In 1985 and 1986, I started working at Crowley's Department Store in the New Center area of Detroit. I was painting a lot. This first Volume went for close to two years instead of the usual one year. Only the "scratchboard" piece in Number 21 is on thicker stock. The rest of the masters are all just on thin paper, with some "glue-ons" added.
In 1987, I was still making art and working at the store. I was "doing everything but selling and management." The second volume marks the beginning of my notorious "comic strip" SURREAL THEATRE. The master copies are on thin paper with Numbers 4 and 14 on cardboard.
In 1988, I started the year with a trip to Athens, Georgia. In June, I did my first public puppet show performances Detroit's old Trobar Gallery. I was in a two person art exhibit there. In this volume, I continue doing the master copies on thin paper. Only Issue 5 is on Bristol board. I played with collage, frottage and used the typewriter some.
In 1989, I continued to do the masters on thin, cheap paper. With the last issue of the year, Number 14, I finally started using using a thicker Bristol paper. I continued to do this for nearly every issue from 1990 to the present day.
In 1990, I was in group exhibits at the Willis Gallery and the Michigan Gallery. All of these master copies were done on Bristol paper except for Number 8. This was done on thin paper. Number 6 is on scratchboard, with the black scratched off with a sharp instrument to reveal the white beneath.
In 1991, I had a big solo show at Detroit's Willis Gallery called More than Meets the Eye. It was up in late January and early February. This year, all issues were done on Bristol paper except for Number 11. I think that the quality of my work improved a lot this year, on all fronts. This is toward the end of the period where I lived in my parent's attic. I was still working in Detroit's New Center at Crowleys, making art and doing puppet shows.
In 1992, I moved down to my favorite neighborhood in Detroit. The New Center, Cultural Center and the Cass Corridor are all close by. I also worked with the Space Gallery and the Michigan Gallery. All issues were done on Bristol paper except for Number 2. Numbers 1 and 2 were created in Athens, Georgia. Number 8, was done in New York City.
In 1993, I was digging into my new living space, making new friends and alliances and doing a lot of puppet performances. It was a good year for me. Things were flowing. I'm sure this was the year I spent nearly a month in New York City, on three separate trips.
In 1994, I joined the Don't Look Now Jug Band. I still play and sing with them, though more rarely. It was always a "big band" with eight to twelve people. A smaller side group, the Fireflies, plays more often these days. I had a small solo art exhibit at Rabbles Coffee House in St. Clair Shores. My friendship with Jacques Karamanoukian was underway. I started getting up to Ann Arbor again to visit and to exhibit at Galerie Jacques. This was a time of experimentation. It was another good year for me and for THE POETIC EXPRESS.
In 1995, I marked the first ten years of this publication. I celebrated this with an exhibit of the POETIC EXPRESS at the 2-South Gallery in Detroit. Eleven of the issues in this volume include my comic strip SURREAL THEATRE. I was still working at Crowley's department store. I was busy performing, writing and making art.
In 1996, I got to France and I started doing large chalk drawings on Detroit's Hudson's Building. Three issues in this volume do not contain the comic strip. September and October issues were done in Paris as Express Poetique. I exhibited 20 of my artworks in a group exhibit Les Jardiners de la Memoire at the Musee Creation Franche, in Begles.
In 1997, I continued drawing all over the soon-to-be-demolished Hudson's Building. In December, I participated in a group show thanking me for doing the art on there. It was fenced off by then. I was in art exhibits in Detroit and Pontiac. The Zeitgeist Arts Space opened in September. I was part of that from the start.
In 1998 Jim Puntigam and I founded a new musical group, the Space Band. This was later changed to the Spaceband, one word. I was in four art exhibits, including a two-person show at the Zeitgeist. It was a full, busy year. My work on the Hudson's Building in downtown Detroit was demolished with the building in October. It had been fenced off all year, so I couldn't work on it.
