American Lawns Ain't Green
Holding large corporations accountable for damaging the environment is a must. But what role do we play? Lawns are the largest crop in the US. The EPA estimates that Americans spill 17 million gallons of gas filling their lawnmower tanks every year. Compare that with the 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez. Lawnmower industry lobbyists fight any hint of regulating the prolific polluters.
Tinkering & Hacking - Transforming an Arts Convention Bag to Render it Both More and Less Functional
Researching the educational process at the 2019 National Art Education Association convention in Boston. How might experimental and democratic educational experiences lead to deeper creativity and meaning-making compared with structured learning based on a fixed intent, process, and final product to be assessed? Thanks to presenters Tyson Lewis, James Thurman, and Peter Hyland. Thanks also to volunteer videographers Jamie Andrade and Laura Reeder.
I Oppose the Pipeline - Across the US, opponents of energy pipelines are making their voices heard and delaying or stopping proposed projects.
This film won the 2016 Pioneer Valley Transitions Towns Film Festival. Yes, the pipeline was stopped. For now.
Art Lessons - I Learned Patience and Resilience from Andy Goldsworthy
I saw Andy Goldsworthy's huge serpentine wall at Storm King Art Center. A short time later, stacking wood in my backyard, fundamental principles I gleaned from the wall's construction helped me complete the project.
Gropius House in Noir
Gropius House in Noir
Shortly after my father passed, I created images and music to express my grief. Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius created the blueprints for his home in Lincoln, MA.
Cycles of Sustainability - A Horse-Powered Farm Nourishes the Land and Community
This film won the 2014 Pioneer Valley Transitions Towns Film Festival. Natural Roots organic farm is located in Conway, MA. Instead of using tractors that run on non-renewable petroleum, the work horses "run" on hay. Rather than using petroleum based fertilizers, the horse manure is transformed into fertilizer for the crops.
Cultivating Collaboration @ AIC
Students in my Cultivating Creating class at American International College collaborate to produce a work of art. We had studied the flags around the world, including the meanings connected to the colors in the flags of many African countries. We also looked at Kente cloth. The students had carved linoleum, inked the blocks and then printed them.
[ ] Windows on the Artistic Process [ ] and Election Day [ ]
Watch how viewing a print by Melvin Edwards at the Mount Holyoke College Museum of Art led me to create artwork marking the Obama - Romney election.
Touching History with Art - Walking in the Footsteps of Sojourner Truth
I found my truth by learning about the life and times of abolitionist and women's right advocate Sojourner Truth.
No Electricity Needed - Making Music and Art with a Deconstructed Computer
Imagine there is no electricity. There are 3 billion non users of energy on the planet. Join them for a minute, an hour or a day. I dismantled an old computer in order make instruments and block print the components.
Using Mashed Berries to Create Zentangle® Art
"Poking Around." A Zentangle artwork drawn with Pokeweed Ink. I loved the imprecision of using the feather. Occasionally, a chunk of mashed berry would become lodged inside my quill, leading to thick, explosive lines. Zentangle is a, fun relaxing and easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from structure patterns.
Light Poem No.2 - Keep Eyes On: "We Fix Computers"
On a shopping trip for school supplies at Staples, I saw this shopping cart light play. I returned another day at the same time to make this video. I am interested in the art of the everyday.
The Sounds of a Quiet Ride in a Chevy Volt
Come join me and Watson Collins of Northeast Utilities for a spin in a Chevy Volt, a hybrid gas - electric vehicle.
Impression of "Impression of the 'St Gaudens' in Boston Common"
The structured dissonance of a Charles Ives composition inspired me to create a similar feeling photographically. I revel in the power of art and music to kindle my creativity.
I'd Rather be Fishing
While on staff at Hallmark Institute of Photography, I came up with the concept and then created this promotional video for the school.
Light Poem No. 3 - Touchless Carwash
One and a half inches of ice clung to the interior of the gas station's car wash windows, rendering them translucent instead of transparent. I found art in the resulting abstract shadows of the machinery making repeated passes as it cleaned a car.
Sound Poem No.1 - On the Kindness of New Yorkers
I might not have noticed the Honey Locust seed pods dangling above the sidewalk if an elegantly clad New Yorker toting a Saks Fifth Avenue bag had not reached up to pluck one off a branch.
As I shook a limb to capture the seed pods rattling, a stranger stepped up and offered to take over, enabling me to concentrate on my video making. The man's actions expressed not only kindness, but a willingness to participate in my unexplained venture.
