Kind of Strange

My slow moving endeavor, the bone mask.

The sun-dried pelvis of a cow, some varnish and a set of old goggles.

The bones of the cow came from a man who lived in Seattle a while back.  He told me that he was struggling with his life, trying to wrap his mind around who he was and what he wanted out of this world, so he sought to find himself in the desert.  He stayed with a friend in the south and spent most of his time hiking through the desert in introspection.  One day he came across the bones, three cows in all, laid down beside one another as if to sleep.  The man stood a while, then turned back to his friend’s.  He got a tarp and hiked back across the desert the next day, making several trips to bring back the bones.

Through they years they were parted out one by one.  Some went to a theatre, others to friends, until at last there was a single box left.  I found the ad online and after a bit went to pick it up. The story behind the box of bones I now own has always stuck with me for some reason.  Now when I find myself struggling to sort out who I am, I work on the bone mask.