What to do after church

Look closely now, check out this kid's sign. I didn't go to church today (I don't "do" church), and I have a hunch maybe he didn't go to one either. At least not one people think of when they read the word, "church".

invisible mothers.

After the kids are no longer toddlers, seems to me that a lot of people credit a kids' success to their inherent greatness (natural parental pride) or due to their father or teacher's influence (arrogant credit) and the mom is dishes and carpet cleaning material. If the kid is troubled, then perhaps the mother is visible again. Exception here: Thomas Edison. Homeschooled genius boy whose teacher said he was "unteachable". Probably true if the teacher was like any of the typical ones in schools around here. Thomas Edison's mom yanked him out of the claws of an arrogant mediocre teacher and allowed her kid to become as great as he could be by teaching him at home. Homeschoolers like me love Thomas Edison's educational journey, as it is affirming to us that we aren't completely insane and overprotective. Anyway...

I thought of this just now because I was off reading a bio of Andy Goldsworthy who is a famous guy now, close in age to me and his work came to mind as I was mulling over John Pfahl's work. So many visions through the eyes of men. Anyway, I got on to that linked page there on Wikipedia and to say I felt like I had been pants'd and peeved at the entry there on that guy would be an understatement. It reads that he is "The son of F. Allin Goldsworthy (1929–2001), former professor of applied mathematics at the University of Leeds." Absent is the fact that F. Allin Goldsworthy has miraculously mastered the ability to bear children, kind of like one of those all-in-one printer/scanner/photocopier machines. Wow. Not only is he a mathematician with prestige and clout, he made a baby sans the assistance of a woman. Miraculous.

wetlands next to human industry

rain droplets

resourceful heron

what'cha doin

Just thinking.

Eons ago, when I was studying at the school of Art & Architecture in Chicago, I was lucky enough to attend a brown-bag seminar given by photographer John Pfahl. His work came to mind the other day when I'd been thinking about photography again and I was remembering an exercise we did in Photography in college doing paired pictures. John Pfahl had just finished his series called "altered landscapes." I loved it and what a privilege to find it online. See, just now I went to his site and found he's been busy all these years and still has plenty to offer a sideways mind like mine. I particularly like his series, "extreme horticulture" (oh what a heavy hand us humans can attempt to have!) and "missile/glyphs". "Power Places" is really good, too. Back when I did 35mm work, it was a two-pronged artistry. Still is, but different. There is the shooting, then there was the dark room dedication and a lot of sacrifice of time, paper and film, not to mention money to get things right and really work in a print. I loved it, staying in the darkroom until the wee hours, then riding the El back to Evanston, although those wee hours were a bit risky. I tried to mask my gait and look like a guy in the dark. I dunno. Just been thinking about pictures lately. Kind of refreshing not to have flashy things to say, huh. I think so.