OBSERVATIONS #9 is a variation on the theme Don’t Dis’ Me. It means to suggest a source of defense for disabled people, often regarded as part of the Other. It advocates for the reduction of environmental and social barriers, thereby removing stressors, which could be the difference between life and death. Glass is an interpretive…
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…
OBSERVATIONS #7 – 9.14.24
Follow the OBSERVATIONS cycle to discover the theme of the month – Don’t ‘Dis’ Me. At a time when our sensibilities are defined by the rhythms and rimes of propaganda’s immediacy, we, instead, turn our concentration toward disabled people. By removing environmental and social barriers that contribute to mental and physical incapacity, we ratify a…
OBSERVATIONS #6 – 9.10.24
I write not just as an observer, but as a fellow wayfarer: watching signposts, following an open map, facing the rising sun to find my bearings. North to my left, South on my right, West at my back. As the sun rises over Lake Michigan, so does my free state of mind. By rejecting the…
OBSERVATION #5 8.31.24
Some encounters are inevitable when traveling Washington Ave. The Last of Ike, sculpture by Texas artist Nic Noblique, was commissioned by the City of Racine in 2008. Located at the intersection of Washington and the railroad tracks, near 12th St., it is positioned to be the Gateway to Uptown. The Last of Ike, en homageStanding…
OBSERVATIONS #4 8.24.24
Call – Environment, Theme of the Month Response – Folk Lore Observed – Floating Feathers, a Folk Art Poem – by Mimi Peterson, WIR #17 Folk culture comes to pass thru generations. Friends gather to share ideas, they repeat news, tell tales of events, and, perhaps, anecdote the next project’s story board with pictographs and…
Observations #3 – 8.17.24
Call – Environment, Theme of the Month Response – Light and Space Observed Response – Is My Home An Illusion? Mimi Peterson, Writer-In-Residence #17 Light and Space Observed My Racine environment is simultaneously atmospheric and hermetic. It is historical and artistic, water and landscapes open vistas to sun rise and set – I experience it…
OBSERVATIONS #2
Call: ENVIRONMENT, Theme of the Month Response: AS IS by Mimi Peterson These words are intended to present a graphic flow of thoughts – to promote notions of desolution and chaos, to imply order and everyday mundane, to warn that the decomposition of ideas by individuals leads to life-death cycles – to prevent the decline…
OBSERVATIONS #1
Welcome to OBSERVATIONS by Mimi Peterson. I am honored to be Racine’s newest Writer-In-Residence #17. Thank you Art Root for your advocacy of the Arts and Humanities; your support of the WIR program; your positive influence throughout Racine. Thank you to the inspiring – and aspiring – creative community. Each week while I occupy the…
ArtRoot Writer-In-Residence 