid copper, it warms up quickly in the hand. I hope that you enjoy this picture, a great piece is good no matter where you find, gallery, museum, library or pocket, context is variable.

How do I buy a Robert Chaplin- Library Editions book online ?

Here it is ‘Teeny Ted From Turnip Town’. The large print edition of the World's smallest book. The picture has been set up with a link to an online catalog of my books. Simply follow the link to a catalog of posts to all of my library editions titles, then use the handy Paypal button at the bottom of each post. Each book will cost $25.00 including shipping.  Happy Reading.

Worlds Smallest Book- A large print edition

These are Raw SEM images of the tablets which comprise the World’s smallest book

 

I  launched a kickstarter campaign to raise money to do a book project. The campaign was successful and I was able to publish the fifth book in my library editions series. ‘Teeny Ted From Turnip Town’ is a tale of scale, a wild rhyme and a book of science for young readers, aged 5 years and up. Thanks to everyone who helped with my Kickstarter campaign and thanks again!

CHAPLiN’S SNOWSTORM

There is an underlying geometry to this random flurry, a system for defining the minimum amount of negative space between snowflakes of various sizes, I figured it out by drawing. Without getting too specific it makes use of the fact that equilateral triangles of any size, each and all together can tile a plane. Further, each and every shape divisible by equilateral triangles, can be tiled together in this way. Since hexagons are made of equilateral triangles they can tile a plane in the same manner, leaving sections of equilateral triangles which can, in turn be occupied by more hexagons, leading the mind to infinity.  I’m not sure If I discovered this all sized tiling, but at least for the purposes of this design I will call it ‘Chaplin’s Snowstorm’. Carved by my hand using diamonds and water, this sterling silver pill box fits in the little pocket of your jeans and is ideal for carrying pills of all sorts, medicinal, recreational, and vitaminical. 

robertchaplin (at) lightspeed (dot) ca
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SO HAMLET PRiNCE OF DENMARK...

What's this I hear you can't make up your mind ?  Time moves us to death, inevitable. Yet we may jest and play, and each man in his time wears many hats. This jokers cap and bells was made for court in Gastown. Perchance that we might laugh at death, and in the moment when we hear the bright tone of these bells,  feast in celebration of this one and only life.

I sculpted these bells in sterling silver, and of course I needed help. Sarah Strange has a millinery mind and after a brief discussion, and some loose sketching,  returned yesterday with this fantastic chapeau. After attaching the bells we set up this shot.
 

Crown Commissioner : Scott Hawthorn
Goldsmith: Karen Morrow
Casting: Jess Sarber
Milliner: Sarah Strange
robertchaplin (at) lightspeed (dot) ca
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RETURN OF THE SNOWBiRDS

Spring is quickly approaching and with it, the return of the snowbirds. You may be one, you may know some. Canadians with means sensible enough to spend their time in warmer climes, come fall and winter they migrate to Arizona, Texas, Mexico, and Thailand, anywhere equatorial, somewhere warm and dry. But as springtime approaches the lure of friends, summer drinks and rustic weekends, call the snowbirds home. To celebrate we at the Royal Canadian Snowflake Factory have produced the snowbird patch; embroidered and made to iron on to your favorite camping clothes, glad rags, and ceremonial vestments. The snowbird patch lets everyone know that you may exercise the option to enjoy the sun, and have fun. Snowbird Patches are included free with sponsorship in the Royal Canadian Snowflake Collection.

robertchaplin (at) lightspeed (dot) ca
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Something Good About Publishing

You know when you are a kid and someone hands you a copy of 'The Guinness Book of World Records' and you feel like it just might be the most important book ever published? The sum of all knowledge, arcane facts, photographs and histories, an entertainment simultaneously wondrous and spellbinding... and you think,“just maybe if you never cut your fingernails, or if you hold your breath, or live a really long time, or grow extremely tall, or strike it rich, or gain a lot of weight, then maybe, just maybe you could get a Guinness World Record”. Then you go outside and play, you go to school, grow up, fall in love, and work. Responsibilities take your life in its own direction and the dreams of childhood get put on the shelf. In this adult life each day seems much like the next, and you think things might never change. Well sometimes they do change, like one day in January my friend Bruce called and told me that an art project I worked on made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

To find out more about the project see 'Teeny Ted From Turnip Town'

To see the Guinness World Record see Smallest Book

I enjoy the privilege of sharing this record with my brother, Malcolm Douglas Chaplin, and the nano-imaging lab at SFU. One day someone may beat this record, and they will be lucky enough to know how I feel right now.

robertchaplin (at) lightspeed (dot) ca
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Amuse-Bouche De Roi- the Kings Dinner

Queen Elizabeth I
Let us celebrate the Crowned Head of Gastown.

Funny there’s a municipal election going today, and it matters not at all. For on this last Thursday evening in Gastown, a monarch was selected by Amuse-Bouche, followed by a coronation dinner. I mean really, who said democracy has to be achieved by something as mundane as an election. In the City State of Gastown things are a run little differently, it’s Government by lottery. Our head of state is selected by Amuse-Bouche, from among a court of 20 dinner guests. Each guest receives an Amuse-Bouche/Objet d'Art, one of these treats contains a sterling silver Ruckle bean. The Person who receives the Ruckle bean is then coronated, ascending to the position of Ruling Monarch.

