TWO HUNDRED POSTS

in almost

T W O Y E A R S

here on

martincooney.com

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“At Last! My New Home on the Internet”

~ Published on: Mar 14, 2013 @ 19:55 ~

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Given its timing I thought it lovely for Word Press to surprise me with this zippy little New Year’s greeting card – quite made my day it did. They said I could share it, and so here it is:

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“The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.”

“Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 8,500 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.”

Click here to see the complete report.

Cleaver, I think, of Word Press to present the colorful image of all of us tucked into the vastness of the Sydney Opera House – perhaps the most famous curvilinear structure on earth. “Three sold-out performances” no less. What a diverse picture we would make. And so I’ll take the opportunity afforded by this, my 200th post, to thank each and every one of you, wherever you may be, in whatever part of the world, for visiting my blog.

My aim two years ago, when I first conceived the idea for this blog, was to present the sculpting process in its entirety, from inception through to completion, and it is my hope that doing so I am able to kindle a little love, passion and appreciation for the sculpted form.

Meanwhile, in other news…

Currently, with the Autumn of 14 Collection now well behind me, the spring collection yet months away, and the studio workshop locked in the iron grip of ice I find I am really enjoying this winter weather like none I can recall since the early days of downhilling a decade or so ago. The Great Nordic ski experiment is proving a great success and I am loving every minute of it.

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At this point last year however I was deep in the throes of carving the 1314 Winter Collection. The studio workshop was in full swing and all thoughts of expending energy on recreational pursuits were completely out of the question. There was much work to be completed before embarking upon my Three Month Tuscan Adventure and nothing, including Rocky Mountain winter blizzard conditions, was going to interfere with my plans.

As the Deep Midwinter Season settles into the valley we can expect some of the coldest, frostiest, meanest, crystal clear days and nights of the calendar year, and this time around I intend to take full advantage of my newly acquired skinny Nordic skis to immerse myself in nature.

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The strong December storms, followed by a succession of warm sunny days, have served to provide quite exceptional snowscapes both within and without the Colorado Rocky Mountain Sculpture Garden.

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Inspiration comes from all quarters, but of all the four seasons none compete with the striking beauty of a Colorado Rocky Mountain winter. Ice and snow get up to the most amazing things in this oven dry, sun-baked, high elevation air. Not content with melting, or dripping all over the place, it simply evaporates to leave behind an ever diminishing skeletal frame of outrageous gravity-defying crystalline formations.

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At this time of year the snow itself seems compelled to refine and improve upon my outdoor sculpture.

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It was this exhilarating early January weather of 2013 that gave rise to The Ice Palace.

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The Ice Palace stood from the Snow Moon of early January that year to the Wolf Moon of February.

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Over the coming weeks I will be posting regular ‘real time’ updates through to the final moments of its graceful early spring demise.

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The Ice Palace in all her glory – gone, but not forgot.

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And so, in order to get 2015 off with a bang, as I have already announced, I plan to ski all 150 kilometers of immaculately groomed Nordic ski trails that crisscross the valley, passing my very doorstep in the process.

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Although I do indeed live to sculpt I’m also well aware that what goes in duly comes out. Whether I find myself On the Loose in Italy, or on skinny skis here in my own back yard I can safely say that my appetite for life is being charged, re-vamped, and fully primed for the task of carving my next collection of curvilinear marble sculpture.

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