And the Circle of Art Circles Around Again

Years ago I donated this painting to the Circle of Art, a lovely fundraising tradition in my hometown of Saline, Michigan. Each spring artists donate pieces that are then auctioned off to friends and collectors. The proceeds go to the Food Gatherers of Ann Arbor. My dear friend (and favorite human) Stephen Kerr was very involved in the fundraiser, recruiting many of his friends and former students to participate. We lost Stephen last year, but he tends to find lovely ways to say hello and remind us of all that is good in the world.

Yesterday, Stephen said hello!

Out of the blue, I received a text with this snapshot of a painting I made many moons ago. Very springy! Very happy! The text was from the art teacher at the elementary school where Stephen used to teach. I connected with him last fall when collaborating on a lovely tribute to our mentor Stephen. His name is Kevin and he was just reaching out to say that he and his young daughter had come across this piece I made, which they had acquired some time ago at the Circle of Art event. He told me it made his day to find it again; they had hung it on the wall in his daughter’s room. I let him know that they had made my day right back!

And that was Stephen’s way of making everyone’s day!

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Kindness Interrupted

About 5 minutes before the world went upside down, Elizabeth Warren announced she was suspending her race for the presidency. So I made this note for her and had 100 postcards made. Life and its priorities have changed a lot in the last few days. I was going to make stamped, 4-packs available so people could send thank yous to Elizabeth and pass them on to friends to do the same. And while, I still think it’s good practice to recognize competence and say thank you, this moment is so intense that I feel weird about sharing these now. My heart aches for the world. I hope that there is a time soon when the world recovers and spins forward at a manageable pace again… at which time, I’ll revisit this project, because competence is cool and being nice matters more than ever.

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Custom School Picture Fun

My Little Black Combs series has inspired some fun commissioned pieces. Recently, I did a set of two portraits for a couple of lovely humans; this required timetraveling to the 1950s. John was in 5th grade in 1957 and Penny was in 3rd grade in 1956. This presented the unique challenge of converting their portraits to color. Back then, school pictures were always black and white! Penny remembered the exact color of her dress and described it perfectly for me. John didn’t remember the color of his plaid shirt though, so I improvised! Another fun fact is that these portraits capture Penny and John in elementary school, only a few short years before they met in high school. Believe it or not they were married a few years later and last summer they celebrated their 50th anniversary! It makes this set of portraits even more special.

If these sweet portraits make you nostalgic for your school days, feel free to reach out to me to commission your very own portrait! We can time-travel together and make the magic happen.

Blast From My Second Grade Past

I recently rediscovered my journals from 2nd grade, circa 1978-79. Mrs. Krueger was my teacher that year and she had the class write “logs” in spiral bound notebooks a few times a week. In retrospect, it set the stage for the blogs of the future. My old journal entries are an interesting glimpse into my 8 year old brain. I was all about the facts—not much exposition. My go-to adjectives were “funny” and
good”. But my handwriting was pretty good. In reading through these old keepsakes, I have come across a few gems that have inspired me to recreate the journal entries as art using colored pencils and paint markers on wood panel.

This particular journal entry captures my thoughts on seeing Saturday Night Fever— as an 8 year old without supervision (unless you count my 9 year old friend Mary Lynn) — while the rest of my family saw The Deer Hunter in the theater next door. I think I was entranced by the disco magic at the time and young enough that that the adult themes flew right over my head. I do remember thinking at the time that it was a HUGE deal to get to see this movie with my friend and no parents. It was the 70’s and gen-X kids were given more leeway than kids today.

It’s been fun to re-read these journals. They really take me back to very specific memories of daily life of childhood like watching TV, playing with friends, and doing chores. I am so grateful that Mrs. Krueger had us record these journals (and that I managed to hang on to a few of them over so many years). She was also the first teacher I had who really encouraged me to draw. She was a grand influence on me then and still is to this day. I had the pleasure of reconnecting with her recently after our mutual friend Stephen Kerr passed last spring. Mrs. Krueger is 88 and going strong. She is truly a lifelong teacher, mentor, and friend.

The Legacy of Stephen Kerr: Share Your Art

Stephen Kerr was a wonderful friend and teacher. Enjoy this short video that celebrates his love for life and the magic of creativity.

For those of you that don't know who Stephen Kerr was, he was a Saline Schools art teacher spent many years here at Heritage teaching kids in the same room you spend time learning about art. Throughout my time here in Saline I learned a great deal from Stephen.

Weird Christmas and the Fab Four

This year we went to Vegas for “weird Christmas”, the highlight of which was seeing Cirque du Soleil’s LOVE at the Mirage. I made these Beatles puppets to keep us company as we took in the Vegasness of it all including faux Paris, the Neon Boneyard, bowling and the seemingly omnipresent bail bonds locations. Silly fun!

PBS Heroes Join Margarita Thanksgiving

Margarita Thanksgiving was even more low key than our normal tradition this year. Our usual partners in crime were on the road, so it was a sweet dinner for two. The place mats were a tribute to our PBS heroes: Bob Ross and Mr. Rogers.

Detroit Cub Scout

This is a fun commissioned piece for a cool Cub Scout who enjoyed flying kites and froggin’ with his grandparents back in the day!

My Dear Friend Stephen

This is a portrait of my teacher, mentor, and dear friend Stephen Kerr. He is and will always be one of my all time favorite humans. For me and so many other people who were lucky enough to know him, Stephen was like a creative spark that encouraged us and lit our way to new and wonderful creations and adventures. His spirit lives on in each of us, appearing like a breeze out of nowhere at just the right time. We’re forever connected. And I’m forever grateful for his many gifts.

Little Black Combs Show

My Little Back Combs event took place on September 21, 2019. The collection was a wonderful collaboration with friends to gather old school pictures, uncover memories of childhood and create portraits that captured who they were at that moment in time. The opening at Firecat Projects in Chicago was a memorable and magical evening of collective time-traveling. Thanks to all who participated!

Tribute to Congressman John Dingell

Back in the 20th century, my first real job was working for Congressman John Dingell in the House of Representatives. He was a very good human, an old school leader who believed in compromise. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore. Sending love and respect to Mr. Dingell. I am proud to have worked for him.

Happy New Year, Notorious RBG!

Sending good juju out to Ruth Bader Ginsburg. You can too — check out my shop for a set of 4 stamped postcards, one for you and 3 for your friends to send a kind note to RBG!