Here it is almost Christmas and this week has been great for catching those old Christmas movies on TV. It has me thinking about my favorite all time movies. I think it is interesting that my all time favorite movies are so old. I was born in 1955 but it seems like my most memorable movies are those that I watched in my youth. As my son was growing up we watched a lot of movies together and we tended to go for the action flicks. I loved them all, but they never stuck with me. I could watch one and then watch it two years later and not remember that I had already seen it until half way into the movie.
The movies that have really stuck with me are the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the Bad Seed, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, The Birds, Psycho and Gone with the Wind. I also love catching Shirley Temple movies even if she grew up to become a staunch Republican! My favorite Shirley Temple movie was the Little Princess. There is only one modern movie that really shines for me and that is the Shawshank Redemption. My favorite kid movie is most definitely the Wizard of Oz.. One of my all time favorite funny movies is Some Like it Hot. I seem to have come out with my top ten all time favorite movies. I know I skipped a lot of good movies like the Godfather but these are the movies that I always seem to remember which seems to be a rather big feat for my old brain! Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Godfather but these other movies really stayed with me.
I’ll never forget the suspense of Psycho or those scary birds in the Birds. Alfred Hitchcock was a master at creating that spine tingling suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I didn’t need blood and gore to be scared. When I watched the Invasion of the body snatchers I remember feeling the mounting terror. There is nothing like that original movie. Miracle on 34th Street always made me believe in miracles and of course what kind of person wouldn’t believe that Kris Kringle was Santa Claus? It’s a Wonderful Life always brings me back to the real meaning of Christmas, so what could be better than that?
When I was growing up I loved watching movies with Marilyn Monroe because I thought she was so beautiful. However, the movie that stuck with me was Some Like it Hot. Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn were just so funny together.
In the Bad Seed I saw a child that frankly scared me. I remember that movie so well because of how evil she was. I had never known evil, but if it had a face I didn’t think it could possibly be a blonde haired little girl. It was an odd thing to see that juxtaposition of something most people see as good being so bad!
The Shawshank Redemption is one of those movies that you just want to cheer after because of the build up throughout the movie and the final outcome.
There is one movie that deserves a mention by me because I remember it as being a real standout movie and it’s the best I’ve ever seen Tom Cruise act. I loved Born on the Fourth of July. I thought he deserved an Oscar for that one.
If you are too young to have seen some of these movies, check them out. I mean the original movies, not some crazy remake. While I’ve been writing this, I have been watching It’s a Wonderful Life in black and white. I think it’s great that NBC put up the black and white version. There is nothing like seeing cold, insensitive, greedy Mr. Potter in black and white because in this movie you can really see the symbolism of the black and white. It is ever clear how inhumane some people can be but good triumphs over evil and that is a lasting message. At Christmas time we need to all remember George’s guardian angel, Clarence, and his final message, “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.” Merry Christmas to all.
I caught an old movie tonight that is well worth sharing my thoughts on. The movie is “Meet John Doe” made in 1941 and directed by Frank Capra. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033891/
This is a classic movie showcasing the talents of Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. Barbara plays Ann Mitchell a reporter that just lost her job. She cooks up a letter to the editor that causes quite a calamity. She creates a figure called John Doe that is down on his luck, out of work and ready to jump off city hall. All the politicians are up in arms as they are being bombarded with calls from people worrying about John Doe. She works a deal with her old boss and he hires her back. They decide to find some dope to play the part of John Doe so they can milk this story for all it’s worth.
In walks Gary Cooper who is Long John Willoughby a used up pitcher for some ball team. Ann thinks he’s the perfect man to play John Doe because he has his all American good looks and he’s a ball player to boot! Ann coaches him and he protests the lack of decency in the way people are treating each other. As all this goes on the circulation for the newspapers grows and grows. Ann approaches D.B. Norton, the rich new owner of the paper and an oil tycoon to push this John Doe idea even more and get him on the radio. D.B. Norton and Ann cook up a plan together. She wants money and he wants something much bigger which he doesn’t exactly let Ann know about.
On the radio Ann has John say some things laced with hope and based on the advice of her mother, not gloom and doom. She reaches into the diary of her dead father which is full of wisdom and things her mother says people need to hear today. This is a quote from the speech, “The character of a country is the sum total of the character of its little punks!” John asks people to step up and help each other. He wants them to create a tidal wave of good will. He tells every John Doe, you know all the little guys, to wake up because they are the hope of the world!
