THE WORKS OF ZARD

[zard]

If this works it is photo of one my 'gnarls' and my copy of Dee's Actions with Spirits (a numbered copy) taken in WEIR GROTTO.

[zard]

This one is my wizards hat atop the willow drift that I am about to haul from Wizard Isle to WEIR GROTTO last summer. Along the way I was struck by lightning. Shortly after that during the same storm a sign was torn from a local bar by the strong winds and collided with me as I dodged down the side alley to escape the large hail.... the stuff of legends, the story is still viral in these parts. The sign was very large and yet I was not even scratched. My hair was still standing on end from the charge field of the lightning strike. I imagine I cut quite the figure that day.

[zard]

This is a shot of my signature staff. One can see the gnarl pictured earlier snaked about it and the willow drift from Wizard Isle in the background now in WEIR GROTTO. That black hut to the left is used for projecting digital realms. What one sees on my websites is a pail shadow compared to what can be seen in the WEIR.

[zard]

This is one of many sculpted pools in the WEIR. All are brimming with life. There are pools as high as nine feet in the air with transparent hulls that give the appearance of water free floating.

[zard]

One of our countless summer guests. All are welcome. Coons come and feed on my many fish. They are welcome. I can easily capture hundreds a day with MAJIK.

[zard]

The previous shot with the gnarl curled about the staff is over shoulder high. Such is a wizards staff. A crook as in this shot is considerably shorter. It is barely shoulder high. They are extremely sturdy. The staff is natural willow drift. This crook is Orange Osage hedge wood. Hard as stone.



Notice the energy field around the globe. It is quite natural.

[zard]

I also invent, design, and build my own equipment. Below is one of several 'Ring Rounds'. Notice the ring clamped for working. That one is a reject. It is done in silver and ebony with a crystal band. Working crystal into a band is rather tricky. This attempt has a very minor fracture. Rather than risk it someday breaking I remade it for Elvis Presley. One might recognize that lightning bolt as the EP TCB (take care of business) trade mark. This version is unique in that it has one extra joint in the lightning bolt signifying it is to be the property of the King of Rock and Roll himself rather than one of his body guards who had similar insignia on pins.

[zard]

My own Dragon Masters Ring. The gold and Lapis were smuggled out of Chili many years ago by a native shaman as an offering to Nomac.

[entropic]

Very inspiring and colourful.

[zard]

Why, thank you. The WEIR sculptures are immense fun to create as well. Some do tend to be on the serious side. I do have a death bench I will post here shortly. It is an interesting sculpture used for comforting and advising those who are terminal. It sits before what is known as the Crystal Fountain. The fountain provides a constant show of sun perch and the sounds of gurgling grotto waters.

[entropic]

Ohh, cant wait to see it, I never saw a death bench before!

[Serenitydawn]

Ohh, cant wait to see it, I never saw a death bench before!

Me too, I've never even heard of one.

[zard]

Pictured here is one of the many skypools. WEIR GROTTO is like a theme park for nature's creatures. Both squirrels and song birds love the high pools. They are safe places to frolic and to play BENEATH water is simply mind blowing to Nick. Nick is my arch nemesis. When not tossing potted plants he does not entirely approve of at me as some kind of joke he plays scuba diver beneath this pool.

[zard]

This is shot is of THUMPER'S pool in bloom. It is a two stage pool... clear above in an illuminated acrylic hull that pours down into a bog with many fish both above and below. One of those is THUMPER. There is also a smaller BUMPER. They are bass. If they know you they will lay there and feed right from your hand. If they do not they retreat beneath the above pool hull with a loud echoing BUMP THUMP.



This is a shot of the two pools and acrylic fountain:



and THUMPER:

[zard]

Ohh, cant wait to see it, I never saw a death bench before!

Me too, I've never even heard of one.

Still looking for summer photos. Could run out and take some now but it would mean digging snow. Don't misunderstand. It is not at all a dismal place. Quiet and somewhat confronting while still comforting. I help those who are facing death. Not only them. I also work with those seeking a reason to live. It is a very natural place with stones and wood that seems to speak. Everyone who benefits from it tends to contribute to it. It is largely sculpted from stone and driftwood deposited at the head of Wizard Isle when it was formed. This is fossil stone violently ripped from the earth and tumbled smooth in a single catastrophic event that accompanied my arrival here. Many tons of stone were forced down Rock Creak to deposit into the Neosho River, damming the river to a fork and forming the island. Even to this day one looks at those stones and can't help but think they are Runes of the gods. When I gather them I do not pick them so much for aesthetics as for how much they seem to be saying something from beyond.

The fossils are from a time when Kansas was an ocean. Along with them are bits and pieces of history caught in between. As you walk this river it still possible to find civil war military wagons. Part of this is because the river rises and falls dramatically. Every summer season brings a whole new level of treasures washing down from hundreds of miles upstream. There is a mill dam here below the much larger dams upstream that makes this basin the drop point for every seasons treasure.

[entropic]

Aw, a death bench without any skulls on it? Not even a tiny one?

[zard]

Not a one... but it does have a scythe. And a large iron mill wheel. Oh... and trolls... do garden trolls count?

[entropic]

Yes, very much.. any type trolls are good!