After watching a documentary about the genetic "enhancement" of our food, I suppose I just get a little creeped out.
I know that new technologies are always a little off-putting to some people, but usually I'm pretty interested and have few qualms about them.

It just seems to me that many things that are being done for incredible profits in this world are also things that, without some kind of reasoned debate and thought, have the potential to actually destroy our world.

If through some accident or deliberate event, our current food supply of seeds were to mutate, without our knowledge, what would that mean for the human species?

this represents the tragedy of the construction paper frame my teacher glued to my painting. It was selected as one of the paintings to be shown at the local mall, and she decided to "frame" them all. in doing so, she covered up both trees, part of the hat and the sun. I was devastated and refused to allow the ruined painting to be shown.
This also led to my fanatacism regarding widescreen/fullscreen formats of films. When Scorsesee began his crusade to put widescreen format movies on VHS, I signed all sorts of petitions and had a constant rant to anyone who would listen, including encouraging the local library (Jackson and Detroit) to carry widescreen formats.

working through exercises - asked to recall a childhood landscape that I drew or painted. Instantly remembered this scene vividly. many of the details were very clear in my mind as I drew this. I specifically remember being very proud of drawing the individual grass blades. and of course the hat.

Just playing some more with color. this is the corner of my mother's cedar chest. I love this piece of furntiure, as its the only thing that survived when her childhood house burned.

Just a fun experiment in watercolors. I do like working in color, and I suppose I should start painting more.

Had a flash in the middle of the night - I couldn't fall asleep and couldn't quiet my mind when all of a sudden I saw several impressions of the play I'll be directing in a month or so. I'm always fascinated by the intrusion of stage images, or feelings of complete clarity into that dream space, especially when they're so rich. And unsought.

So - here's my 1st ever attempt at a self-portrait. I started reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain the other day - truly fascinating reading, and I thought I'd try to learn how to draw. So, this is my "pre-instruction" self-portrait.

I really recommend this book for anyone who thinks. its not just for people who want to draw - its all about the use of the much neglected part of our brain that is in charge of creativity and intuition, all those wonderful things that our society reveres, but tries to beat out of people.

So, I'm testing out my Flickr/Livejournal connection. Talked to my dad today about it - hoping it works well enough for him to post his paintings. And perhaps I'll put some more of my drawings up here...

"[Art should contain]," said Van Gogh, "Something of the Eternal which the halo used to symbolize."

i continue to draw.

ok.

So my parents. every vacation I ever took (except for my birthdays, which I don't count and they took me to Tiger games because I always wanted that more than anything) we would visit museums. usually art museums. these included MOMA, the Louvre and tons of wonderful museums across the country and the world that have amazing collections.

they would turn me loose and say, "find what you like" and we'd meet back at a designated time and place and I would wander through the buildings with no purpose but to find things I liked to look at.

So, I started to draw at a very young age. I have had no formal training. I've seen amazing art by people who taught themselves (Van Gogh is one of my favorites in this category) and I've loved drawing while I travel - although I seem to have focused on salt and pepper shakers and drinks and napkin holders... things I found myself staring at a lot when I was travelling.

In any case, I have recently started to draw people.

I never thought I could draw people.

Now I do.

So here are a couple of my latest drawings:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/99694674@N00/126817263
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99694674@N00/126817266
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99694674@N00/126820109

"You should never have your best trousers on when you go out to fight for freedom and truth."
-Henrik Ibsen

Well. Our second review hit the newsstands today. It is remarkable the change in mood a review can cause in my world. I can be in the doldrums, shaking off sleep with tired stiff muscles, drop a couple of quarters in the paperbox and flip through to see a headline like this:

Silence is powerful in 'A Doll's House'

and all of a sudden this crazy warm happy feeling - like a shining sunbeam washed over my bitter soul.

I hate that it takes validation from the outside to make me feel this way. I wish I could just trust in myself more, or at least have less reliance on others for my happiness.

Ok - I just finished directing A DOLL'S HOUSE. It opened last week.

to be honest, I never thought I'd say "I directed A DOLL'S HOUSE". I've directed several times now, with varying degrees of success, but only as I started rehearsals did it strike me that I'd never directed a classic. They were always brand new plays (world premieres) or new enough that most people wouldn't have had a chance to see them before.

Funny. When I read DOLL'S HOUSE in college, it didn't do much for me. I thought the characters were clichéd and unsympathetic. Rereading it recently I felt like Ibsen was a brilliant constructor of character. He really has put together an amazingly interesting story wrapped around the exploration of what it means to be in a relationship. I'm truly amazed how well it holds up and how captivating it is 127 years later.

We got a good review from the Ann Arbor News this past Sunday:

Network manages to find new shadings in classic 'A Doll's House'
Terrific acting, crisp direction show why play has endured

I've already really enjoyed the converations, opinionated discussions and occasional arguments I've heard after the show.