After being on the radio, John is getting a bit antsy and wants to get back to playing ball. He’s all set to go when a group of people approach him and they tell him how wonderful he is because they have all reached out to their neighbors. Times are tough and people are out of work but these people have pulled together to help each other and they have formed a club of sorts called the John Doe Club! John Doe is a man created to give up his life for a principle. The John Doe Clubs don’t allow politicians to belong to them because as they say “You know how politicians are.”
John Doe turns into a full fledged movement that spans the whole country. Finally it culminates into a big convention where John is going to give a big speech. He never reads them ahead of time and he has really come to believe the things he’s been saying. Just before the convention he discovers the real purpose for all of this. It was to create a movement such as a third party and use John to nominate D. B. Norton for the presidency of the United States. I’m not going to tell you quite everything that happens in this story but boy did I love the politics of the people mixed up with the politics of the wealthy.
Throughout this movie you get that feeling that everyone is being used by the wealthy D.B. Norton. He runs the show and he even runs the police. He controls the press as well and isn’t it interesting when we have other rich people controlling the press today. So much of this John Doe movement reminded me of Fox News and the strange connection with the Tea Party movement. It also reminded me of the John Edwards movement and even Barack Obama’s “change” movement.
When I was part of the John Edwards movement the people that posted online were all about the little people and poverty and doing something constructive to help. Even after John quit the race a group still stayed formed called the “John Edwards Movement Continues”. We didn’t want to stop the principles of the movement. Of course the messenger was flawed and the movement died but there are still people out there that believe in the principles of what Edward’s was saying. These movements do tend to start with the little guy that is looking for something good to happen in the world. What I learned is politicians are flawed and little guys do get used.
Right now many are feeling let down by the Obama presidency. I wrote a post awhile ago called, “Throw Them a Bone Once in Awhile.” In that piece I referred to the “talk” about Hillary trading places with Biden. To me it is obvious that President Obama has just thrown out that proverbial bone. With the current legislation we are all supposed to be dancing in the streets. He gave the wealthy the lion’s share but he threw the rest of us a bone. That’s supposed to keep us quiet for awhile. The press is busy telling us how great Obama is right now, working hard to build his numbers. Chief among them is Chris Matthews who still has some kind of strange fetish for all things Obama! I’ll hold out on the dancing until after March 4th when we see what they are going to do with the budget. I think something has to give and since it isn’t going to come from the wealthy, then it’s going to have to come from everyone else, you know the “John Doe” people. Once again the wealthy control the little guys just like D. B. Norton had his finger in every pie to control John Doe and that movement.
I personally wouldn’t mind if we all started a John Doe movement but of course we’d have to not let any politicians get their hands on the movement. I see many people would like a third party that could really go somewhere, so we wouldn’t feel like we are throwing a vote away voting for someone other than a Democrat or a Republican. I’d love to see that happen and I’d love some kind of real movement by the people and I don’t mean the Tea Party crowd that seems to be funded by some rich, conservative benefactors. If anything real is going to get done in this country, I personally think it has to develop form the people and we cannot put our hopes on any one person because people are flawed.
If you have the time, watch this movie. I loved it! You can watch the black and white version here. I caught a colorized version on TV but watched it again here.
So today I’m finally getting up my Christmas tree and watching my crazy cat get excited about it. Of course being the kind of person I am, I started thinking about those homeless people that don’t have a tree or even a home to feel warm and safe in. I was wondering about the statistics and decided to Google it. Low and behold I find out that this is National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. It seems that this day was set aside to honor the homeless because it is the beginning of winter and the longest night of the year.
Wow, 770,000 homeless kids are enrolled in public education. As a teacher I find that figure is stunning. I know in my own classroom I see more and more of a divide between those that have what they need and those that just don’t. It seems there is a resolution to combat homelessness. It passed the House on December 2nd, but to my knowledge, not the Senate. That’s not really surprising is it? http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hc111-325
I’m just posting this here to hopefully make people more aware of the need in our country to address the issue of poverty, the homeless, jobs, hope and hopelessness. We all go shopping for Christmas presents and feel like we’ve done something when we put a couple bucks in the Salvation Army pail, but something more needs to be done to address the issue of the homeless. The answer isn’t “out of sight, out of mind” either. We must step up and help in any way we can the least among us. If Congress can step up and help the millionaire’s club, they should be able to do more to help those that are suffering this holiday season and wondering where they will lay their head tonight and sleep.
