Praeterita

You know that moment when you've been acquainted with someone for a long time, and they suddenly reveal that they're friends with one of the most famous people on the planet? It just happened to me. Since 2007, I've worked for a few days' a week in the offices of a magazine published by a major charitable organization. This organization is of sufficient size that its central headquarters in Chicago has a staff of about 100, including an IT department and website manager. The desk that I use when I am in the office is close to the office of a chap called Fred, who is the web guru for the organization--a full time job, believe you me. He's a very warm and friendly man, and we always say "Good morning" to each other and chat occasionally at the office functions I'm invited to. A few weeks ago, I overheard Fred talking to another person about a screenplay he had written. Fred is actually so modest that it was the other person doing most of the ta...

My wife Patty and I recently taught another class at the Shake Rag Alley center for the arts in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The class was called The Artful Journal, and we spent a couple of days with the participants, making artist's books, writing, drawing outside in the beautiful gardens that surround the old buildings. Here are some examples of the work that was created: Truth be told, everyone who was there was so talented that it was difficult to think of how to teach them anything new. But I think it's always good for one's creative process to be somewhere away from one's normal routine, and to make things together in a spirit of community, even if some of the things one does are maybe more familiar than others.