—
through her imagination, all things become possible.’
-nadia janice brown
—
art credit: john goss, great blue heron
mill creek park north, huron river, dexter, mi, usa
winter 2025
Jan30
Jan29
the year of the snake.
Year of the snake 2025 – limeyts – Etsy
Materials: archival ink, cotton paper, linoleum block print
happy lunar new year to all who celebrate
Year of the Snake: Personality Traits
Snake babies are often described as wise beyond their years. They’re the deep thinkers of the zodiac, known for their calm demeanor, resourcefulness, and ability to analyze situations before taking action.
“On the second new moon after the winter solstice, millions around the world celebrate a holiday known as the Lunar New Year. This year, the momentous occasion falls on January 29th when we say goodbye to the fierce Dragon and usher in the energy of the Yin Wood Snake. The Lunar New Year symbolizes transitions, fresh, new beginnings, and reminds us that even within the coldest, darkest depths of winter, there is the promise of spring. It’s an invitation to look at the cycle. There are cycles in our natural world such as the seasonal cycles, cycle to be found in each day, or the moon cycle. It’s just another larger cycle that we look at to give us some insight on how to navigate and also embrace the transition. It’s also a celebration to invite in something new, like that energy of a seed bursting through a shell and unfurling into new growth. That’s what Lunar New Year is about.”
~Anjie Cho
Jan28
hamtramck disneyland.
after a wonderful lunch with friends at the polish village restaurant
a bakery visit, and trip to the local grocery
in hamtramck, michigan
(a small city on the edge or detroit
now filled with a mix of polish and yemini people)
we stopped to visit the famous
hamtramck disneyland
located in the middle of an old neighborhood
a one-man folk art display
created over 30 years
in his backyard
it’s really a lot to take in
ao incredibly creative and wonderful
see the story below:
Hamtramck Disneyland Is A Site-Specific Folk Art Installation Created By Artist Dmytro Szylak
Dmytro Szylak grew up in Ukraine and immigrated to the United States with his wife in the 1950s. Mr. Szylak worked for General Motors for 30 years; after retiring in the mid-1980s, he began building Hamtramck Disneyland atop the two garages on the properties he owned. The project took nearly 30 years to construct, and was constantly being updated and modified by Mr. Szylak until his death in 2015, at the age of 92.
In its heyday, the installation filled the air with whimsical kinetic structures that rattled and whirred as they spun in the wind. The garages were painted in bright stripes, and the space in between was filled with found photographs, posters, and classic Americana images mixed with those of the Europe of Mr. Szylak’s past. It is one of Michigan’s most significant works of folk art; thousands of visitors from all over the world have made Hamtramck Disneyland one of their stops.
After Mr. Szylak passed away, his estate was in limbo, with no plan to protect or keep the art. Driven by the energy and support of the community, a group of residents and artists formed to save this great local treasure. Hatch Art, which operates an art gallery and studios in the former Hamtramck police station, took ownership of Hamtramck Disneyland in May of 2016.
Hatch Art repairs and maintains the installation, preserving the core components of the artwork while proceeding with gradual updates as materials succumb to the elements. The intention is to honor Dmytro Szylak’s work by keeping the future of the installation as lively as he did in the past.
“Hamtramck Disneyland” has been the subject of two documentaries and is one of the top tourist attractions to Hamtramck, a city located within the boundaries of Detroit. It is one of Michigan’s most significant artist-built environments, along with the Heidelberg Project and MBAD African Bead Museum, among others. Thousands of visitors a year from all over the world have made “Hamtramck Disneyland” one of their stops. In 2006, famed photographer Bruce Weber did a photo shoot with Kate Moss at this location.—
‘art is life seeking itself. It is our intractable expressions of love
for the beauties, ideas, and epiphanies we regularly find.’
— vincent van gogh
—
text source credit: hatch art, detroit
Jan27
michigan penguins.
saw this group hanging out on the ice on the river
my first thought was,
‘michigan penguins’
“plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. they prepare. they adapt. they perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. winter is a time of withdrawing from the world, maximizing scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight; but that’s where the transformation occurs. winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.”
-Katherine May – Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, 2020.
—
huron river, argo park, ann arbor, michigan, usa, winter 2025
Jan26
more fun.
(not me, but we both have glasses and enjoy candles, coffee, and blogging)
—
‘blogging is different from both journal-writing and writing for print.
it’s more fun than either of those.
the freedom to write whatever I want
and the unmediated connection with readers are the payoff.’
*kate christensen
* Kate Christensen is an American novelist. Her essays, articles, reviews, and stories have appeared in many anthologies and periodicals, including The New York Times Book Review, Bookforum, Elle, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Food & Wine, Cherry Bombe, and The Jewish Daily Forward.
—
image credit: pinterest
Jan25
’tis the season for quafftide.
.word of the day is: ‘quafftide’ (16th century): the season for drinking.
also a pithy way of declaring that it’s time to relax.
works for hydropots (water drinkers) just as well.
*suzy dent
*suzy dent is an english lexicographer, etymologist, author, and media personality
—
photo credit: elizabeth villanueva
Jan24
blue girls in motion.
so great to take my daughter and granddaughter to a women’s basketball game
to see firsthand that all things are possible
‘
‘a girl didn’t get an athletic scholarship until the fall of 1972 for the very first time.’ – billie jean king
‘courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts.
that’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.’
– bethany hamilton, surfer
—
january 2025 – at the university of michigan, chrysler arena
let’s go blue!
Jan23
snow fairies.
deep within the winter forest
among the snowdrift wide
you can find a magic place
where all the fairies hide.
-author unknown
—
nichols arboretum, ann arbor, michigan, usa – winter 2025
Jan22
go to a library.
whenever and wherever you need a library
look closely
you may find one in the most unlikely of places
whether deep in the woods, alongside a curb,
or myriad other places
they are all around you just waiting to be discovered.
—
‘when all else fails, give up and go to a library’
-stephen king
Jan21
maze!
When the cold hits, why not just embrace it in a crazy-mazy way?
This year’s ice maze at the Minnesota Ice Festival is more than just the perfect way to freeze your buns off while getting lost — it’s officially the largest ice maze in the world, per Guinness World Records. Boasting over 18,000 square feet of twists and turns, the maze uses 3,452 blocks of ice, each weighing around 425 pounds. Watch a video of the icy labyrinth.
—
‘it’s a lot easier to complete a maze if you start at the end.’
-dale watson, american musician
—
source credits: Minnesota Ice Festival, Nice News
I didn't have my glasses on.... 