If you can help out this season, do so. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask! If you are a blogger, spread the word!
This payroll solution may be coming to a business near you some day soon! The other day my son told me about a friend of his. She is a few credits shy of her degree. I guess she’s had trouble getting the foreign language credit completed. She still has to pay her bills and found a job at Wendy’s near Tinley Park in Illinois. When she received her first pay check, well it wasn’t a check. She had to sign a paper in order to be hired that would allow them to pay her with an ADP total pay card. Now you’re probably wondering what in the hell that could be, as I was. It’s a credit card. The company pays her by loading up a credit card. You know a card that costs money to get cash from. It goes directly onto a Visa or MasterCard. Of course this indoctrination video programs people to see the beauty of payroll cards without the pitfalls:
It shows how you can get cash at almost any ATM machine but it fails to tell about the fees involved with such a transaction. It’s amazing how ignorant they make these people appear. It also fails to let them know all of the real life rules that come with the card.
Now, after the initial confusion you might be thinking what is wrong with that? It appears that every time you want cash, it costs money. Every time you want to check and see how much you have, it costs fifty cents. The people getting these cards are obviously at the low end of the food chain. They don’t have a voice. They are the voiceless, the little guys, that most people don’t give much thought to when they’re being waited on by them. While Congress is busy protecting the rights of the “super rich” these little guys are out trying to figure out how to get their money.
Josh’s friend can’t get her money that is supposedly loaded on the card. When she contacts ADP they tell her that her employer hasn’t activated her card yet. Essentially they haven’t “enrolled” her yet. If she had been on the card, she would be charged by the minute to talk to them. Keep in mind that she has been working for them for a few weeks now. She started on November 14th and hasn’t received any money yet from her employer. Would any of us want to work for nothing for weeks on end without getting our pay? Probably not! Wendy’s corporate says it saves them money. I suppose it would with no paper trail and no one to come to the rescue of the little guy and make sure these people are paid on time and get what is their just due. Now you might think, well she signed the paper. Most of us will sign whatever the employer wants when we are trying to get a job. That is something I am sure the corporations rely on. Times are tough for jobs. If you want to work, just be aware this may be coming to a company where you are looking for a job.
ADP TotalPay Card is a convenient paperless payroll solution that allows employees, with a bank account or without, to have their funds electronically loaded onto their own Visa®-branded debit card.
Increase security and reduce exposure to check loss and fraud – By eliminating paper checks and the associated distribution process, security risks are significantly reduced and concerns over traditional paper checks, that can be lost, stolen or altered are diminished.
Save time and cost, and enjoy more convenience – There is no escheatment required by the employer. As your single-source vendor, ADP acts as a one-stop service for reversals, deletions and returns, eliminating the need for multiple-source coordination and reducing administrative tasks.
Increase employee satisfaction and improve productivity – Employees are not required to have a checking account or obtain a credit approval to receive an ADP TotalPay Card. This convenient paperless option gives your employees immediate access to their wages on payday.
Your employees also have the choice of having full or partial pay loaded on their card, offering more choices and flexibility. With ADP TotalPay Card, your employees can shop at retailers worldwide or online anywhere Visa debit is accepted. They also have surcharge-free access to their money at 32,000 AllpointTM ATMs nationwide.
It’s hard to understand how this got started. On the website there are links showing how the companies can get federal and state tax credits for hiring new employees. This is some kind of new game that some corporations are playing and it is not leaving the countless number of their employees happy at all. You will notice it mentions employee satisfaction which is really a myth. All you have to do is type in “ADP total pay card ripoff” in Google and you will come across pages and pages of unhappy employees. Something needs to be done to help these people collect their money and not be robbed by the corporations by being nickel and dimed to death with fees for withdrawing their own cash. Go to this link and just read some of these real life stories from people.
It appears that the company will receive automatic refunds for “uncashed” items older than 180 days. That to me is unbelievable. No wonder these corporations like this method of payment! The money goes back to the employer? The employee doesn’t just get a check sent to them in the mail? Are you kidding me? So if you lose the card or you die or something happens that you some how forget to get all of your cash out, then the money goes back to your employer. I’m sure that’s where the people would want their money to go.
