Sound Off

Contronyms are words that are their own opposites.

OBSERVATIONS #18 – 12.24.24

I Must Do To Be I must do to be, Things move, change waits, Words interrupt, hands interpret, Bodies heal, thoughts roam. Before you, after me, Sands drift to form dunes and valleys, Swirling shapes shift with times motion, And like water, are not silent. Obedient children must speak, They play guard over brown uneven…

OBSERVATIONS #16 – 11.23.24

The sunlight is loud, It’s noise breaks the silence, Like a comforting blanket, Surrounds me, you, us, With both narrow and broad streams of brilliant sounds, Soon turn into murmurous shadows, At once dark and transparent, Casting familiar silhouettes, Meant to share secrets. Sharp lines separate sunlight from it’s absence, In my space, geometry’s triangular…

OBSERVATIONS #14 – 11.10.24

Cast A NetCast a net into the sky,Toss into the white not blue,Sky that feels like water looks.Cast a net into the sky,Casually pull apart its soft conceal,Uncover fields of pearlescent fluffs washed in light.Cast a net into the sky,It’s weight separates the violet flower from pod,Releasing milky sap, the recipe for clouds of butterflies.Cast…

OBSERVATIONS #10 – 10.19.24

About the Arts and Humanities Happy National Arts and Humanities month! The White House issued its yearly proclaim that states: “The arts and humanities bring people together and show us that we have more in common than we have differences – helping us see each other, understand one another, and unite in common cause. Our…

OBSERVATIONS #8 – 9.21.24

About Me Alone, only the distant street sounds penetrate my thoughts, Only the skylight’s my mood, Only coffee, cooling in my favorite mug, Waits within reach. I sit at the old family table of notorious memories, 100 years past, metal and glass sculpture stood proud, Some made by Daz’s hand, Others found at Chicago junk…

What I Wanted to Say …

by John Bloner, Jr. This is my final article as Racine Writer-In-Residence as I will hand off its baton to the next honoree on July 1st. Thank you to ArtRoot, the Osborne & Scekic Family Foundation, Nick Ramsey, and the Racine Literacy Council for their support and encouragement. Over the past six months, the Krazines,…

Mattias and I: A True Story

When I came across Mattias’ work five or six years ago, I became captivated by his highly-populated cityscapes and his rooms stuffed with bric-a-brac and odd technology. This is the kind of art I want to make!, I told myself.

Drawing Tom Waits

As much as I love the sound of Tom Waits – blues shouter, field hollerer, junkyard dog howler, carnival barker – I also am jazzed by the man’s countenance and love to draw pictures of him.

Who Is This Masked Man?

Over the past year, we’ve worn a lot of masks to prevent spread of a virus, and over our lifetimes, we put on many masks of a metaphorical-kind to guide us through social situations, whether in the workplace, family gatherings, or at parties.