the tiny expo art show
at our downtown library
had a wide range of artists
with beautiful work
one of the most unusual
was some of jaci riley’s work
tiny earrings
cast from her cat, Beatrix’s lost tooth.
—
“the world is a museum of passion projects.”
-john collison
early evening in the washington boulevard historic district of detroit
i’m reminded of the whimsy of willie wonka’s chocolate factory
—
“i will always be on the side of those who have nothing
and who are not even allowed to enjoy the nothing they have in peace.”
-federico garcía lorca
—
“Man Sitting by the Stove The Pauper” by Vincent van Gogh, created in 1882 in The Hague, Netherlands. Chalk and pencil on paper. Currently held in a private collection.
a colorful marble orb spider, not unlike this one, came down on its web
(and not on anyone’s hand, the spider above is a model/actor)
appearing as we were having a glass of wine outside before dinner
it lowered itself down checking us out
with excited and mixed reviews from the group
not long after
we moved inside
while some of us
were in the kitchen finishing up dinner preparation
the rest of us were left to our own devices
in the living room
with more beverages
and a tray of appetizers
i thought it would be a great idea
to fashion
a marbled orb spider hanging from its web
out of leftover pieces from the tray
everyone pitched in
when it was finished
it seemed a challenge
to decide which was more lovely
the outside real spider
or
the inside interpretive spider
art and beauty
are very personal choices
as we all know
—
‘life is like art. it’s all interpretive.’
-robert holden
‘
—
September
then the flowers became very wild
because it was early september
and they had nothing to lose
they tossed their colors every
which way over the garden wall
splattering the lawn shoving their
wild orange red rain-disheveled faces
into my window without shame.
~ grace paley
went to my grandson’s (a born entertainer), arts camp
in a beautiful northern michigan location
to pick him up and to see his choir performance
where some of their rehearsals even took place in the woods
it was a wonderful experience for him for many reasons
new friends, no electronics, learning to play piano, sing new music
time away from home, tell stories, eat camp food, have new adventures
at the camp performance
my daughter noticed
that grandson j, and his longtime friend, also j
were singing in much the same positions
where they had performed
at a school concert
where they first met seven years ago
so wonderful they are still friends and still love music.
—
‘the true beauty of music that it connects people.
it carries a message, and we, the musicians, are the messengers.’
-roy ayers
*Roy Ayers Jr. was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Hw began his career as a jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 70s, during which he helped to pioneer jazz-funk.
—
blue lake fine arts camp, twin lakes, michigan, usa – summer 2025
while recently at my friend’s lake house
we made this beautiful puzzle
of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
she purchased during her recent visit to the northern regions
beautifully made of wood, precision cut, and challenging
but together we managed to complete the puzzle
except
for one piece
that I tried to jam in
I broke it
our ‘gluer’ didn’t put it back together quite right
so we accepted that it was finished without it
but I felt bad
so I wrote to the company
to see if they could possibly replace the piece
I took photos of it and where it was supposed to be
always worth a shot
the artist who made the puzzle
also the company owner
said she would replace it
(talk about customer service!)
I thanked her
excitedly waited for the piece to arrive
within days it showed up at my house
what should arrive at my house
all the way from the upper peninsula
but an entire puzzle
at no charge
from the artist herself
as her and her husband
are the small business owners
of their own family owned company
she is a Ukranian artist
who makes the puzzles
among many other things
he is an American veteran
I was so amazed by their kindness
that I’d like to publicly thank them here
by sharing a connection to their business
I will certainly buy puzzles from them myself
thank you again for reminding me
that there are wonderful people out there in the world
and for your beautiful work
(all links are below)
Artist, Kateryna Nelson
https://www.facebook.com/artfactorytwinportsWIMNMI
https://www.artfactorytwinports.com/shopall
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtFactoryTwinPorts
Gwinn, MI, United States
artfactorysuperior@Gmail.com
—
“customer service is an opportunity to exceed your customer’s expectations.”
-John Jantsch
*John Jantsch is an author, speaker, and marketing consultant who specializes in assisting small businesses. He is the author of Duct Tape Marketing, The Referral Engine, and The Commitment Engine.
mixed media on door;
house paint, acrylic, buttons, liquid nails, mason jar, hot glue
no date
courtesy of laura lippman
Mary Proctor (1960- )
Mary Proctor’s store, Noah’s Ark Antiques, in Tallahassee, Florida is a wood cottage where you can still buy used records and faded photos. Her yard is a labyrinth of clutter, surrounded by a chain-link fence. She lives with her husband and four children in a mobile home behind the store. Mary Proctor began painting on doors in 1995, after her aunt and two other family members were killed, trapped inside their burning house trailer. Firefighters failed in all attempts to pry open the swelled metal doors. Mary says that God then spoke to her, telling her to “paint onto the doors.” Renaming herself, “Prophet Mary Proctor,” Mary’s doors are covered with her spiritual teachings and observances of righteous behavior garnered from everyday life and, especially, from her wise Grandma. Her doors range from cabinet size to large double garage doors on which Mary typically uses paint and a collage of buttons, cloth, and found objects. Mary likes to think of herself as a missionary rather than an artist. “I’m just a messenger and they (the people who collect her work) are the deliverers.”
—
‘in a time of destruction, create something.’
-maxine hong kingston
—
American Visionary Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
here we meet again
my former kindergarten student
now at the annual Ann Arbor art fair
having grown into a wonderful human
and innovative artist.
—
‘creativity is like scientific research in that it involves things that haven’t been done before. as such, creative endeavors are essentially experiments, and if they really unique, you have no idea what will happen.’
-tina seeling
* tina seeling is an american educator, entrepreneur, and author of 17 books on creativity and innovation. she is a faculty member at Stanford University and currently the executive director of the Knight-Hennesy Scholars.
“Soul” by Ugo Rondinone, 2013
“Stick-to-itiveness” is now included in the dictionary. It’s about perseverance — whether we’re born with it or learn it. It’s about continuing to show up and doing what matters, even when you don’t feel like it, and especially when the world is yelling that you don’t matter, that you’re crazy, that who you think you are and what you have to say doesn’t matter. I’ve been thinking a lot about what matters and why I care so much when someone feels what I think doesn’t matter. Why do we keep having to learn, again and again, that we get to choose what we care about? Today, as I listened to Erin Brockovich tell her story, I was reminded that thinking differently is beautiful, and whatever we think, feel, and care about is valid and matters. It is our responsibility to amplify what we care about. There is no special reward for conformity of thought or action, but there is an internal reward for expressing the uniqueness of who we are.
Ugo Rondinone made a series of stone figures in a variety of sizes for his exhibition Soul in 2013. Each one is different, but they have a visual uniformity, as if they’re all from the same humanity. When you look closely, though, their heads sit slightly differently on their bodies, their legs are longer or shorter, their torsos are thin or thick. They are us. And we are them.
-Heidi Zuckerman, CEO and director of the Orange County Museum of Art and author of Why Art Matters: The Bearable Lightness of Being.
—
Installation view, Ugo Rondinone, soul, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Maag Areal, Zurich, 2013. Courtesy of the artist.
Photo: Stefan Altenburger
I didn't have my glasses on.... 