In 1999, I was in two more art exhibits in France. I didn't get to go there this time. After 14 years, my work situation came to an end when Crowley's went bankrupt in February. I spent most of the year "unemployed" and tasting life as a full time artist. I can make a lot more work without having 40 or 50 hours a week being otherwise occupied. I was also in four art exhibits in Detroit and one in Canada.
In 2000, I got the POETIC EXPRESS into the early stages of the new millennium. It was a crazy year for me due to health problems. For most of the year, I was out of a job. There was more time for being a full-time artist. I did work for the U.S. census. That was really interesting. In October, I spent my birthday in New York. I did a public art project and had a public screening of a short film starring my puppets.
In 2001, I was really on the move! It was a bad year in many ways. The high point was that I started working here at the University of Detroit Mercy library. I'd been back doing "retail time" at Value City, in Warren. My friend Tim Knoll died this year, and I dedicated Old Lost Jug Band Song to him in Number 11. I put out a third page in September to include my poem September 11, 2001 in Number 17. It was written on September 12. Issue Number 19 includes other responses to these attacks.
In 2002, the order shifted so that the odd numbers are the issues without the SURREAL THEATRE. The series mainly inspired by objects and places continues. My good friend Jacques Karamanoukian died this year. Issues Numbers 9 and 10 are in his memory. These include a large drawing and a poem in fractured French.
In 2003, I finished the objects and places series. My email address now appears on one page a month. The SURREAL THEATRE goes into a nighttime setting and winds up its impressions of a day. It concludes with a larger strip with two rows of panels. I conclude the Emotional Digest series.
In 2004 my long standing Detroit Street Art project was painted over, see Number 11. For years I had done drawings on viaduct walls as a bridge between drawing on sidewalks and on buildings. This one, on Woodward, was the longest lasting and most visible of these drawing projects. Also, in September I closed my P.O. Box and started listing a different postal address on the sheets, see Number 18.
In 2005, I celebrated twenty years of continuous publication of the POETIC EXPRESS. For the anniversary in April, I did three issues including another Inventory poem and a full-page comic strip version, with drawings and poetry. Also, in October, I had an exhibit marking this milestone. It was at the library, here on the McNichols Campus of the University of Detroit Mercy.
In 2006, the Zeitgeist Arts Space was still going strong. I worked with them, including the Visual Jam Sessions. I did the poster for the Dally in the Alley. I did some puppet shows and played music with the Space Band and the Don't Look Now Jug Band. I was in art exhibits at the Cass Cafe and CAID arts spaces.
In 2007, I curated a four person exhibit for the Zeitgeist Arts Venue. It was called Windows to Other Worlds (with Select Artifacts). That was in March and April. In July, we held a big ten year anniversary celebration there. I painted a large, triangular grouping of windows for a benefit. In September, I was part of a Telephone Game group exhibit in a gallery in Detroit's Eastern Market. Then too, I did a number of musical and puppet performances. At the end of the year, this Special Collections site appeared here for the first time, live.
In 2008, I had a great year. Early on, we worked on this site. There were a few additions and refinements. From May to July, I had an enormous exhibit at the MOCAD aka the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. It was part of a larger group exhibit. I also exhibited my puppet collection here at the University of Detroit Mercy library. In August, I got to New York City, as usual. Then, the Zeitgeist Arts Space closed its doors in November.
In 2009, I kept up with my projects, including this one, the POETIC EXPRESS. I was involved with several art exhibits and performances. I started my For Art and Artists blog. This was followed by three others. Adventures and Resources is my catch all/ grab bag blog. I write for the other two less often. They're Cinema, Movies and Motion Pictures and I Hear Music, my musical explorations blog. They're linked to at the front page of this site.
In 2010, the POETIC EXPRESS reached 25. It's been going for a quarter of a century and is still kicking. I had a small solo exhibit at the MOSAIC Gallery on Detroit's east side. It turned out to be the last show that they had there. Around the same time, my friend Ron Allen died, out in California. Mick Vranich and Mary Laredo Herbeck also had died this year. All three were great people and mainstays of the Detroit arts scene.