I am outraged that something isn’t being done about this. To me it seems like another way to rip off the little guy. I’m going to contact my representative and senators. I called Senator Levin but his box is full. Since it is so close to the holidays, the politicians are all getting ready to go home, so it may not be useful to contact them until after the holidays. However, I think all of us should do everything we can to help make this new method of payment more equitable for the employee. I am putting links here for anyone so inclined to contact their representative or senators. You may also inquire into your own state legislatures to see if this is happening in your state. It appears to be global. In my research I see this has been going on in Europe for quite some time.
You can contact your federal political representatives here to let them know that some people are having trouble accessing their money through this payment method:
Happy holidays everyone but don’t forget about the little guys that might be serving you at Wendy’s or Applebee’s or some place else that have no real representation.
ADP is Automatic Data Processing, Inc. If you watch this video you will think they are the best place to work.
Maybe they are, but what ADP is doing for other corporations though these payroll credit cards troubles me to say the least.
Elizabeth Edwards passed away today. I feel so sad for her family and friends. Elizabeth was an exceptional person. I read her first book, “Saving Graces”, and felt like she was like an old friend. During the 2008 primary I was for John Edwards. Of course I didn’t know about the tragedy of a life he was living at that time. I just knew that his “Two Americas” was a powerful message. He was the only candidate that early on talked about poverty in America. Some people think this was largely because of Elizabeth. I do know that she had much to say on the health care debate. She knew how important it was to have good health care. She continually met people during the campaign that didn’t have health insurance and were suffering. My own sister died an early death because of the lack of health insurance, so Elizabeth’s illness and her bravery and the way she always soldiered on lived large for me. As far as the 2008 primary goes, we will probably never know everything about that election and what he or she knew at what time. Now it just doesn’t matter.
I didn’t read “Game Change” because I knew the authors trashed Elizabeth in that book and I didn’t care to read anything that treated her with such disrespect. I personally thought she had been through enough. I cannot imagine living your personal pain and suffering in public like she did. Some could say it was her choice but I just don’t believe it. Nobody is perfect and Elizabeth wasn’t even allowed a private time to really reflect on what was happening with her life. She was bombarded with constant tabloid press about her husband and truthfully I wish she would have been left alone.
Elizabeth still had the last laugh because she was able to die with dignity on her terms. Thankfully, we didn’t have to hear the blow by blow final days of her life. One day we were told she is gravely ill, the next she’s passed away. Shocking really, but so satisfying to know that she didn’t have to deal with the constant attention from the grueling, obnoxious press.
I am thankful that Elizabeth was spared the shadow of the press prying into her most private last days. It is a tribute to her family and friends that they could keep this so private for her. I wish you well Elizabeth. You made an impact on this world and you will not be soon forgotten. Many of us watched you battle cancer and the survival of your marriage. I feel a profound sense of sadness at the loss of such a wonderful lady. I know her family will miss her but all of us that loved hearing her voice when she was campaigning for a just cause will also miss her common sense wisdom.
As Thanksgiving Day approaches I find my mind wandering and thinking more and more about my mom. As chance would have it, my mom died on Thanksgiving Day in 1996. Her death forever changed that holiday for me. I will always remember that bleak November day when my dad yelled up the stairs at me to get up because my mom had died. My poor dad’s heart was broken on that day and so was mine. I lost my very best friend and most avid cheerleader. My dad lost his whole way of life as they did everything together. He had to figure out how to live his life without the physical presence of my mom, his wife of sixty two years!
My mom was a “super” woman. She and my dad had fourteen children together, ten of them boys! Mom was a farmer’s wife that stood beside her husband in the field and a teacher that actually rode the bus to school just like the kids! My mom did so much for so many all of her life! Holidays were a special time for mom. She cooked and baked and always tried to make the holidays special for anyone that came home to visit. It wasn’t about getting gifts but about breaking bread. Mom said there was always room for one more. Holidays she cooked for 20-30 people daily for the whole holiday season. Relatives would come and go and she would just keep on doing what she always had to provide the meals that were necessary for such a large clan. In fact when mom died, she basically supplied a lot of the food for all the people that came to stay for her funeral. Family came from all over the country and she fed them with her baked pies, cookies and her pantry filled with whatever was needed.
