—
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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”
―
perfect time to scream and make peeps easter candy into art.
—
‘i always saw candy as art.’
*dylan lauren
*Dylan Lauren is an American businesswoman.
She is the daughter of American fashion designer Ralph Lauren,
and the owner of New York City’s Dylan’s Candy Bar,
which claims to be the “largest candy store in the world”.
—
art credit: lisa johnson
I didn't have my glasses on.... 