This little pocket of the web is a place for me to express my personal perspectives on social and environmental issues (climate change, ecocide, poverty, peace, education, parenting, gender,...), explore the nature of reality (the self, oneness, perception,...), and reflect on some of my creative pursuits and interests (visual arts, creative writing, music,...).
You can see the list of my most recent posts below. Please feel free to share your reactions in the comments; and if you do enjoy your visit, please feel free to spread the word about my work and this blog.
Jesse is a little boy who likes to wear things that “whirl, twirl, flow and glow.” He dreams of a perfect skirt that fits him just right and has lots of colors that flow together when he spins. His mother helps him make his dream skirt and he wears it to daycare. How will the […]
“People sometimes dismiss an action as merely ‘a drop in the bucket’ – something too small to make a difference, so why bother. But the way I see it, you’re dripping all the time anyway – so why not put your drop in the right bucket?” – Marian Buchanan
Great News! We have copyright permission to reprint! I’m finally in touch with Bruce Mack’s brothers, and they’re just as excited as I am to get this sought-after classic reprinted. The year 2019 is a milestone anniversary, so I’m aiming to get it out in the next couple of weeks, before the end of December. […]
I love a lot about Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenage climate activist. She’s articulate, unpretentious, and usually focused on a pretty basic message that I, too, would like people to heed: unite behind the science, curb climate change, take immediate action that’s bold, effective, systemic, and redresses climate injustice. Sometimes, her message goes beyond that. […]
What we know (and don’t know) about Bruce Mack, the author of the children’s book Jesse’s Dream Skirt.
Deep in the cave of his Shadows and hidden treasure, boundaries of cold hard rock keep The Western Dragon from the skies he could be flying. (My wings are diaphanous. He doesn’t recognize.) Stretching out my hands to him, I enter his space though dark and hard to see. —Jarring — thunderous roar — he […]
Whenever the Home County Music & Art Festival comes around, in July in London, Ontario, I can’t help but think of Cathy Callihan. Back in 1982, it was called the Home County Folk Festival, and she had a craft booth there, selling her beautiful, extraordinary stained glass and metal work. I had a craft booth […]
In the previous post, I described the differences between the two versions of Jesse’s Dream Skirt in terms of the way his daycare teacher looks, based on the imaginations of two different illustrators. Now it’s time to look at the differences in how Bruce the teacher acts, based on the two versions of the text. […]
I’ve mentioned in an earlier post that there are differences between the two versions of the story Jesse’s Dream Skirt. I’ve already covered the differences in the way the mother is portrayed and the way the children react to Jesse wearing a skirt to daycare. Now it’s time to look at the portrayal of the […]
I realize this poem may feel a little dark and despairing. I’m hoping the paradoxical sense of transcendence will come across as well. Shadow A blank philosophy filling the wounded spots shields her invisible threads with so many mysterious whispers. From the unseen to the known, a path is carved in pure uncertainties. Hunger echoes […]
Joining in (or not) This is a continuation of the exploration of the differences between the two versions of the children’s story, Jesse’s Dream Skirt. I’ve covered the daycare children’s initial reactions and then the group discussion initiated by the teacher. Now let’s find out what happens next. In both versions, the discussion ends on […]
Why does it matter to them that Jesse’s wearing a skirt? This is a continuation of the exploration started in the earlier posts in this series, and particularly the previous one about the daycare children in the Jesse’s Dream Skirt story. I mentioned there were several differences between the two versions of the story, relating […]
Overview, First Reactions, and the Dynamics of Shaming I’ve mentioned in an earlier post that there are differences between the two versions of the story Jesse’s Dream Skirt. I’ve already covered the differences in the way the mother is portrayed. Now it’s time to look at the two different versions of the children and how […]
In the children’s story Jesse’s Dream Skirt, the main character is a little boy who likes to wear skirts and dresses – in other words, clothes that the society he lives in considers to be appropriate only for girls. We can leave for another time the debate about where such an idea comes from and […]
I only recently found out about the plans to reform the U.S. Copyright Act, and about the Copyright Office’s Notice of Inquiry asking visual artists for comments. Luckily, there was still time for me to participate in the process, and I received much of my information through the ArtLicensingShow.com website, on a post titled Your […]
As you know from my previous post, Jesse’s Dream Skirt is a children’s story about a little boy who wears a skirt to daycare. But did you know there are actually two published versions of the story? Before it was picked up by the feminist publishing collective Lollipop Power, the story was first printed in […]
Jesse loves to wear things that whirl, twirl, and flow. How will the children react to him when he wears a skirt to daycare? This project starts with a children’s book but goes beyond. The book, Jesse’s Dream Skirt, was written by Bruce Mack (a.k.a. Morning Star or morningstar), illustrated by myself, Marian Buchanan, and […]
I wanted to write up something very special about my mother today, to honour and celebrate her on her birthday, but I find myself at a loss for words. Let me give you a glimpse of her through this painting instead, a portrait she did of me when I was 8 years old. She signed […]
Background notes on this poem: I knew Andrea Currie through yoga, when I lived in Halifax in the early-mid-1980’s. She joined the a capella group Four The Moment while I was still there, and I loved her singing voice as much as her soft speaking voice and gentle manner. She once made and gave me […]
When I attended l’École supérieure des beaux-arts de Tour, in France in 1972, one of the assignments was to create an abstract self-portrait. I never got around to painting the final version, but this is the coloured-pencil sketch I did for it. My idea for it was the experience that there are no boundaries to […]