The night before mom died I only got to see her a few minutes before she went to bed as I had taught that day and had to drive 260 miles to get home. I know she had a great visit that night with my sister, Colleen, and I wish I could have been there as well. It seems so strange that she died on Thanksgiving, but we all noted that it was an easy time for people to get home for her funeral as they already had time off from work. It wouldn’t be too difficult to take a couple more days. It was just so like my mom to make life a little easier for everyone even when she died.
With all of these years that have passed, her death is still so fresh in my mind that it has been difficult for me to see much beauty in Thanksgiving. I can be thankful for many things and that is not what I’m talking about. It just seems that the shadow of that one day will always and forever be with me. November will always seem like a cold, dark, unfriendly month that is a vessel for the death that is coming. The trees have lost their leaves and everything appears so desolate and devoid of life. The only saving grace for me is the thought that Christmas is near and I can put up tree. Something about watching those little Christmas lights twinkle makes me feel all is right with the world again!
M.E.A.P. (Michigan Educational Assessment Program) Since school started this year we have all been in M.E.A.P. mode. This means we have a different schedule and homerooms where we work with students to help get them ready for the big test. Now that the big test is over, we all have a regular schedule with our regular times for our classes. I don’t even want to hear the word M.E.A.P. for awhile. I’m glad I can now focus on teaching art and enjoying my students!
2)
Mom and Dad's Tree, no more!
I will not be missing this crazy weather. I woke up this morning to look on Facebook only to discover that my favorite tree was killed by strong winds. Rest in peace beautiful tree of my youth. I will miss that tree. It was the first thing I would see when I would drive up north to see my parents. Many things changed over the years but that beautiful tree was always there to greet me! Mom and dad are both gone now. My brothers have been remodeling the farm and now with the tree gone, it seems like everything I associated with my parents is completely gone except for their descendants, my memories and of course pictures!
3) I won’t miss the crazy political ads. I cannot remember a year when there were so many stupid, pointless political ads. I especially hate this ad where this little girl is such a brat! Why would anyone want to depict a child this way? It seems abusive to me. Tim Walberg Ad
4) I won’t miss hearing any more pundits talking about Christine O’Donnell and witchcraft. This video just shows that people do say a lot of different things over the course of their life and some of them are crazy! However, most of us aren’t video taped saying crazy things.
5) I won’t miss two, four hour night parent teacher conferences. I will say that I think it was great and I wish I had seen more parents. I saw nearly 60 student’s parents which is awesome! However, sitting in the gym for four hours straight was very tiring! It was difficult to squeeze in a bathroom break! I’m thankful we have today off!
6) I won’t miss hearing about “Sister Wives”. I must admit I haven’t watched the show and have no desire to do so. However, I have been hearing about it on shows and the Internet because it seems to have a lot of people talking. It’s wrapping up its first season and I hope people stop talking about it!
Do you really want to know more about this man's sex life?
7) I won’t miss the Tea Party people that go crazy at political rallies. I like politics to a point but come on, there is never a reason to act like this. I won’t miss any of this!
8) I won’t miss the constant reporting about some poll that says how America is going to vote! Sometimes it seems like they think we have already voted. Tuesday cannot come fast enough for me! Here is the latest “poll” on the governor’s race.
9) I won’t miss the constant talk about Sarah Palin. Will she or won’t she run for president in 2012? Hello, we haven’t even finished this election. I don’t want to think about another election for a long time.
Sarah Palin, will she or won't she?
10) I won’t miss this mean political season where politics seems to bring the worse out of most politicians. Senator Lisa Murkowski actually said one of her opponents is “unfit” for the office. Kendrick Meeks has been asked by his own party to step aside and put support behind Charlie Crist. Then there is that Rand Paul “Aqua Buddha” ad. Yikes! Enough said! I’m glad October is almost over!
It was funny that it was in the Christian Science Monitor because the other day I was likening Mac lovers to being part of the religion of “Macintology”. That is a totally made up word by the way. I made some comment about how Mac people seemed like sheep. I’m laughing about this because my son is a major computer geek. He knows anything anyone would want to know about computers. He gets annoyed with Mac people because they seem to be close minded and elitist. At least I think that is what he thinks. He does have an Iphone and I know he likes the Mac platform as he has used it on his PC. He couldn’t believe all the people at the Mac store in Chicago where he went to get his phone repaired. He had an appointment but still had to wait an hour and a half. The people in the store didn’t seem to mind waiting. The store was packed and he couldn’t believe it in this economy. It’s interesting that Mac has these marketing ploys where they get everyone worked up over their next big thing. Whatever the new thing is on October 20th I’m sure there will be many Mac people standing in line like little sheep paying homage and waiting patiently for whatever Mac is selling them!
