I made my first YouTube video! Wow I’m only like, 10 years behind the trend. In this video, I talk about the “empathy void” we seem to have found ourselves in lately, and what we can do about it in the future. Please take a look, and let me know what you think. The transcript of the video is below the jump. Continue reading
You wake up the next morning, Wednesday morning, and you hope it has been a nightmare. The rain falls outside in the black Oregon morning like tears and you realize it was not a dream. You log into social media and see the grief, the fear, and occasional glib comments, the jokes about moving to Canada. There is little uglier than the gloating of uneducated white people when their side wins.
How did we get here? you think to yourself. I thought this was locked down. But that’s it, isn’t it? You had been living in an insulated bubble for so long with like-minded friends whose values were the same. You lived in Los Angeles for 12 years before Portland, and now having been in Portland for 3 1/2 years; it has been easy to think that the rest of the country could see through the charlatan peddling snake oil. Hell, it appeared sometimes like even he was incredulous about his odds, that he was there just to symbolically show everyone how ridiculous the system was. On election day, you went to work with confidence bordering on hubris. That evening, as you headed to a bar to meet friends to watch the results, you stared at your phone with a creeping dread and disbelief. Continue reading
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEyiUw1ujSJ/?taken-by=blcksmth&hl=en
“What? Another webseries announcement?” A few years ago I came up with the idea of pulling some of the dating horror stories from the blog and making them into an original series. It would take place in three cities! It would involve a cast of thousands! Well, then reality hit as I did the math and realized that this was a really ambitious project for my first time out of the gate. I’m still in love with the idea of How To Save Your Own Life, and it’ll always be percolating in the back of my mind until I have the resources to execute it properly.
In the meantime, I’m thrilled to present “This Ends Badly”! Continue reading
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEMAxEZujdB/?taken-by=blcksmth&hl=en
You’re in the waiting room of the doctor’s office, you are called in by a tight-lipped nurse. You sit in the examining room, look around. It’s the usual suspects: the boxes of latex gloves, the canister of cotton swabs, the paper-covered vinyl-cushioned examining table. The doctor’s assistant comes in, updates your information. She’s warm and sharp as a tack: she remembers that you live in the neighborhood, that you moved from California a few years back. She notices you haven’t had a refill for the Xanax you take to fly lately, asks if you need more. “No,” you exhale, “I’m not flying as much anymore. That relationship ended.” Suddenly without warning David’s ghost is there in the room with the two of you, standing behind her. He never says anything, this ghost that appears sometimes, his blue eyes just stare at you. Continue reading
Do this, exactly: Wake up on your forty-first birthday in 2014 on Thanksgiving, and finally feel happy, feel ready for what’s next. Realize that although there’s a lot you have in common, break up with a very sweet man who you’ve been seeing for a few months. Hunker down and make some fun art, take some silly pictures, spend Christmas in a snowless Portland winter. Spend time with friends, miss your family who you can’t see very often around the holidays because of your day job. Continue reading
“Workout Buddies” (screencap by Shawn Jackson)
I was interviewed by Reggie Aqui at KGW, the local NBC affiliate here in Portland, about dating apps. I managed to make Scruff sound almost respectable! To see the full video, click this link. UGH WHY IS IT NOT EMBEDDABLE.
This is how it happens: you turn 40, in the fall of 2013. You write a cute post about turning 40, about hitting parked cars and falling down for no reason. It’s funny, but inside you’re actually still a little sad. You realize the earth is spinning through the same space it was a year earlier and it’s the exact time of year he told you no. You still think about him sometimes, but then you realize that he probably doesn’t think about you since the three manifesto-length texts you sent him probably forever sealed in his mind that you’re a creeper. You thought your 40th birthday would be a blowout, but it’s the opposite: friends can’t travel around Thanksgiving except to their families, the timing is off. You have a quiet drink with a friend at a bar you now don’t even remember. You realize you’re in for a long winter, or what you later call “Olive Garden’s Endless Heartbreak.” Continue reading
So much love for these Fools (photo by Jessica Sherman-Prince)
I studied theater in college, because of course I did. I mean, I didn’t get this weird entirely on my own, right? Then I fell in love, moved away from Albuquerque to Chicago for a few years, fell out of love, and eventually found my way back to New Mexico. It was then that I really immersed myself in the theater scene there. I helped found a Shakespeare company, directed for the first time, and found a passion for theatrical production design.
I moved to Los Angeles in 2001, ostensibly to start an acting career, but also because all of my friends made a mass-exodus to the west coast. I quickly found myself discouraged by the constant rejection. This isn’t making art, I argued in my own head, this is a business. There were so many other people who wanted it more than I did, and were far better at it than I was. I stepped away from pursuing acting, put my nose to the grindstone at my retail management job, and didn’t look back.
