Ann Delisi's Essential Music

Being a huge fan of eclectic music and the dee jays that play that sort of music, it's welcomed relief to have Ann Delisi back on the airwaves at WDET 101.9 FM every Saturday & Sunday from noon until 4:00.

What she does so uniquely on the Detroit radio airwaves (and for those not in the listening area, online) is that she researches her music and then seamlessly blends all genres of music on the air to make an intelligent show. It's not the pre-packaged playlists that you hear on every other station. Just this previous weekend she played varied musicians such as UB40, Joan Osbourne, Ray Charles, Bell X1, India Arie, all the way to Detroit's very own Jamie McCarthy and Jill Jack (playing local music is also another goal of the show). While I don't adore everything that Ann plays, her selections have also exposed me to other genres of music that I would've never heard on any commercial airwaves. It's literally an education in music.

The show definitely harkens back to a much more intelligent time in radio when the audience relied on the voices heard on the air as authorities in music and news.

Modernist tiki sculptures

Three tiki sculptures I just recently picked up. They are all exquisitely carved, assembled and painted. I have yet to find out much about the manufacturer or any details about them other than their construction was mentioned in a 1961 Popular Mechanics magazine. The tags that are around two of the darker ones read: "Polynesian tiki handcrafted by R.E. Evans- San Diego, CA". They're barely a foot tall and about two inches across at their widest point. They're not my usual ceramic fare but I think they still have a unique cool modern feature to them.

Another sketchbook done

Although this particular sketchbook took me more than my self imposed two day schedule, I finally finished it. If it wasn't for a rush job that came across my desk for a steady client, I probably would've pounded this book down in that prescribed time frame. Now it's time to recover for a day or two and start up another book soon.

Sketchbook latest

Day two of sketching. Just for kicks.

George Kell passes away

I don't think there's a Detroit kid my generation that played any form of sandlot baseball/ softball that didn't do a George Kell impersonation of some kind. Many of us knew him only as a Tigers' television broadcaster but prior to that, he was one of the most potent third basemen in all of Major League Baseball. His records were many and his acceptance in the Hall of Fame only reinforces those accomplishments. He passed away in his hometown of Swifton, Arkansas at the age of 86 and yet I can still his voice ring out with some wonderful anecdote about the game that he played and was passionate about.

Terry Brown visits CCS

Terry Brown, the director emeritus of the New York Society of Illustrators was kind enough to join some of our students in a lively discussion on many things Illustration. He talked about the history of American Illustration (he taught one of the premier History of Illustration courses), its evolution, its future, copyrights, the influence of technology, market shifts, and hopefully inspired some of our troops to be the next wave of impactful artists.

Terry also gave our students a personal guided tour of the current Norman Rockwell exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts as well as personally regaling us in some outrageous stories about the Society the night before.

Just for kicks

Every now & then and a lot of times for friends I'll poke fun of them for some obscure little thing or foible in their lives. And from time to time I come up with some things that even surprise me or make me chuckle. Granted years from now I'll look back and have lost all context as to why it was funny, but for the mean time- this was one of those goofy ten minute drawings that just keeps staring back at me and makes me chuckle.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

If only friend Jay Shuster would've kept his beard for just a bit longer (and if he was about two feet shorter), he would've been the ideal leprechaun for this holiday.

Another look at the Chin Tiki

Yeah, I know I posted a longer winded Chin Tiki article about the fall of the place below but also wanted to preserve the Google Map street level image of the place that was taken several years back. How simply spartan and idyllic it looked in the Detroit sun.

Also mad thanks to John Monaghan of the Detroit Free Press too. Great article on the place being demolished and sending over 3000+ hits to the merry blog here.

Sketchbook happy

My very first all digital sketch.
Not a single tree was sacrificed in its creation.

The usual sketchy madness.




For the last few month or so, I've been going gonzo in my sketchbooks. I can nearly finish a 128 page sketchbook in less than a week. Granted some of them are clunkers and then some of them are little gems for me to explore a little bit more. Even with my work and teaching schedule I've always managed a few precious hours to myself to add something to these little sketchbooks. I'm not sure where they're gonna go just yet but it's been very liberating.

