Author: Karen Mobley

Sintering: Cobalt and her blue -the process of compacting and forming a solid mass of material by heat and/or pressure without melting it to the point of liquefaction. Electrolyzing cobalt ions make steel alloy strong and hard. In painting class, we stroked cobalt

Renoir’s hands Auguste Renoir (1841- 1919) Veins deep run down the backs of hands, colors in the creases, knuckles swell. A young Frenchman, Renoir painted porcelain plates, figures, saucers and cups. Carefully, he stroked with his strong, able hand. Replaced by mechanization, he became a member

Friendly Formidae - In memory of Curt Mobley and Friendly Fred, the carpenter ant So the ants, they were your friends, right? I knew many of them by their first names. Fred for one. He was a friendly one. He introduced me to his sisters. Working

I am Spokane I am Jingle Boy, the cat with tag and bell I am the Ridpath with jazz singers on the roof top I am the bridges falling down I am the mills on the river, the farmers in the field I am the

Climbing the Tower For Harold Balazs It is possible to be happy and terrified all at once. That was how I felt as I started to climb, shaking, gasping for breath as I got higher and higher into the air as my hands sanded raw

Spokane Do not eat more than two fish a week from the river of murk. Bill, the Fauceteer, master of old plumbing parts crowns with copper pipe. Tormino’s Glass man makes seductive proposals while windows are measured. White’s Boots steel the

In Celebration of Who He Once Was He wears the ring on his right hand in celebration of a marriage passed, two golden retrievers, an old tabby cat, two kids now grown, a vacation with a friend who could cook on the old Coleman stove. It