Fast forward a few years. Continue reading
This Could Be Us But You Playin’
First published in the July issue of PQMonthly as the first post of my new column, This Ends Badly.Click here for more pieces in the Single Gay Time Traveler Series.
Here in the PNW, it’s Pride Season, or as I like to call it, Summertime Sadness. I’ve gone to a couple Pride Festivals in Los Angeles, where I moved from a year ago, and then my first Portland one last year. It was fun, but I usually just go to the parades and daytime festivities, and I found myself shrugging off Portland Pride 2014. It seems I had lost the spirit of Pride; so this time, I summoned the ghosts of Pride Past, Present, and Future to get it back. Continue reading
Photo by Chase Person (from l to r, Jennie Kay, Michael James Schneider, Nick Mattos, Wayne Bund, Chase Person, Summer Olsson, Logan Lynn)
Two years ago, when I lived in Los Angeles, I left my job to take a year-long “artistic sabbatical”. I felt a creative itch that was brought about by working with my LA family at Sacred Fools Theater Company. A few months into that year, I went through some shit. I came out on the other side more determined than ever to create a life that was artistically fulfilling, and more than anything true and authentic to myself. I visited Portland for the first time in February of 2013, and instantly fell in love with it, thanks to my good friend and tour guide Summer Olsson. And then a funny thing happened: Continue reading
You know that feeling when you’ve worked on something for a really long time, and you release it into the world? It’s wonderful and terrifying. Those are the feelings I get when I announce the release of my first book, The Tropic Of Never. It wasn’t a difficult birth, but the conception was less than auspicious: Continue reading
photo by Summer Olsson, digital artistry by Tucker Cullinan
Do what you love. Be brave. Take a chance.
These are all things I’ve talked about often on this blog, since my decision to take an artistic sabbatical and share the journey with others. Recently, I met someone else who took a similar leap: Michelle Lesniak-Franklin, winner of Season 11 of Project Runway (yup, it was her I was writing about at the end of this previous post). You’ll remember her personal style and razor-sharp wit, and probably her obsession with wolves, too.
I met the Portland native at her studio last week to chat, and she was just as funny, tough, and candid as she appeared to be on the show. She was also game for a photo shoot in Portland’s Japanese Gardens, inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s anime classic, “Princess Mononoke”.
Here’s Part 2 of the interview, click here for Part 1.
BLCKSMTH: We share an obsession for the periodic table of elements. My personal token of strength is the “Fe” symbol for Iron, and yours seems to be “Au” for Gold. When did the transition happen from the name of the brand “Michelle is well” to “Au”?
Michelle Lesniak-Franklin: I got advice from a friend and investor about the name “Michelle Is Well”, that it sounds like a hospital update. “Oh, we went to the hospital to visit Michelle, how is she?” “She’s doing great, Michelle is…well.” I never loved it either, I thought it sounded really juvenile, but was something that just stuck.
I like to be smart, and articulate, and slightly geeky. And so the periodic table…you know I have a little bit of a science background, it just stuck with me. And I wanted it to be Au, to represent a golden moment, a golden piece of clothing that will stay in your closet until the end of time. You know it’s geek chic, but there’s also something tough and hard about gold. Continue reading
(l. to r.) Michael James Schneider, Michelle Lesniak Franklin. Photo and mask construction by Summer Olsson, digital artistry by Tucker Cullinan.
Do what you love. Be brave. Take a chance.
These are all things I’ve talked about often on this blog, since my decision to take an artistic sabbatical and share the journey with others. Recently, I met someone else who took a similar leap: Michelle Lesniak-Franklin, winner of Season 11 of Project Runway (yup, it was her I was writing about at the end of this previous post). You’ll remember her personal style and razor-sharp wit, and probably her obsession with wolves, too.
I met the Portland native at her studio this week to chat, and she was just as funny, tough, and candid as she appeared to be on the show. She was also game for a photo shoot in Portland’s Japanese Gardens, inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s anime classic, “Princess Mononoke”.
BLCKSMTH: You were excited when I brought up the “Princess Mononoke” concept of the photo shoot, are you a fan of Miyazaki?
Michelle Lesniak-Franklin: I am, definitely!
Explain a little bit of the wolf obsession, please.
