...has been talking about “History of Made Up Things” for a long time, but the brat never told me anything about what her pet project short film was going to be about until the screenplay was finished. Now that the film is shot, cut and ready to hit the festival circuit, I’m glad that I got to see my sister’s film before the masses.  

 

What has cautious, fading supermodel Alex Montgomery (Eli Jane) gotten herself into when she meets a mysterious appointment? Ashley Eberbach’s “History of Made Up Things” traces two characters’ intentions and the tension between them. Initial conflicts lead up to a single moment - as con-man (Kent Karson) searches for that one iconic photograph that might just go down in history. Watch a trailer for "History of Made Up Things" online, at www.burnoneproductions/films.html

 Ashley the Fashionista...

 

...also produces a line of Detroit-inspired graphic t-shirts, hoodies and cotton pants. She recently shot a photo campaign for her clothing line in downtown Detroit with collaborator Kayvon Esmaili, an LA-based photographer and actor. Ashley and Kayvon handed out free t-shirts of Detroit locals and asked them to pose in their every-day environment. She hopes that the photos will encourage other filmmakers and photographers to shoot in Detroit, by “serving as a gallery about Detroit in LA,” she says. Burn One Productions LLC will donate 5% of sales to Urban Farming, a Detroit-based non-profit. View “Detroit Project” online, at www.burnoneproductions.com/dtown.html

www.letssavemichigan.com is challenging Michigan to take an active role in pulling ourselves out of the muck that many of us find ourselves in. Here are some links that might encourage you to listen, participate and do. LSM has lots of things for you to sign, read, learn, and make happen. I'll make it easy for you. Start off by doing one or all of the following;

1) PLEDGE AND IMPROVE MICHIGAN

Join www.letssavemichigan.com now, and "take a pledge and begin moving our state in the right direction. We've developed six ways for you to support your local community, help make the state greener, and push for the political change our state needs. Make a pledge now and encourage your friends and family to join us." 

2) SHARE YOUR MICHIGAN STORY

"What do you love about Michigan? What would you change? We're hoping to put your stories to good use here on the site, so fill us in on what's happening in your area. Or tell us about the cyclists in Grand Rapids. Send a photo of your favorite chef in Ann Arbor. Or tell us how your city council missed a chance to make Michigan a better place. We want to know."  

3) CONNECT

www.letssavemichigan.com

twitter.com/letssavemich

www.facebook.com/LetsSaveMichigan

4) LISTEN to "The Prosperity Agenda," a new radio show hosted by Dan Gilmartin, the executive director of the Michigan Municipal League. The show airs the last Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. on WJR - 760 AM.

If you are a holistic practitioner, author, workshop leader, teacher or event planner living in the Ann Arbor area who is participating in something NEW, the Crazy Wisdom Community Journal would love to hear about it! I am collecting submissions for the May - August "What's New in the Community" column - UNTIL MARCH 1st, 2010.

 

 

Read the Crazy Wisdom Community Journal online

Visit Crazy Wisdom Bookstore online

HOW DO I SUBMIT?

Please email submissions to communitynews@crazywisdom.net by March 1st, 2010. Submissions should include the following;

1) Please write a brief statement (two paragraphs will do) describing your new business, offering, or event. Tell me about how it relates to Crazy Wisdom's body, mind and spirit theme. If we choose to include you in the column, I will follow up with additional questions and write the final text.

2) Feel free to submit additional information as email attachments (three max; optional).

3) Make sure to include your contact information, including your phone number, mailing address, email address and website address.

4) Please THINK AHEAD about which photograph of yourself you would want us to publish. Photos must be 300 dpi resolution or high to publish. I will collect photos in early March.

*Please note that the "What's New" column is part of the editorial (not paid-for advertising) part of the journal. The editors may or may not include your story.

I've been blogging about businesses and organizations in Ann Arbor that give my city her character. A variety of people from all over Michigan are contributing "MAKING MICHIGAN" blogs to www.letssavemichigan.com To start things off, I wrote about the People's Food Coop, located in the Kerrytown neighborhood of downtown Ann Arbor, and the truth behind 826michigan's Robot Supply and Repair, on Liberty Street. This photo pictures 826michigan's holiday window display, courtesy of 826michigan.

Let's Save Michigan is collaborating with the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA) on a poster contest. Artists, illustrators and the graphically inclined are invited to submit poster designs that "inspire Michiganders to revive their state." Submit your designs before February 15th, online at www.letssavemichigan.com. Finalists will be featured in an exhibition in the spring, and award money will be given to the winner ($1000) and runner-up ($250). Check the website for full submission guidelines. 

I want to highlight an interview I had with Dan Kildee, the creator of the Genesse County Land Bank, a few weeks ago. He has some unique - and sometimes controversial - thoughts on how "shrinking cities" can make them healthier places. He also explains how the Land Bank is changing the landscape in and around Flint, Michigan - by obtaining and managing residential and commercial properties, creating green spaces and growing urban agriculture, and developing the physical design of the area in order to lift the city out of economic muck.

