In 2002, I was asked to give a workshop on investigative reporting for journalists in Laos. I was pretty surprised by this request. Laos was, and still is, a tightly controlled Communist country. And yet, having given up central management of the economy, the party leaders had recognized that its media needed to do a … read more Four steps of investigative journalism and other pursuits
Tag: glass
More broken glass
My piece from the first week of fused glass class was a square bowl, and it didn’t turn out well. The transparent purple and the neon blue look odd together when fused. The gold threads were completely lost. All the colors are distorted by the surface beneath them, unless the bowl is displayed on a white … read more More broken glass
Day 99: Playing with Kandinsky
Can you build a whole painting around a single square of color? You can learn to, if you play around. That’s what I’m doing by playing with colored rectangles derived from those used by Wassily Kandinsky in Thirteen Rectangles. Although the arrangement of Thirteen Rectangles seems random, each shape and its color is part of the dynamic … read more Day 99: Playing with Kandinsky
Day 86: Broken glass
When I was a kid, I used to accumulate burnt-out light bulbs in a paper bag and then take them down to the river to smash against the rocks. In my twenties, it was vodka and gin bottles. Last year, I got so mad at my computer that I hurled a glass of water against a … read more Day 86: Broken glass
Day 78: Reset
When I started this project, I cashed a check for $162.52 to get the 16,252 pennies. That was the last check of an annuity inheritance from Dad. Or so I thought. I got a letter from New York Life asking why I hadn’t cashed the check for February. Huh? I looked at my records and sure enough, … read more Day 78: Reset