THE LUCKY GUEST WHO GETS THE BEAN
BECOMES THE RULiNG KiNG OR QUEEN

Queen Elizabeth I and the consort King Ravi

There are two crowned heads at the table. The Ruckle bean selects the monarch, the monarch chooses who may wear the other crown. On the King’s crown is inscribed this verse, “ Long live our King, lets celebrate, Gastown is a city state. Sing and Feast and Celebrate, Our King is Good Our King is Great. ” The Queen’s crown is inscribed with a very simple truth “However The King may rule The Queen runs the show”. I designed these crowns, first by sculpting components for casting, after the components were cast and finished, I brought them to a goldsmith for assembly and stone setting. The Amuse-Bouche/objet d’art were loaded each with a sterling snowflake from the Royal Canadian Snowflake Collection.

will post more pictures on this one...

Crown Commissioner : Scott Hawthorn
Goldsmith: Karen Morrow
Casting: Jess Sarber
Leather Work: Ravi Pankhania
Photo Credit: Landon Marie
robertchaplin (at) lightspeed (dot) ca
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Sheep Graffiti

Ireland is a green place, and that’s been said in different ways by many great writers. Further, there’s been much academic attention paid to the importance of street art and its rise, from late twentieth century graffiti, through to a kind of museum quality death. Perhaps something that’s not been discussed enough is sheep tagging. Farmers used to the history of grazing their livestock on common land, get into branding their sheep in this manner. It makes the sheep easy to identify and reveals a savage beauty; in stark contrast, to all those bucolic eighteenth and nineteenth century genre paintings, depicting country life.

Serious beauty, I was lagging behind my hosts on this walk and saw a lovely cow, grazing on grass which I’m certain had been infused with absinthe. I fell in love here, this land and it’s beauty, the Irish are inspirational. I participated in Clifden arts week. My dear friend Joanna Galloway operates Hair Gallery on Bridge street and she sponsored my exhibition. And so for one amazing week I was able to meet and greet people, read my stories and show my work. In the evenings I went to gigs in the pubs of Clifden and was treated to a musical feast. Electric Jazz, Country, Folk and Irish Traditional, It was truly an honor to participate in this event and I had a super time.

This is one of the pieces I exhibited, it is a representation of a deer being hunted by wolves, it’s a synthesis inspired by the form lines of pacific northwest coast art, celtic knot work, mathematics and retinal color theory.

Also for the first time ever, I exhibited the complete collection of scanning electron micrographs, of the worlds smallest book. ‘Teeny Ted from Turnip Town- a success story’ was written by my brother, Malcolm Douglas Chaplin and designed and published by me. I'm glad that I saved the premier exhibition of this for Ireland, as the most significant part of the story happens on Blooms Day.





On the Last Friday of Clifden Arts Week there was a fantastic parade. It's a celebration and the craic's almighty! The parade is a kaleidoscope of color and imagination. I hope to return to Clifden as soon as possible, to stay for as long as I can. Shout out to Joanna, Simon, and Catherine. Word.


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An Object Lesson in Macro-Economics

what is this mysterious object ? this sphere of hematite carved by my hand using diamonds and water? The designs are inspired by the backside of a Greenback, American dollar bill and circumscribed with magic text. “Made round to go round”, Something my Father used to say when he gave us our allowance. An object lesson in macro-economics, perchance to help with quantitative easing?

My Grandfather said, “ you can’t spend yourself rich” and, “ the next depression would be high priced ”. He was right of course, the elderly very often are. The US government is printing money faster than anyone can spend it. The effect is that it costs more to buy anything. It’s not that things have increased in value, rather that the money is very very cheap. Fiat money never survives long, a symptom of a regime in decay.

This stone is a crystal of iron oxide, yet it will never rust. When Hematite is carved it makes blood red dust. It can be magnetized and it’s hardness is about 5 1/2 on Mohs scale. It is a durable, hard stone, carving and it will remain intact until the sun consumes the inner planets. Metaphysicians believe this stone has grounding properties. With money and metaphysics, grounding has value.

robertchaplin (at) lightspeed (dot) ca
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photo credit: Peter Lattimer

The Ravages of time and Calamity: A Leaf in the Wind

Can one encapsulate a moment and store it for eternity ? Time and wind and water, running through our fingers, messing up our hair and ravaging the skin from our bones. I posted this piece over a decade ago, a ‘Leaf in the Wind’, an individual carried by current, without intention. People are a bit like that and one at a time is no problem. This work was made of basalt, carved by my hand, using diamonds and water. I wanted to create the illusion that hard stone could be weightless, that a leaf could be thin and light and carried by the spiral form of turbulent currents.

Some may pick up a hard stone and throw it through a window, I choose to carve something interesting. Most people are unfamiliar with work like this, it has a production value similar to dentistry. And in the end, it may survive us all


private collection: John Taylor
photo credit: Peter Lattimer
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