Link to "Shrinking in the Name of Renewal: An Interview with Dan Kildee" letssavemichigan.com October 30th, 2009 

For Halloween, I paid a visit to the "Mummy Museum," which many know as the U of Michigan's Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. It seemed rather fitting. The Kelsey's new wing is allowing the museum to reveal many more treasures from its massive collection of ancient and medieval artifacts.

Find out how the "Kelsey Museum's expansion moves more treasures out of storage" on www.annarbor.com

Also for www.annarbor.com, my piece on Graceann Warn investigates the artist's sensory and emotional response to art. As a synesthete, she associates numbers with colors, colors with emotions - an interesting detail about her artistic process. She also tells about her use and love of encaustic painting, a technique that combines wax and pigment. 

Read more about "Trusting the senses: the art of Graceann Warn" on www.annarbor.com 

photo credit Angela J. Cesere for www.annarbor.com 

Dag-nab-it (or however you spell it)...my content didn't update the last time I posted to my website. What a pain! I guess it serves me right for hitting the submit button and trusting that all happened as planned. Or, did technology fail me? Whatever, probably a little of both. 

It's halloween weekend...for now, I'll just shoot you some links. Check back soon for my usual blurbs.

"Shrinking in the Name of Renewal: An Interview with Dan Kildee" letssavemichigan.com October 30th, 2009

"Bichini Bia Congo tells its story at 30th anniversary show" annarbor.com October 29th, 2009 

"Dirty Bros. Quality Productions collective makes art happen" annarbor.com October 26th, 2009

"Team Boyne brings together big players" The Review. November - December, 2009

"Ann Arbor SPARK: Igniting Innovation-based growth in Washtenaw County" The Review. November - December, 2009  

 

Yokohama, Japan will host the nation's first open-air art fair. The event's creator was inspired to plan the event after attending the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, in 2008. Not only is the Yokohama art fair the first of its kind in Japan, it aims to change the climate of art in town and across the nation. It should be a unique experience for locals and participating artists alike. A dozen Ann Arbor Street Art Fair artists are participating in the event, including last year's featured artist, Julie Fremuth. I think it's a positive story about sharing ideas across the ocean, and how art can shift culture.

Read how "Japan's first outdoor art fair draws inspiration, artists from Ann Arbor event" 

Living in a walkable neighborhood is a priority for me and many other Ann Arbor residents. Walking, biking, and utilizing mass transit saves people money, supports a green lifestyle, frees up roads, and keeps people healthy and in shape. Beyond those benefits, walking gives me great enjoyment and makes me feel better connected to people and places in my town. I shared some of my personal thoughts on walkability and public transportation with www.letssavemichigan.com. My new blog captures my own subjective experience - more so than any of my formal news articles. Please consider leaving comments on Let's Save Michigan's page. I'd be interested to hear your own stories about walking, riding the bus, biking - or even how much you love your car. What do you think?

Read and comment on "Notes on Walkability from a Walker" 

Washtenaw County's annual two-day Ann Arbor Art Walk is getting bigger every year. The 10th installment will run Friday, Oct. 9, from 5 - 10 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 10, from noon - 5 p.m. The event features open houses at local galleries, exhibition spaces, and working artist studios; and kickoff parties in each of the event's seven distinct areas - in Ann Arbor (four different areas), Ypsilanti, Dexter and Saline. For my annarbor.com preview of the event, I spoke with planners about how Art Walk has grown over the last ten years, and how the event's goals fit into a broader mission of cultural development in Washtenaw County. 

Discover Washtenaw County's creativity at the 10th annual Art Walk.

Image credit: "Circle 5" digital print by father and son Paul and Charlie Hickman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm writing for a new website, www.letssavemichigan.com My first blog includes an interview with ArtPrize - Grand Rapids planner Bill Holsinger - Robinson. The city-wide event is happening in Grand Rapids, MI right now. You all still have a chance to visit and vote on your favorite artworks.

Holsinger-Robinson helped make the decisions that went into hosting what they are calling "the world's largest art prize," (heck, they're giving away 500,000 green ones). The event was thought up by Rick DeVos, CEO of film website www.spout.com, entrepreneur, and member of the well-known, perhaps high-profile, DeVos family - who contributed the prize money. If the event is a success, it is predicted that Grand Rapids will benefit from it long after the 1,262 artists from around the world pack up shop, when it concludes October 10th, 2009.  

I picked out 6 "words of advice" from our conversation. They outline some of the practical, and not so traditional decisions that happened before planners set the event off on her maiden voyage. 

Read "How to plan the world's largest art prize" at www.letssavemichigan.com 

Ice covered Kentucky in late January 2009, causing massive power outages, downing trees and wires, and ravaging the landscape, during what was deemed “The Storm of the Century.” The city of Madisonville, located in Hopkins County, was hit hard. The county’s approximate 46,500 residents were left without basic services, and vast numbers lived in this darkness for weeks.

As soon as he got cell phone reception back, Madisonville Mayor Will Cox began using his Facebook account to reach out, by posting status updates and responding to direct messages from his iPhone. His proactive use of wireless technology in response to the crisis led to him being honored with a VITA (TM) Wireless Samaritan Award by The Wireless Foundation and The Wireless Association® in June.

