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My dog, Tyler Foote, and I made ten DANK Koans for the DANK Inaugural. Five are left and available to purchase for $20 each.

A koan is a paradoxical anecdote or riddle used to train Zen Buddhist monks to abandon dependence on reason and achieve sudden intuitive enlightenment: from the Japanese kōan, kō (public) + an (proposition).

You probably know the koan, "Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?" attributed to Master Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1769).

The DANK Koans are three dimensional objects on which to meditate and gain enlightenment. 

Each box holds an environmental object found by Tyler Foote.  They are wrapped in pages of the book Essentials in American History written in 1905 by Albert Bushnell Hart.

I envisioned one experiencing the DANK Koans by ripping them open like a fortune cookie to contemplate what's inside.  But fellow DANK artist, Kathy Frey, the first person to purchase one, told me she intends to keep hers intact and meditate on the unknowable inside.

Whoa.

That's awesome.

At the DANK opening, someone stole one.  I thought it was appropriate in a offensive, counterintuitive way.

Another Koan holder wants to keep hers intact for a while, in reserve for a day or moment when insight is needed, and then open it.

My dad said he would never open one.  He saves things.  My mom, like me, would open hers immediately.  We're curious.  But I am my father's daughter and I see his point too.  They do look pretty.  Why muck things up pondering questions with no answers?

Here is a sneak peek of one…I hope it doesn't ruin it for you…

Tyler Foote and I would be happy to pick one out for you…

DANK Koans are $20 each.

Shipping $5.95 in the US. $15.00 internationally.

Puchase via PayPal here…

Have you heard about the meteoric rise of former homeless man, John Dolan, and his "guardian angel" and muse, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier named George?

Full story here.

More here.

New exhibtion, John Dolan – John and George, now on view at Howard Griffin Gallery.

Hat tip to Clair Hartmann.

Tyler Foote Finds: A Compendium of My Ignorance, now on view at The DANK Inaugural in Nevada City, California, is a two-year collaboration with my dog, a mixed-breed terrier puppy rescued from the streets of Sacramento.

From the moment he came to live with me in Nevada County, Tyler Foote collected environmental objects. His curiosity was humbling because I couldn’t identify a single branch, feather, snake, acorn, butterfly or mushroom he brought to me. Inspired by 19th century naturalists, I began to tag and date each object and note my uneducated response to them. His persistence made me wonder if he might be the reincarnation of John Muir.

As our project progressed into the driest seasons of California’s history, the objects took on new significance. The drought is imperiling our ecosystems. Already 47 animals are on the state’s endangered species list, and another 36 are listed as “threatened.” Native fish, normally able to weather natural drought years, are unable to survive the man made systems that mimic perpetual drought. And the foothill pine, native to Nevada County, is succumbing to dwarf pine mistletoe brought on by water deficits that make way for bark beetle infestation and death. At the rate we’re going, on a global level, 400,000 species will be extinct by the year 2100.

These statistics are not hypothetical. This is happening. Now. And, if we don’t know the names of the living beings that surround us, that sustain us, how will we know they are disappearing? How will human beings survive our extreme detachment from our natural habitat?

Displaying Tyler Foote Finds in a gallery setting added another dimension to our endeavor; inviting questions about art, money, impermanence, beauty, commodification, and knowledge. 

Collaborating with Tyler Foote has forever changed my connection to nature, and made me rethink, when we’re tethered together, my animal companion and I, who’s leading whom?

I'd love for you to come see it in person.

The DANK Inaugural gallery times:

Wednesdays, July 16, 23, 30, during Nevada City Hot Summer Nights, 6 – 9:30 pm.

Saturday mornings, July 19 and 26, during the Nevada City Farmer's Market, 9:00-1:00 am.

Friday, August 1, closing night reception during Nevada City Art Walk, 5:00-9:00 pm.

P.S. Tyler Foote is a road in Nevada County, California, built in 1913 by Arthur DeWint Foote, artist and writer Mary Hallock Foote's husband. It connects North Columbia, California to a town called Cherokee that used to be called Tyler.