Category Archives: storytelling

fantastical.

Standard

one of the best parts of spending my days teaching

is hearing all the fantastical tales

that spring from the kinder

with their open eyes and open hearts. 

 

image credit: nicolette sowder, wilderchild

storytelling.

Standard

not us, but actors with a similar communication style

getting together with my friend yesterday to catch up,

with our usual mutual understanding:

“if i’m telling you a story be prepared to have 7 mini conversations and 19 other stories thrown into it.”

“photography is telling stories.” – jim spillane

Standard

 

attending the annual ann arbor art fair

i had great luck and the honor of meeting

photographer/human rights advocate, jim spillane.

i happened by his stall

drawn in by the beauty and subjects of his photographs

especially taken with his pictures of children

after much thought

finally decided on one

a young tibetan child

tiny hands held together in hello.

i asked jim his story

how he had come to take these stunning pictures all over the world.

once a criminal defense attorney in the gerald ford white house

representing vietnam war draft resisters seeking amnesty

he got sick, had a horrible experience

 changed his life

trained with an ansel adams associate

began traveling the world

taking photographs of people

his subject is the human condition and the connections and responsibilities we have for each other.

using his pictures as a way to create interest, open discussion, communicate, call attention to a cause

he has worked taking photographs of workers at a nepalese brick factory for many years

created a photo book of the workers

to speak out and to tell their stories with his photographs

still seeking to help those in need and to be an effective advocate for them.

he is a natural artist, storyteller, teacher, advocate, and man.

“in recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.”

-thurgood marshall, former justice of supreme court of the united states

link to his website: jimspillane.com

link to his book, ‘the face of bricks’: https://www.blurb.com/b/9897011-the-face-of-bricks

finding dabls in detroit.

Standard

i recently went with a group of colleagues/friends

to find the artist, dabls

working on his block in detroit

where we learned so much from him

an experience i’ll never forget

dabls’ installation-‘iron teaching rocks how to rust’ 

artist/storyteller dabls

uses materials as metaphors

to pass on his stories

of african and european art/cultures

open to everyone

he can be found working and sharing stories

on this abandoned block

that he has reclaimed

as his own and the community’s

most every day

dalbas mbad african bead museum

where each of his beads tells a story

dabls’ art has brought this house to life

 “Stories are able to help us to become more whole, to become Named.

And Naming is one of the impulses behind all art;

to give a name to the cosmos, we see despite all the chaos.”

-Madeleine L’Engle

The Kresge Foundation elected Dabls as “2022 Eminent Artist”

to recognize his accomplishments in the arts as well as his lifelong impact on Detroit’s culture.

to read his full story go to:

http://www.mbad.org/best-friends

or just stop by to see him.

full of life.

Standard

what an honor and a joy

to see the culmination

of my dear friend, breeda kelly miller’s

 hours, days, months, year, spent

writing, creating, staging, rehearsing, distilling

and bringing the story of her mother, mary kelly

to life on stage at the world premiere

of her emotional and brilliant one-woman play,

Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home.

 the arthur miller theater, ann arbor, the university of michigan

“you should feel a flow of joy because you are alive. your body will feel full of life.

that is what you must give from the stage. your life. no less. that is art: to give all you have.”

-anton chekhov

 

 

 

 

 

Directed by Brian Cox, a Pencilpoint Theatre Production. Go to mrskellysjourneyhome.com for updates. 

 

mother goose.

Standard

mother goose waits patiently on a rock in the river

luckily she has lots of stories to tell until baby’s big enough to swim. 

“rock and roll is music, and why should music contribute to…juvenile delinquency?

if people are going to be juvenile delinquents,

they’re going to be delinquents if the hear… mother goose rhymes.”

-elvis presley

 

 

huron river, argo park, ann arbor, michigan, usa – spring 2021

 

the history of how you felt.

Standard

 loving my new journals and so looking forward to filling them

 

“language allows us to reach out to people, to touch them with our innermost fears, hopes, disappointments, victories.

to reach out to people we’ll never meet.

it’s the greatest legacy you could ever leave your children or your loved ones:

the history of how you felt.”

-simon van booy