Read my article in the Review to hear this unusual tale of ice, blackouts, and how to use Facebook in an emergency. 

Muskegon, Michigan’s downtown website, exemplifies how a crisp, user-friendly web interface with dynamic, up-to-date content, and the utilization of multimedia and social networking features can help cities achieve their promotional goals. As the web is reaching its maturity, it is critical for cities to harness its power and take advantage of the opportunities that it creates for reaching internet users and keeping their attention.

The website is run by Muskegon Main Street, a non-profit that set up the site after being designated as a Michigan Main Street program by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority five years ago. It features updated news stories on what is happening downtown, a downtown blog, links to subscribe to a biweekly email newsletter, a live downtown development webcam, a regularly refreshed events calendar, an interactive map, and links to external social networking sites, including YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook.

Read my article in the Review to find out how Web 2.0 is working out for downtownmuskegon.org 

The September - December edition of the Crazy Wisdom Community Journal has hit stands. My contribution, the "What's New in the Community" column, includes interviews with holistic practitioners, therapists, instructors, and workshop leaders in the Ann Arbor area.

In this edition, the "What's New" column features information about two new comprehensive holistic health centers in Ann Arbor; an interview with Jewel Heart's founder Gelek Rimpoche on the occasion of his 70's birthday; insights from storyteller and author Rafe Martin; and the story of Ypsilanti-based community garden project Growing Hope. The "What's New" column also features profiles of new and established practitioners and businesses working in holistic-oriented fields. In addition, you will find brief announcements of new businesses, offerings, events, classes, and workshops that interest our readers. 

New and established holistic practitioners, instructors, and event leaders who have something new planned for January - April 2010 are invited to submit story ideas to the "What's New in the Community" column. Please email me for more information about submitting a story idea.

Read the Crazy Wisdom Community Journal 

Ann Arbor artist Judith Jacobs' digital fine artworks are inspired by pop culture and street culture. She creates artworks from a variety of sources, including photographs; image files given to her by friends; and scans of things like newsprint, comic books, or the odd piece of detritus that she finds on the street.

With a background in printmaking, collage, and painting, Jacobs ended up discovering Photoshop about 10 years ago. Now she plays around with scanners and inkjet printers to create her art. Read my recent annarbor.com article on Judith Jacobs - featured in the Sunday print edition.

photo: Melanie Maxwell

Local ceramist Yiu-Keung Lee creates challenging assemblage sculptures and wall artworks. Lee's personal memories, interactions with his wife and three daughters, and his sense of the environment around him continually inform his art. Working in clay, porcelain, stoneware, and terra cotta, Lee transforms symbols from his life into beautiful, intriguing artworks. His assemblages mix together depictions of different objects and forms. He likens this to the nature of memory, "which is fragmented and without time," he says. Read my recent article on Ann Arbor artist Yiu-Keung Lee - featured in the Sunday print edition.

photo: Melanie Maxwell 

If you've strolled by the Ann Arbor Art Center lately, you've seen major changes to the building's design. a peek in the windows on Liberty or the Ashley Street side allows passersby to watch students taking art classes or artists working away on pottery in the center's ceramic studio spaces. Perhaps you've wandered into the gallery shop through the newly opened back door or noticed kids filing in and out of summer camp. 

You may have even popped in to ask - when did the Art Center start doing all this stuff?

The truth is that the center has offered classes, studio space, and social service programs for a long time - beyond being a gallery shop and exhibition space. One of the aims of the Art Center's recent consolidation and redesign was to make this more obvious and visible. Read my recent annarbor.com article on the Ann Arbor Art Center - featured in the Sunday print edition.

photo: Lon Horwedel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm freelancing for annarbor.com, the reincarnation of the Ann Arbor News. So far, I've contributed two arts & entertainment articles - more in the works. Sign up on the site to leave comments and follow me. Or click your mice on one of the following links to view my stories. The photo above pictures the fabulous Elizabeth DellaRocco and Curtis Sullivan of Vault of Midnight.

 

Read about special events at the Vault of Midnight comic shop

 

Learn about Herbert Dreiseitl's proposal for public art at the new Municipal Center 

 

click comments to read and leave 'em

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saugatuck - Douglas, Michigan is well-known as "Michigan's Art Coast." My recent article for the Michigan Municipal League's magazine, The Review, explores the history of the area as a destination for artists, and highlights its growth as a top midwestern tourist destination. It also touches upon how a strong art scene contributes to Saugatuck - Douglas's identity and popularity as a tourist spot. 

Link to "The Best of Both Worlds: Michigan's Art Coast" 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My exploration of Ferndale for the Michigan Municipal League's The Review magazine is available online. Read about how art, culture, and entrepreneurship contribute to the city's character. We all have an intuitive sense of what makes a downtown hip and attractive, but have you ever tried to put it into words? Consider this my attempt at describing why many people like Ferndale, Michigan.

 Link to "The Spirit of Ferndale"