The fall of the last great Detroit Tiki Temple

For several generations in this area, the Chin Tiki restaurant on 2121 Cass Avenue was the place for people to go celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, proms and other occasions of note. Marvin Chin opened it in an era when Polynesian/ Chinese food was relatively new to American palettes. The building itself was two stories of waterfalls, mysterious caverns, coves, tapa cloth covered walls and filled with relics, many made by Oceanic Arts in Whittier, California which is still in business today. The Chin Tiki opened in 1966 and stayed in business until 1980.

On March 6th, 2009, what was once the grandeur of the Chin Tiki came down. It had sat idle for years with Marvin & his son still coming by from time to time tinkering on the place. Many tiki enthusiasts had hoped that this haven would somehow be reborn and its significance be saved. When Marvin passed away in 2006, so did the dream of its re-opening.

The fences went up and the heavy equipment moved in during 2007 after the Ilitch Holdings Company came in and bought up the land for what is to be rumored a new stadium for the Ilitchs' Detroit Red Wings hockey team.

What was the front entrance to a magic tiki temple for so many people is now destroyed.

Visitors were often greeted with costumed hostesses distributing leis.

The second floor housed a huge dance floor that had nightly Polynesian acts.

For many, the Chin Tiki was a place to escape the daily grind. It was a destination.

As we look back at the City and its progress we're left to mourn what was once one of the premier dining destinations and a cultural icon for the area.

Gone are the days that adults can justifiably leave their children at home with the sitter, go partake of potent potables, dine in exotic fare, see scantily clad women and be flung off to an exotic locale... if even for one night. Along with the Mauna Loa, the Tropics, and a Trader Vic's, this building and all of the wonderful tiki memories that it housed is now a distant memory.

Syd Mead lectures at CCS

Jay Kruz, Syd Mead and Karen Kruz with a piece of art Syd had done for Ford in the 1960's and hadn't seen since then.

Earlier this week I was honored to have played host to Syd Mead on the CCS campus.

I first met Syd Mead during my junior year at CCS when he came by the campus to demonstrate his techniques. It was a few years after he had worked on his epic Blade Runner with Ridley Scott. Over the years he's come back several times to CCS to speak and inspire the students. This time he filled the Wendell Anderson Auditorium to capacity to the point where I ended up listening to the lecture from the audio visual control room. He talked about his career- all the way from his childhood to his current projects. He was quite frank and honest during the question & answer period with the audience afterwards. My sincere hope is that his visit to CCS has inspired some of my students the way he inspired me years ago. It was an honor to have had him back on campus. Kudos to all of the people that attended and help make the evening possible.

Sketchbook drawings

As an instructor, I'm one to harp on my students to keep up a sketchbook. As a working professional I know I should as well, but due to time constraints, job, life, and every other third excuse in the book- over the last few years I've hardly kept a sketchbook for myself other than the ones I take on trips and vacations.

Well, within the last week I decided to jump back into it and re-discovered how liberating it was. No deadlines, no art direction, no restraints as to what or how I was to put images in the sketchbook. I didn't worry about how clean or crisp my line-work was; after all it was a sketchbook and not a finished art book. The images are sometimes raw, sometimes refined and all across the board. It was fun, uninhibited and just outright fun again.

The only thing is I filled the book in about two days and will have to get another one soon.

CCS Noel Night last Saturday

The 36th Annual Noel Night down in the Cultural Center of Detroit last Saturday- what a hoopla! There were over 3000+ people coming by CCS to scope out wares made by the students & alumni. A little cold blowing snow outside but somehow it still managed to bring in the crowds year after year.

Rest in peace, Betty Page.

I'm sure I'm not the only one mourning or blogging about Betty Page and her untimely death today, but I'd like to think that because earlier this year one my idols Dave Stevens passed away, she decided to join him and give him one of the most gorgeous figures to draw. May the poses be grand, beautiful and naughty all at the same time.