“art is man’s expression in his joy of labor.”
– henry kissinger,
happy labor day, usa
—
woodward dream cruise, royal oak, mi, usa
august 2017
dropped off the family entries
to the library’s annual lego building contest
there were so many good ones to see
elaborate, creative, funny, scary, lovely, colorful, detailed
some were quickly assembled
some took many hours and days to create
some made by children, some by adults,
some made by both working together
but it was the one above that really caught my eye
it was beautiful because
it was clearly made by someone
out of pure love
created by ivy, a preschooler
her piece’s title
written by someone
who knew how to write their letters
simply read:
‘this is mama.’
it was magnificent.
—
“every block of stone has a statue inside it
and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”
-michelangelo
and upon happening behind
this van covered in peace and love
and words galore
complete with notes
“listen to your mother” – love, mom
“make good choices” – love, dad
and a peace sign and a smile
flashed to me by the driver
when finally side by side
i knew i was at my exit
and almost home.
—
“there are a thousand thoughts lying within a man
that he does not know till he takes up a pen to write. ”
-william makepeace thackeray
—
ann arbor art fair – july 1978
—
it began in 1960
when
132 artists (99 of them local)
strung their artwork between parking meters
and locals came by
curious to see if artists
would really put their work on display in the street.
it now hosts over 1,000 artists and 500,000 + visitors
from near and far each year.
the ann arbor art fairs
(actually now a group of four)
will kick off today and take over the city
for what always promises to be four days
of creative display, talks with artists,
bargaining, excitement.
music, children’s activities,
and always, always
lots of surprises.
—
“the art world is filled with vibrancy.”
-rachel kushner
—
image credit: ann arbor news archives, ann arbor public library old news, m live. com
when at the main detroit public library
climb up the stairs and step out of the doors
to the loggia outside
look up to the ceiling arches to see
the 7 beautiful mosiacs
inspired by william shakespeare’s
“as you like it”
the 7 stages of man
with thousands of tiny glazed tiles
created by tiny hands at pewabic pottery
after reading the chart below
i believe that i find myself in the 5th stage – justice,
working my way toward the 7th stage – decrepitude.

“we know what we are, but know not what we may be.”
-william shakespeare