I never got into the Apple format because I was always “PC poor”. I could always buy two or three personal computers for the price of a Mac, so I never had the opportunity or urge to join that religion.
Apple wants you to think different and then follow the other sheep!
Mac people don’t be offended by my little entry here. I suppose one religion is as good as the next. At least you believe in something and you’re willing to defend your right to believe in the almightiness of Mac. I on the other hand will continue to use my PC and never refer to it in any type of elitist tone as it is what it is, a computer, something I use to get to some place else, to create some other place, to learn about the world and to whine about everything from politics to religion. It’s not my religion. It’s just a good friend when I have something on my mind!
Yesterday I attended the Grand Rapids “Artprize”. Grand Rapids is about a two hour drive north of Sturgis. Last year was the first “Artprize”. I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like, so I didn’t attend. This year the venue was widely displayed on my local television channels and I was really excited about checking it out. Artprize is an art competition with a huge pay out for the winning artist, $250,000. There are other prizes as well with a total of nearly a half a million dollars. Last year around 1200 artists participated and this year found over 1700 artists throwing their hats in the ring coming from many states and even other countries. Without a doubt this is one of the most amazing art venues I have ever had the pleasure to witness! I kept thinking while I was in Grand Rapids that this was a real “happening” event. I’m already thinking about next year and hoping I am able to attend it again. I highly recommend this event to anyone that is able to make the trip. I would even suggest planning a small vacation around it as you will never see anything quite like it any where else. I believe this is a wonderful boost for the city of Grand Rapids as well. The crowds were enormous. I t was wonderful seeing so many people coming out to look at art. The Michigan State vs. Michigan game was even on and people were not rushing home to watch the game. They stayed to look at the art!
The downtown Grand Rapids area is very quaint and I loved being down there checking out the many different styles of art. I was only probably able to see a small portion of this event. You really need several days to see it all. I was there for around seven hours and went to several different places to see the art. I am exhausted because it was a lot of walking and it is quite spread out over the downtown area. This year it was also out at Frederik Meijer Garden and Sculpture Park. I didn’t get out there and I also didn’t get down by Grand Valley State University. I had already attended the Chihuly exhibit so I knew I didn’t plan on going out to the park. I’m going to walk you through a lot of what I saw today but concentrate on some of the key pieces that really spoke to me.
I planned my trip on the computer and figured I would head to the Grand Rapids Art Museum first. Unfortunately, I think everyone else was thinking the same thing. I had to wait about a half an hour in a very long line to get into the building.
This is a panel from the final piece, Cavalry.
The very long line to get into the G.R.A.M. (Grand Rapids Art Museum)
Everyone was there, like me, to see the number one award winner, a huge pencil drawing by Chris LaPorte. He won the $250,000 prize. It is quite amazing that a pencil drawing won. He used a #2 pencil, nothing else!
I didn’t get to see it! When I got inside there was another hour and a half wait to get upstairs to see the piece. After driving two hours I wasn’t going to spend my day just waiting in lines, so I opted out on this one. It will be on display until early January so I may try to go back to see it! In the lower part of the G.R.A.M. were some wonderful pieces. Two in particular really stood out for me.
The first piece is called “Salt and Earth” and was created by Young Kim from Winston Salem, North Carolina. This artwork is hard to describe. Kim became friends with the woman in the picture. She is suffering a serious illness. The picture is projected from lights above onto the salt below in a calotype photography method. This is also a top ten winner. Unfortunately, someone stepped on one of the pieces. This piece will fade over time just as the person he met and is depicted in the photos, Patrice, will become weaker and fade with her illness.
Salt piece by Kim Young
As I walked into the room I was greeted by these strange pictures under the lights. When I turned I saw the large cirlces of salt on the floor with the picture of a woman.
