benjaminrhesse
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sketch for coyote linocut
March 10, 2013
i was working out on the plains the other day on a construction job when i saw this beautiful coyote loping across the field. he stopped here and there to investigate a prairie dog hole all the while marking his territory. it soon saw me and raced out of sight, but in that brief moment in which the coyote was quiet and 
alone in the landscape, i knew i had to make a print in its honor.
how to make a simple framed map in 5 easy steps
March 10, 2013
five steps to making a simple framed map: 
1. find old and visually interesting map image
2. print image
3. image transfer with contact paper
4. glue map to stretched canvass backing
5. frame map and drink beer
type case art for your perusal
February 24, 2013
looking for a unique gift and/or addition to your home, look no further than Robert Hesse’s type case art. My dad has been making these classic collages of letterpress font since the late ’70s and they still look totally retro. 
Mercer Museum of Americana
February 19, 2013
If you ever find yourself in Philadelphia, head north to Doylestown, Pennsylvania to the Mercer Museum. It is an amazing cement castle created by the historian Henry Mercer. It houses some 30,000 handmade objects created prior to the industrial revolution. There are early printing presses, a whale boat, trapping and hunting equipment, apple corers, and most aspects of early 18th Century life around the home and farm. I included pics of an old meat grinder, a view of the clock display, the zithers, and a view looking out the 6th story room.
The online tour is also worth checking out.
G-d is Powerful
February 14, 2013
the fall hunt
February 3, 2013
— 2 Comments
weather down music now up on bandcamp
February 3, 2013
http://weatherdown.bandcamp.com/
weather down is a duo featuring robert taylor on drums and benjamin hesse on guitar. the duo have been recording and wood shedding in the basement for over two years and are currently at work on a full length album due summer 2013.
no one has seen them play, no one has heard them, no one knows of their existence until now. having written over 40 songs, they have narrowed down the choicest for your listening pleasure. a few sketches are up on bandcamp and a vinyl LP will follow come summer. enjoy!
oral history/folklore of jenkintown, pennsylvania
February 3, 2013
It has been six years since the release of the finest book ever written about a half square mile town & the stories remain strong. in its third printing, “the compendium of all things close to home” is a great gift idea for anyone interested in the strange & mysterious goings on of small town life. the book is also accompanied by a CD of original music illuminating things like the 1918 kkk march, the history of the tyson pear, and a seriously awesome avant-garde rendition of the jenkintown alma matre.
you can purchase the book on amazon here, and the CD as well.
best graphic novels of 2012
January 6, 2013
just finished denver’s own noah van sciver’s “the melancholic lincoln” and am pretty impressed.
winter wreckage
December 25, 2012
— 3 Comments
bus photo is from mud lake – just past nederland, colorado
the plains photos are from a farm near yuma, colorado
BHesse’s ten albums of 2012 worth getting in a fight over
December 16, 2012
— 2 Comments
put through the most rigorous of tests known to man, i, benjamin hesse, have narrowed every single album released in 2012 down to the finest of the fine: the top ten!
even though this list is probably infallible, feel free to add your own to the best of.
10. jamey johnson “living for a song: a tribute to hank cochran”
9. norah jones “little broken hearts”
8. first aid kit “the lion’s roar”
7. best coast “the only place”
6. dr. john “locked down”
5. grizzly bear “shields”
4. dr. dog “be the void”
3. jeff the brotherhood “hypnotic nights”
2. my morning jacket “circuital”
1. the shins “port morrow”
the nelson house
December 13, 2012
1862 homestead ranch house still standing amidst the pines and high country skies
second best podcast of 2012
October 26, 2012
the best show with tom scharpling
this show is funny as hell – it is the best show!
hi to low resolution
October 15, 2012
found this rusted out farm truck
by the edge of the field
still looks pretty
despite
the hard days put on
cedar shake shingle
October 12, 2012
near final phase of the historic harney/lastoka milk & mule barn preservation
first snowfall
October 8, 2012
rail car off the tracks
ragweed overgrown
snowfall in the a.m. hours
fall weather has come
end of the world
September 28, 2012
benjamin hesse: telecaster
robbie taylor: ocatpad & ipad synth app
new weather down music video “bend your knees”
September 22, 2012
“nightwoods” murder ballad by weather down
September 18, 2012
— 1 Comment
music for susie osler’s public art project FIELDWORK
September 10, 2012
robbie taylor on suitcase and percussion and benjamin hesse on acoustic & electric guitar, thumb piano, and banjo
take a gander
August 24, 2012
here is a link to my friend wilson burnha
m’s brokeoff mountain lutherie blog
he is a master carpenter, a historic preservation guru, and all around serious guitar maker
enjoy his very fine classical guitar work
log cabin chink & daub
August 24, 2012
according to the library of congress records, this cabin was used by a ranch hand circa 1920 by the name of Ronald McDonald.
that said, we have been working this historic log cabin structure at the betasso ranch property doing chink & daub finishing. chinking is the term used for filler set between the logs – wood and sundry objects – whereas daubing is the process of sealing the interior/exterior gaps with mortar. our preferred mix has been two parts sand, one part portland, one part lime, and a dab of finely cut horse hair for binding. the combined process protects from the elements as well as from vermin.