At the time of being on the show, you’re alone during filming, and you don’t have your friends and family there. You don’t have your support system for weeks and weeks, and you’re cut off from the world. I felt, too, that my garments weren’t being received very well. Not having the fashion background, it started making me think, “Oh, I’m not good at this, no one will like my aesthetic, it’s not supposed to be out there in the world.” It started getting me down, and I felt like “You can’t be in this dark space, think of a power animal, put yourself into an animal that can survive through all odds.” And it was the wolf. And I ended up being pretty dangerous for the other people. Continue reading
Neil Gaiman and Michael James Schneider, on the set of “Neverwhere”
Fourth and final in a series. Here is Part 1, Part 2, where I speak to the inspiration and construction, and Part 3, where I interview the playwright.
The project I’ve put so much of myself into, alongside an amazingly talented cast and crew who did the same, is finally up and running! Designing the set for Neil Gaiman’s “Neverwhere” (adapted by Rob Kauzlaric, see my interview with him here) has been a dream project, I’ve learned so much from it, and it’s strange to suddenly be done.
And then last night got even stranger: Neil Gaiman himself came to see the show… Continue reading
Obviously, painfully staged photo of Michael James Schneider
photo by Summer Olsson
10 months ago, I left my safety net in a career that I had for 20 years, and that I was great at. I put my career on pause for a few months to pursue things that only fulfilled me artistically and creatively, and I knew I was starting from the ground up: I’ve never been trained as a painter, as a writer, or as a set designer or interior decorator (if you’re using The Internets for the very first time, congratulations! You can click any of those red words to see examples of my stuff). Was it scary? Hell yes. Did I second guess myself? Uh, yeah, constantly. But before I started making art, I used to feel like I was complacent, sleepwalking through life.
For about a month after I left my job, I treated it like a vacation. “I’m gonna go to New York for a couple of weeks and live it up!” “I’m gonna sit on my ass all day and read back issues of McSweeney’s!” “I’m going to take about 800 pictures of my cat Ned!” But I quickly realized that I was my own boss now, I would have to give myself the daily kick in the pants to motivate myself. So I wrote down my plan, and then set it in motion. I started this blog about the journey, opened up my Etsy shop. Then the tour of my LA apartment was published on Apartment Therapy…and then the shit hit the fan. It sent me reeling, and made me flee Los Angeles for softer pastures. For awhile there “How are you doing, Mike?” was a bit of a loaded question that people started being afraid to ask, lest I burst into tears.
But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Here’s why: Continue reading
View of Portland from the Steel Bridge
The Detroit Sanctuary Project
I’m from Michigan.
It’s funny though, as you get older, you run as far away as possible from where you came, run fast as you can from that normal job and normal life, and change your life six ways from Kansas and back, then you tell everyone you meet you’re from the place you did everything in your power to leave.
So yeah, I’m from Michigan.
Which is good, because somehow that seems to satisfy the question of “Why?” every time someone asks me. And they nod, as though I were offering the one explanation that will justify the situation at hand.
Why? Why am I intent on taking a picture of every house of worship in Detroit? Why is this clearly liberal, obviously (and quite specifically) non-religious, more-than-likely-not-wearing-pants womanchild putting her face forward as the spokesperson for the anywhere from 1200-2500 churches, synagogues, temples and sanctuaries in Detroit? Continue reading
You know that pleasant moment when you find out a friend, who you already knew was gifted and smart, is actually quite a bit more talented than you thought? I was in Powell’s Books a couple of weeks ago and stumbled across a graphic novel, Not My Bag, that my friend Sina Grace wrote. Taken from his experiences of working at a certain retailer that shall remain nameless (which is how we originally met), it’s an emotionally complex and brave work. Read it. Buy it.
I invited Sina to be the next contributing editor for BLCKSMTH, and he accepted. But I’ll let him tell you himself! Take it away, Sina:
Sina Grace (photo by Megan Mack)
“This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”
from l to r: Summer Olsson, Michael James Schneider, Sammi, the extremely patient Clyde Common bartender
“Two roads diverged in a wood”…no, that’s not the quote I’m trying to remember. “Life moves pretty fast; you don’t stop and look around once in awhile you could miss it.” Yup, that’s the one. Thanks Ferris.
I spent the last week exploring Portland, Oregon, for the first time. I fell in love with the city, as I had a suspicion I would. I met a lot of really wonderful people, reconnected with a crap-ton of old friends, conquered formerly-debilitating fears, and almost sliced people’s fingers off when I gave them my business card. The life-changing consequences of all this love are at the end of this post.