I was disappointed that I couldn’t get upstairs but I was totally mesmerized by this piece created by Janice Arnold and titled “Chroma Passage”. I was literally transformed from time and place to a tranquil feeling of being at the beach on Lake Michigan. When I was inside this webbed structure I noticed other people just busily rushing through it. I wanted one of two things to happen. I wanted them to stop and feel what I was feeling or quickly get out of the way so I could enjoy my moment. I felt like I could hear the waves rushing in and I could feel the power of the sun beating down. I feel this piece was “transformational” because I was transformed from the art museum to a wonderful space out on the lake! I could see her concept in the Petoskey stones that she sprinkled outside the space onto the sidewalk. This piece was designed around this space for the museum. I truly am shocked that it didn’t win any awards that I am aware of as it was the most emotionally feeling piece that I personally witnessed! In her own words Janice said, “I hope Chroma Passage will be a transformative experience, changing the way the world understands textiles, art, and the personal connection we have to both.” The amazing thing is I photographed her work statement to read later. I felt all I was feeling without reading her statement. The word transformative was used by both of us so I think her art was highly successful from my perspective. She made me feel something special and it stood out from all of the other artworks I viewed yesterday!
This was put up in a hallway made entirely of windows. This is hand made felt.
I felt the waves moving and crashing against the shoreline.
Many people just simply walked through to get to something else. A few of them stopped briefly.
After going to the G.R.A.M., I went to the “BOB” which was basically the “big old building”. There were a lot of people and many sculptural pieces. Here are a few of these:
This was made with metal scraps.
Artwork could be sublime or even ridiculous. This piece is reminiscent of Claus Oldenburg's sculptures.
This sculpture was billed as the “human sculpture”. This was a performance piece. He stayed still but came out of character and surprised the crowd. I video taped him. Unfortunately I had to hold my small, cheap camera over my head to get over the crowd. In the process I see his head is missing much of the time. You can get a laugh off this one!
Here he is looking like a bronze sculpture!
Later in the day when I was at the Van Andel Museum I saw this human sculpture. Many people were teasing each other about whether he was really a person sitting there. I’m sure they witnessed the other human sculpture piece. This piece felt like he was truly alive. You could almost feel and hear him breathing. It was quite amazing!
The day was quite overwhelming with so many different art styles and pieces. It was an art lovers dream paradise!
Here is an artwork that you could touch and play with.
Some how with my Catholic upbringing this reminded me of "Palm Sunday"! Go figure!
This piece was made up of pennies. This was an award winner.
Art is so subjective as what appeals to me might not appeal to you and so on. I didn’t really care for the penny piece but it was big and it was complete from front to back and it rotated. This piece was out by the Gerald Ford Museum. There were some artworks made out of huge numbers of strange materials like toothpicks, straws, miniature balls, and other things as well. They seemed like they must have been done by people with either great patience or OCD or maybe even both!
These lips are made completely out of clear straws and back lit with a red acrylic piece.
This mermaid was made out of thousands and thousands of toothpicks!
This was made up of little tiny balls put into clear channel tubing.
AS you can see I went from place to place witnessing all kinds of unusual artworks. Here are more.
Inside this piece you could make his "brain" work. This was in response to how this artist gets his ideas.
This piece had many familiar objects on it including a yellow submarine. Of course I was reminded of the Beatles. Yesterday was John Lennon's birthday as well.
I felt some fear for the little rabbit here.
A lot of dots here!
A beautiful oil painting, photographic really.
This piece reminded me of Pieter Bruegel and Hieronymus Bosch, strange indeed.
This painting had cut out pieces which looked like miniature Polish Wycinank style paper cutting.
I think this art was from Yugoslavia and it was the story of his home. You can see the effects of war.
I came across a piece that was made up of dreams. These were essentially Ball canning jars filled with objects and some kind of preservative and then placed on shelves. I thought it was a thought provoking piece and rather whimsical. She included what looked like “toe tags” with many of her dreams on them.
There were also street performers. There were many pianos out on the streets that anyone could play. I talked to Carlos and here is a bit from him.
