“Self-Portrait at the Age of Fifty-Six” by Anna Bacherini Piattoli (1776) @ By Her Hand I want to grow old without facelifts… I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I’ve made. Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then you’d never completeContinueContinue reading “Making Our Faces As We Go Along”
Author Archives: Hezaasan
Where Ideas Come From
Picture if you will, a cold winter day in the Detroit area. We’re in the midst of a pandemic, vaccines still a vague concept, businesses still operating with restrictions, groceries being delivered to homes with near reckless abandon. The camera soars across the metro Detroit grid and swoops down into a nondescript suburb, then throughContinueContinue reading “Where Ideas Come From”
Watch This Space
For the first time in a long while, I put a “watch this space” teaser post onto my social media account about an upcoming theatrical production that I will be directing. And I suppose it’s only fair to warn my blogosphere connections as well, that thespian geekery, nerditude, and wonkiness is likely to interrupt myContinueContinue reading “Watch This Space”
Pulling Our Leg
“Mary Magdalene” by Orsola Maddalena Caccia (1620-30) @ By Her Hand At first, this strikes the viewer as yet another depiction of a Biblical figure at a time when that was all the rage. Then, you see her face, with a look as difficult to pin an adjective on as Mona Lisa’s smile. Then, ifContinueContinue reading “Pulling Our Leg”
Along Comes Mary
“Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy” by Artemisia Gentileschi (1620-25) @ By Her Hand Can’t we look to Mary Magdalene as simply an early church leader whose rightful place next to Christ should have been acknowledged? There are no Scriptures to place her anywhere but right next to Jesus. Even a cursory reading of the Bible showsContinueContinue reading “Along Comes Mary”
Masters of Heavy-Handedness
Portion of “Preparing for the Soiree” by Adophe Joseph Thomas Monticelli (1870) @ Through Vincent’s Eyes “I paint for thirty years from now,” responded Adolphe Monticelli to critics of his thickly textured brushstrokes and vibrant colors. Of all the various works in the Through Vincent’s Eyes exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art, from VanContinueContinue reading “Masters of Heavy-Handedness”
Count the Roses, Not the Thorns
Portion of “Roses” by Vincent van Gogh (1890) @ Through Vincent’s Eyes It’s the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important…People have forgotten this truth, but you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose.Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “The Little Prince” It’s timeContinueContinue reading “Count the Roses, Not the Thorns”
All Creatures Great and Small
Portion of “Portrait of Marquess Massimiliano Stampa” by Sofonisba Anguissola (1557) @ By Her Hand (Detroit Institute of Arts) Perhaps it is because this has been the world through my eyes ever since I can remember – a trusted furry friend, curled up at my feet – that my eye is drawn so often toContinueContinue reading “All Creatures Great and Small”
Quill Life
“A Hedgehog in a Landscape” by Giovanna Garzoni (1643-51) @ Detroit Institute of Arts I ran away and hid in the woods,I was an imprudent child, inMy charmed hedgehog skin, I ran awayAnd I was happy in my fairytaleForest, where no one came in, norCould have penetrated my white magic,I was protected from any disturbances.IContinueContinue reading “Quill Life”
The Wayward Wonders of Wormwood
“The Absinthe Drinkers” by Jean-Francois Raffaelli (1881) @ Through Vincent’s Eyes The drunkenness it gives does not resemble any known drunkenness. It makes you lose your footing right away […] You think you are headed towards infinity, like all great dreamers, and you are only headed towards incoherence.Alfred Delvau Having only tasted absinthe (which hasContinueContinue reading “The Wayward Wonders of Wormwood”
Muttering Retreats 