This is the space for our members to discuss and share their creative projects, ranging from written works to drawings, photography, and even craft projects such as knitting and woodworking. Self promotion is welcome (websites where we can view and/or purchase your work). Please do continue to preface if content is NSFW and be sure to properly spoiler/link such content.

My staycation could have been much better weather-wise (you don’t expect much from a Michigan March, but there were a number of potentially nice days the weather report dangled in front of us that still rankle) but it was pretty productive and really helped to recharge my energy. There were a few centerpieces, but maybe none more effective than this year’s Ann Arbor Film Festival.

As recounted in the Music Thread last week, I got to see an unprecedented cinematic retrospective of Devo at the Michigan Theater; The Complete Truth About De-Evolution premiered there during the 1977 festival and provided a massive boost to their career. Their art and music, partly inspired by the Kent State Massacre and only strengthened in prescience during the ensuing decades, is arguably more relevant right now than ever and the post-show interview with Mark and Jerry only confirmed this impression, frequently referenced on stage and off. Posted this in the earlier thread but it never gets old (apart from, be warned, an old-fashioned and mildly offensive term for a certain East Asian nationality–there are worse, but this one doesn’t get used anymore for a reason and may, indeed, have been the reason it’s in there).

The Festival always jazzes up town a little and I probably should have hit the scene a little lighter in the preceding weeks, but there were a lot of shows going on. Nevertheless, it’s always a nice jolt and a reminder of what’s possible. Another came that Saturday with a series of demonstrations in and around town; I went to the main march in downtown Ann Arbor and will hopefully make it out to the Tesla dealership at some point (it sounds like the latter, at least, are working to some extent). We had over a thousand people show up in a light rain and from what I hear almost as many at the other two. Cranked out one sign and will likely work on another this week.

(I might make that last part bigger next time, as it was done before the University of Michigan’s disgraceful DEI cave-in; I’ve got a number of friends and acquaintances who not only work for UM but whose work directly involves DEI initiatives)

Painting’s dried up but I’m not letting that worry me as I’m back ahead on the illustrations and gearing up to get a little more structured with the production (I’ve built a pretty solid stock of good work already). I’ve been moving more stuff out to the storage unit and hope that my apartment’s growing visual austerity will help spark a desire to fill it, however temporarily, with shape and color (and maybe, uh, meaning).

The header’s the stairway and balcony ceiling of the Michigan Theater’s interior; the building’s coming up on a full century (it was built in 1927) and though it always seems best employed during the Festival, it was hard not to miss the days when I at least semi-regularly checked out movies there. Might make that more of a point this year, possibly even to the point of a membership.

How’s your work going?