1) Summer in Winter! I had a blast creating art with my friend Summer Olsson (Google her)…she’s truly a fun, talented, smart person to create art with! (UPDATE: This was pretty much our soundtrack the entire visit). One brainstorm of ours was to create the characters of Fern and Clyde, two clowns moving to Portland. With the skilled photography of Aaron Warren, we dressed and painted our faces, and created a story in photos and a 6-second Vine clip that tells their story. Follow me on Facebook to get the whole story, released on Wednesdays and Saturdays! Continue reading
And thus ends the strangest, most confusing, alchemical three months of my life. Starting August 27th, the day of the Apartment Therapy spread, and ending this past Sunday, I had a life-changing experience. And yes, I live my life transparently, but this story is just for me, for now.
Woke up this morning in such a great mood, and with breathtaking clarity. I am starting a new chapter of my life with a clear head and tabula rosa. No, recovering from this won’t be easy, or quick. As always, will keep y’all posted on the artistic, creative consequences. In the meantime, here is a fan-made video, set to Radiohead’s “Motion Picture Soundtrack” from their Kid A album. It’s directed by Jay Eckensberger. It’s muddy and low-res, but I love it. I’m feelin’ the lyrics, except for “I think you’re crazy”…I don’t think anyone’s crazy for saying what they need.
BLCKSMTH introduces its first contributing editor, Jennie Kay. Jennie Kay poses as a communication design specialist while packing a six-shooter of creative wit and observation. Originally from Michigan, she has lived in California for the past thirteen years, and currently resides in Antigua, Guatemala.
Anaheim Gothic (hat-tip to Paul Plunkett)
Here’s a piece of hers. It’s typical of her fresh, vulnerable, authentic voice. I’m a fan. You will be too. Visit her website, or find her on Facebook.
“Welcome To My (Microwaved-Organic-Low Calorie-Horribly Unsatisfying) Life”
I have decided to split up with my boyfriend. I made the decision.
I realize that it is not for lack of care or anything he has or has not done, which unfortunately I blame way too much on him in the first place, poor guy. Simply put, there is nothing he does that makes me a better person.
He helps me throw better parties, but that is not really a relationship skill, or is it?
My friend Greg says it is.
He says it means you ultimately know how to work together. That is great, but throwing a good party isn’t helping me finally lose some weight and feel better about myself, throwing a better party is not getting told my tits look fantastic (frankly, it usually is, but not by him), throwing an amazing party is not going to help me figure out what the hell I am doing with my life, throwing a great party isn’t helping me pay off the credit cards I have been living off of the last three months and it sure as hell won’t tell me if I can seriously commit to helping a child grow up. Continue reading
Like a lemming to a cliff.
I swore I would never join Twitter, but I have to admit, it’s the character limit that got me: anything that forces me to distill and edit can’t be a bad thing! So follow me at @BLCKSMTHdesign, or you can subscribe on Facebook. I’ll be exploring the “lighter side” of design. I’ll also talk about carving a new path for yourself with nothing but your wits.
Sculpture by Lee Bontecou, the inspiration for my set design for Neil Gaiman’s “Neverwhere”, coming April 2013 to Sacred Fools Theater
Wow, what a busy month August has been! If it felt like a permanent vacation before, it sure doesn’t now. I’m in the “building my portfolio” stage at the moment, so I’m taking on a lot of projects, but I’m also saying “no” to a few things that I wish I didn’t have to.
I’m usually not a fan of listing projects like this, it doesn’t sound very…humble. “Humblebrag, anyone?” But seriously, people have been asking a lot about what I have coming up, so for those who are curious, here’s the rundown of what I said “yes” to:
I’m going to Assistant-Direct The Coarse Acting Show, written by Michael Green, directed by Paul Plunkett (who also wrote a segment for this production), at Sacred Fools Theater. The theater is my homebase, and Paul is going to be great to work with.
A couple of my paintings are being carried at The Juicy Leaf in Venice, on Abbot-Kinney! The store is a gallery/gift-shop concept, that’s eclectic and sophisticated at the same time. The team there is enthusiastic and smart, and I’m happy to have my work shown there. Continue reading
He paused for a moment, hands poised above the keyboard, wondering if he was going to write another story about talking possums, or dumb but lovable deer. “Ah, f**k it,” he muttered, and started another story about a dyslexic lemur that just couldn’t catch a break.
Or maybe not. I started this blog to chronicle my big life decision to leave my retail career after 20 years, and only do doing things that fulfill me creatively and artistically. I know: BOR-ing! No one has ever had that impulse, right? Continue reading
So. Pensive.
photo by Shaela Cook
I just opened my Etsy store. This is the first time I’ve ever sold my art…well since “Feria Artesana” in New Mexico when I sold retablos and wooden birdhouses that I made with my Dad, when I was in middle school. I’m more than a little nervous.
Most photos in the shop (the good ones, I mean) by Shaela Cook. Check out her stuff.
