Random Thoughts

We all have events that change our lives, events that are earthshattering enough that they change how our internal calendars work.   You know, the events that are etched in our minds and we count years as “pre-the event” and “post-the event”.   The first major one in my internal calendar is the day my mom died.   Mary Day. October 20, 2002. 20 years ago today.   We got the news that she was dying on another day that changed my internal calendar, and the internal calendars of most Americans old enough to have been alive then – September 11, 2001. So, one year, one month, and a few days after that dreadful diagnosis, she was gone. Some days it is hard to imagine that it has been 20 years without her.   And other days it feels like an eternity since she was here. So much has happened since she died – family weddings, births, illnesses, divorces, a global pandemic, family members purchasing new homes, and deaths.   Deaths of her daught...

Bed a Day is a project I worked on every single day of 2014.  It was the first big project of this type that I tackled – I set myself the goal of taking a photo of the bed I woke up in every day .  You can see the Bed a Day video at:   Bed a Day video I was not sure I could do it really.  Would I forget?  Would I be upset with myself if I failed??  Was it a ridiculous task? Here are the statistics of “Bed a Day” 2014: ·              Total number of beds I slept in - 22           Pets that got on a bed I slept in – 1            How many stranger’s beds I slept in - 4           How many hotel beds I slept in - 11           Total number of nights I slept in hotel beds - 23           Number of states I slept in - 12         ...

Inspiration, Beauty, and Joy On April 7, 2013 I began a project.  I don’t consider myself an artist really, yet this felt like art, performance art of a sort. The idea came to me one afternoon.  I wanted to see through other people’s eyes.  To narrow the focus, I wanted to see inspiration, beauty, and joy as other people saw it.  My method:  cameras.   I hopped on Freecycle and within a few hours I had two working digital cameras that I was not afraid to abuse.  A trip to Home Depot and we brought home long, thin wire and small metal ferrules (crimps) to secure them.  2 pieces of paper, some watercolor paints, plastic covers and voila – I was ready to go.  My system:  leave cameras out in the open with a provocation for people to use them.  Do not interact – leave the subjects on their own to explore.  Then sit back and wait.  And wait. It turns out not everyone is a person who stops (see ...