Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Blue moon

I made a new photo collage that I think is pretty cool:     






Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Sans umbrella in the suburbs


It  rained here today in the suburbs of Detroit and so, of-course, I took my umbrella along with me when I went out to do errands.  I opened my umbrella each time I got out of my car to walk into a building -which included the post-office, the grocery store, and the library.   But I was the only person using an umbrella at each of those places!   Everyone else just ran through the rain, or waited in their cars for it to stop.

I've noticed this trend for a couple of years now.  I guess most people are too cool to own an umbrella.  Or else they just don't think they need one because everyone drives to where they're going in the suburbs.  And I think this is too bad.  There's something so civilized about umbrellas.  There's also something about being in your own little world below your umbrella that those without them miss out on.  It's also fun to have an umbrella that expresses your personality or fashion sense.

I love my Mona Lisa umbrella - a gift from a friend many years ago.  It's not something I would have ever bought for myself, but I love to use it on rainy days.  I love the smiles I sometimes get because of it.  I took this photo of my grandson, Ben, with my umbrella last year:


Friday, March 30, 2012

Marche Du Nain Rouge

On Sunday March 25, 2012 I helped kick the Nain Rouge out of the city of Detroit.

According to legend, this small red devil has been causing trouble in Detroit for more than 300 years. When the French explorer Antoine Cadillac founded the city in 1701 he encountered the Nain and hit him on the head with his cane, causing the Nain to put a curse on him

Since then, the Nain Rouge has been spotted throughout Detroit's history, most notably at the city's most unfortunate occurrences.

There was once a yearly tradition of marching a symbolic Nain out of the city. This tradition, which ended in 1910, was revived in 2010.

I missed the first two modern marches, but I'm glad I finally got to participate this year. Me and BB are somewhere in the middle of this photo. 







What a treat to be part of such a positive, fun event in a neighborhood, the Cass Corridor, that was once notoriously dangerous. I hope it's a tradition that continues for many years to come.





















It's important to come to the Marche Du Nain Rouge in disguise, so the Nain won't recognize you. It's also a good excuse to wear whatever crazy thing you'd like to wear. Most marche attendees got into the spirit of the event and dressed up. I only wish I'd taken more pictures, but I was having too much fun to shoot.


One of the best parts of the marche and the party at Masonic Auditorium afterward was the presence of the Detroit Party Marching Band. A guerrilla band that sometimes appears at events unexpectedly, they play a mix of Balkan-inspired songs, and modern pop tunes re-arranged for brass. Their energy and enthusiasm made the day.


Saturday, February 18, 2012

Color!



One of my photos is in this group show - the blue one at the bottom right of this poster. Because I've been working so hard on my thesis I haven't been taking pictures or doing anything fun for weeks and weeks and weeks, so I'm really looking forward to seeing my photo up on the wall with all these other photo artists and schmoozing at the opening reception.