Category Archives: art

Aug20

music connects people.

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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

Aug15

superior service.

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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

artfactorytwinports.com

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.

Aug8

prophet mary proctor.

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The Story of My Grandma Old Buttons

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

 

Jul18

creative endeavors.

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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.

 

https://www.masonkupina.com

Jun26

they are us.

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                                                                                   “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
​

Jun8

do not wash this car.

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 when you see a dirty car

someone will often

write ‘wash me’ on it

but on this one

there was no writing

only cool artwork

  hope it stays just like this for a while longer

so more people can appreciate it

as much as I did.

—

‘i see art in everything. your shoes. that car. this coffee cup. it’s art if you see it as art.’

-andy warhol

May23

cat art.

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i stared at this for a long time.

—

”mystery is at the heart of creativity. that, and surprise.’

-julia cameron

 

 

—

art credit: artitsallinsideus(mitch), cat art

May14

making paper.

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I have always been drawn to beautiful paper of all kinds

especially homemade paper

recently I had the opportunity to make paper

with a small group of fellow enthusiasts 

we began by collecting invasive plants on a park trail

choosing stems, green leaves and blossoms

some with a faint scent

some with color

added some torn pieces of reused papers

 chopping, mixing, blending 

all the pieces with water

mashing, straining, draining, shaping

adding details, textures

each piece it’s own style

finally set to dry

now inspired to try more pieces

loved working with the botanicals 

maybe add some threads,

some hints of finely crushed stone?

—

‘fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.’

-william wordsworth

May12

‘dandelions don’t tell no lies.’ – mick jagger.

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i just love this painting. simple, yet so very much to see.

—

 

‘organic as a dandelion seed, the ship of our imagination

will carry us to worlds of dreams and worlds of facts.’

-carl sagan

—
art credit: “Dandelions” by Susan Cairns, Ireland,  Oil on board.
Apr23

yard ponies.

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walking around the neighborhood 

I discovered something that was new to me:

yard ponies

not something you see every day

or ever 

in my case

they were quite big

seemed peaceful 

a couple of them looked very tired.

—

“trotting together
we know our way,
through bright sun of morning
our cares, cast away;
our ponies fly over fields and streams,
working together,
weaving our dreams.

From ” Ponies,” Celebrate the Seasons”
― Suzy Davies,