I saw hundreds of artworks yesterday. It was just a portion of what was at the event. I left with a wonderful feeling of having been exposed to some great art as well as loving the fact that so many people came out to see art, just like me. I really cannot wait until next year. It will be wonderful to see what people come up with next! My son asked me if I wanted to submit something. Some of these pieces took countless hours. I think maybe when I retire, it could be fun. The second place winner looks like a painting but it is actually stained glass. It took the artist 2700 hours to create. Each piece is so tiny. The overall effect is just breath taking! What I’m trying to give you is a feel for Artprize and hopefully I have done that. Just remember that over 1700 artists had artwork on display and they came from all over the world with most from the states. Seriously, if you can make it to Artprize next year, you won’t be sorry. This was started by the De Vos family who happen to be very rich. They are the owners of Amway. The son who is around 27 is the brain child of the event. I encourage you to check out more about this at the event website.
This is not a political event. This is an art event that speaks to all people. There is something for everyone!
I loved these paintings. I'll put a couple up so you can see them better.
This piece was hanging over the river.
Back at the BOB. These pieces are made out of glass.
An optimistic piece at the Gerald Ford Museum.
A rather huge wood block print
This was made from ceramic pieces like a mosaic.
This is a splashing wave.
This was the first piece I saw. Notice the man performing beside it.
This was back at the BOB!
An oil painting at the G.R.A.M.
This one just made me think about "when pigs fly"! lol
This piece was interactive as you could sign your name.
This piece was made up with little tiny stitching.
This piece reminded me of a cross between Van Gogh and Seurat.
This is a cut paper piece hanging at DeVos Place.
These aren't fairies but they sure reminded me of hidden little fairies. If you didn't pay attention, these could be easily missed.
These fish looked like they were ready to attack!
This was an interesting display with the intricate lace cut out pattern on the wheel barrows and shovels.
Beautiful and made up of numerous small pieces of glass.
This is a close up view of the stained glass piece.
This is the "Dream" piece.
From the dream piece.
This was an award winner. You could only view it through a window. It tells a story kind of like we are all tied together.
This is another award winner. The heads move gracefully up and down, a kinetic sculpture.
This piece was based on found objects around the city of Detroit. It was moving in many ways.
This piece was put in a bad location which was poorly lit. It's beautiful.
A close up look at the peacock's head.
As you can see, yesterday was a splendid day. From my drive up with the beautiful weather with the many colorful trees to my drive back contemplating my super artistic day. All is right with the world when you can see the potential and creativity of people!
I just want to make a special note here. The “Throw Them a Bone” piece is running into this piece. I want to keep all of these pictures up so try to ignore it please. I’m just not that talented nor patient enough to go through any more time trying to fix it. I’m not about to delete and put back on all of these pictures. I’m not perfect but hopefully you will like this post anyway!
I am so sick of hearing about bedbugs. Every time I see another news program on bedbugs, I swear I start to itch. It’s just so disgusting. I sure don’t want to go to any motels any time soon. When I saw the piece on the bedbugs at the New York movie theater, it really upset me. It seems I can’t even enjoy a decent movie without worrying about these disgusting little creatures.
Many years ago I had a nephew that had scabies. His parents thought it was an allergic rash so they unwittingly exposed all of the other little children to scabies over the Christmas holiday. I didn’t get them, but my precious child did. When we discovered what it really was, it took some time to rid my child and all of his belongings of this disgusting little pest. This was back when I lived a couple miles from my parents up by Maple City. The kids would come over to play because my son had a lot of toys and a very cool castle bed that I had made for him. Some of the kids spent the night, including my nephew with the rash. (My nephew is a great kid so he will remain nameless.) Family members that ended up treating their kids for scabies will remember the Christmas from “Scabies Hell”. It took years to recover from the memory of the “SCABIES FROM HELL” nightmare experience. I still use Dial soap today, even though it probably doesn’t make any difference what soap I use.
I have no intention of finding myself in “bedbug hell”. I’m avoiding anything that may put me in contact with these buggy little creatures. I don’t think I’m going to go to any motels any time soon, but if I do, I’ll probably go with a can of “Raid” and spray the bed!
Teaching is another story. I saw a program that said students could unwittingly bring the bedbugs to school with them. As a teacher, I think I’m going to be on “bedbug alert” all year! Just the thought of these creatures makes me itch. I always watch for head scratching as that can be a sure sign of head lice. Now I’ll be wondering every time I see a child with a bite on his/her skin. I really don’t want to be paranoid. I love teaching, but I hate creepy, crawly, creatures that like to snack on people! Maybe if the press will stop reporting all these bedbug incidents, I could forget about them. However, those reports keep popping up every few weeks, even tonight! You know, if you have gotten this far into my post, you are probably itching already!
