Fareed Zakaria's Commencement Speech

I heard Fareed Zakaria speak at the Oberlin College Graduation. It was very inspiring...if I can find the entire text, I will add it. Until then, here are a few excerpts.....also, he is hosting a new weekly news international CNN/US and CNN/International show that airs for the first time this Sunday at noon EST. Given his commencement speech, it should be a very worthwhile show.

"Do what you love....

So if I have any lesson from my career, it is to stay open to exploration and discovery. And I don’t mean that just in a professional sense. I mean that personally too. Don’t block off the unfamiliar. Stay open to new people, new ideas, new experiences, new possibilities, new cultures, new ways of doing things, and you will grow, in your mind and in your heart. These new things may come from anywhere: from a professor, a poem, a child, a colleague, a New York cab driver. Yeah, even that guy, who had the energy and ambition to travel 6,000 miles, and is working 16-hour days and knows two languages — well, three if you count English — he has something to teach you. You can learn something from anyone.

It is easier to stick with the road well traveled and to close yourself off to something that is strange or unsettling. It may even be the right path for you. But stay open to the possibilities out there. For countries and for people: stay open, and you will grow stronger and more resilient.

If you want to make a good life, human beings will probably respect and reward those talents that they have always honored — intelligence and hard work, discipline and cooperation, honesty and courage, and perhaps above all, love and faith and hope. If you can embrace these qualities of mind and spirit, people will honor you as they have honored men and women for thousands of years."

First Warm Night of Spring

What is better than the gentle warm breeze of the late evening air in May?

In Memory...For Memorial Day

Giving Help with a Smile

I am usually a hands on creative but there are times when one just doesn't have the right equipment or knowledge.
I had the pleasure of working with Mat Lombardi today from The Pixelmint. He couldn't have been more helpful, pleasant or knowledgeable. If you are in Chicago and need photographic "stuff" done, give him a call.

ahhhhhhhh spring

The Miracle of Motherhood

Happy Mothers Day!

Happenings in Oberlin

Just returned from a short trip to Oberlin, Ohio. Lots happening there! Visited the Allen Memorial Art Museum and saw the Chris Jordan exhibit, Running The Numbers. Very important work for our times, as is Brian Ulrich's of Chicago. It makes you reflect on our consuming culture.

Also, thought I would share the work of Marie Barnett, an artist who has a lot to say about artmaking...here is her artist statement and a few images of her work..

R e s i l i e n c e :

1. an ability to recover readily from change, depression, adversity, misfortune, or the like
2. the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive illness or stress

My work in Resilience is inspired by the healing and therapeutic qualities of art and art-making. I am on a constant search for the essence and spirit of emotions, and how they translate into the process of creating and seeing art. All processes and changes we experience are embedded with intangible feelings that often lead us on a search for unknown answers to profound questions. Within these processes I see beauty and a sense of wonder that can make even horrible things, such as the decay from disease or illness, whether it be physical or mental, appear spectacular. I am interested in the ways our body and mind experience and observe these changes, and how we respond to them and create within them a space or image that comforts us and answers our questions. Creating an identity or entity for these intangible processes, whether it is for cancerous cells or a depressive episode, is a critical aspect of the healing process.
How do we define a personal illness in visual terms? How do we perceive process, and healing? What transformation results from a journey of growth, decay, and their healing? My work aims to not necessarily answer these questions, but form an outlet and visual solution for navigating and interacting with these inner experiences.
M a r i e B a r n e t t

Cinco de Mayo

In observance of Cinco de Mayo, the day that Mexico declared its independence from mother Spain, I will be giving a short talk at Morton College on my Mexico portfolio, part of which is on exhibit there. If you are in the area, please stop by. The reception will be at 2pm.

The Unexamined Life

For those of you who watched In Treatment on HBO, thought you might get a chuckle out of this cartoon. Found it in the May 5th issue of The New Yorker.

In Spring ~ Almost Anything Is Possible!

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! " ~Mark Twain