The creative experiment that started on January 1, 2011 continues. Daily snapshots of my visit to planet earth. A gift to Orson.
My top shot for 2023 is “Island Brunch”, which captures a split second moment through a window while I brunched with my Second Lady in Puerto Rico. It’s escapism and magic and silliness all rolled up in one.
What a gift it is to giggle and see the world with my bestie by my side.
Highlights from 2022, a year of renewal and release…
A return to travel led to shared adventure and joy.
Trust in humanity fed beautiful friendships, old and new.
My love for family overflowed.
Once upon a time, these cool kids got married on a sunny day in Germany. Time passed and they had a daughter named Liesl who grew up to be an artist and work for a famous ketchup-maker. On their magical 57th anniversary, these fantabulous worlds of love collided in the happiest of ways. Voila, Happy Heinz-i-versary, B&B!
For the last 11 years, I have been taking daily snapshots. It’s become a way to pay attention and creatively record my time on planet earth. My pick for 2021 was taken on July 18 while on an adventure in the International District of Seattle. It captures the feeling of being a new transplant to the west coast in the blur of pandemictimes. I call it “Me and Bruce Lee”.
And it’s a reminder that we can find heroes when we need them.
Have you ever done a “personality assessment”? Often, companies ask employees to take these tests so teams can learn different “work styles” and “optimize productivity”, etc. As an artist, I reimagine corporate rituals to make them more fun. I recently took a week off work and headed to the art studio to create take my own personality assessment. The results: MUPPET JACKPOT!
Scroll through to see them all.
I took a few days off from the corporation to get my home improvement on. Landed on this totally rad closet filled with Keith Haring love.
When I discovered Sgt. Pepper’s I fell in love with Lucy in the Sky. The music, lyrics, and imagery lit up my imagination sending me floating in a magical, whimsical world. And it inspired me to create. When I was 16 I made a 6 foot mural that captured her world as collage. And every 10 years or so, I revisit it and recreate it to capture the song and my own creative evolution.
So here’s a fun trip down memory lane with Lucy— the latest features Lucy as Farrah Fawcett, the sunny 70s angel. Others include a triptych in oil paint and a family portrait in acrylic that I made for my parent’s 40th wedding anniversary..
For the last 10 years, I have been taking daily snapshots. It’s a creative habit that helps me stay present and aware of my surroundings, though I initially started it as a way to develop an eye as an amateur photographer. On this 10th anniversary, I have selected my “best” photos, one from each year. The curation process was harder than I expected. In some cases, the image was a clear stand-out. But many images had “close seconds and thirds” that made it hard to decide which image was “best”. So, I went with my intuition. But, I have enjoyed looking back and seeing the progress and reliving the memories. I may continue to peruse the lot and select some highlights in categories that my subjects tend to fall into: portraits, travel, windows/reflections, sidewalks, color. Stay tuned for more!
PHOTOS:
2011 NOV 22 | PARIS, FRANCE | Vite
2012 MAY 20 | CHICAGO, IL | Abbey Road… With Guns
2013 NOV 14 | PARIS, FRANCE | Hello, Moto!
2014 APR 6 | CHICAGO, IL | Wonder Kims
2015 MAR 1 | OAK PARK, IL | Moving Mountains
2016 NOV 18 | SEATTLE, WA | Liebovitzing
2017 SEP 28 | KAMPALA, UGANDA | Boda Boda Morning
2018 JULY 26 | FISHERS, IN | Baker Streeting
2019 JULY 31 | OAK PARK, IL | Headless Wednesday
2020 JAN 20 | SOMEWHERE IN MICHIGAN | If Rothko Rode the Amtrak
Before the world went upside-down in 2020, I was invited to collaborate on a music video with my friends in Yacht Rock Revue for their song “Doobie Bounce” on their first album of original music, Hot Dads in Tight Jeans. It was a blast to make! I illustrated the lyrics on some 70+ overhead transparencies which the crew projected in sync with the music, as the band and crazy props were filmed in real-time. Silly fun with overhead projectors!
Check out the video (don’t miss the Easter egg for die-hard Gen-X MTV fans). I also highly recommend you get the album and read about the band in Rolling Stone.
Lately I have been exchanging letters with my second grade teacher, Mrs, Krueger, who was my earliest inspiration as an artist. We drew a lot in her class and we also read a lot of comics. Today, I received a letter from her filled with magical memories— it was a letter I wrote her in June 1980 as a fourth grader. At the time, making bookmarks was my jam as explained in the letter I wrote her.
It’s faded a little over the last 40 years, so here’s what I wrote:
Dear Mrs. Krueger,
I just thought you might like these book-markers that I made. I have been making alot of them. I will send you some more later. Please write back.
Your friend,
Liesl
I made her a Hagar the Horrible bookmark and what I think is a fancy ladybug with a top hat and cane. Both are dated 6/21/80 and signed, because apparentyl I was a pro even back then!
Note the amazing stationery with the koala wearing a babushka. I remember loving that stationery, so this is a clear reflection of how much I adored Mrs. Krueger.
And I love that she held up her part of the bargain and wrote me back! I couldn’t be happier to receive this today.
P.S. This is proof that we all benefit from the magic of the postal service in very special ways!
Remembering Stephen today. He had a great story about waiting in line to meet Andy Warhol on the Diag in Ann Arbor. He took a can of soup to have Andy sign… and years later the can exploded, ruining the autograph. A very Andy kind of art moment. A very Stephen kind of story.
Spent the day reading, listening, learning, and reflecting about Juneteenth. This piece is part of my learning process. More work to do.
