Arusha rooftops. Arusha, Tanzania

Red sky over Istanbul.

I know I haven’t been posting much recently. It’s been a busy spring getting ready for a big field-sketching expedition. Starting today, I will be traveling to Tanzania with students and two other professors from our Eco-Explorers class at the University of Michigan School of Art & Design. Our goal: to work with a Maasai community to build clean cook-stoves using local materials like corrugated tin, wire, and adobe.

We’ll make some side trips to Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, and later Mt. Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. I will post sketches whenever possible. Most days though we will have zero internet access.

To celebrate this adventure, here’s a look at sketches I made ten years ago on my LAST trip to Africa—also, with Eco-Explorers, Professor Joe Trumpey, and the University of Michigan School of Art & Design.

On the eve of a full moon, Shiva the Destroyer comes to North Main Street.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

The lovely and polydextrous @emilywellsmusic mesmerized her fans and gained a new one at The Magic Stick in Detroit last night.

Water Hill Music Fest organizers, Paul & Claire Tinkerhess, listen to the Oberlin Quartet on the 600 block of Miner Street yesterday afternoon. Gwenyth “Lady Bass” Hayes closed out the day with a set of smooth covers, including “Fever,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and “Tainted Love.”

Ann Arbor, Michigan

The dexterity of smokers.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Georgia

Travelers in the Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) and Atlanta International Airport (ATL) get their fix before switching over to airplane mode.

Captain Barrington Irving receives a pre-race pep talk from his mentor, pilot Gary Robinson. Irving then took the stage to address a fired-up crowd of students, parents, educators, and community leaders. “I love my dad,” he said, choking up. “I love these kids. Let’s go beat this jet!”

Opa-Locka Executive Airport, Miami

#TeamBarrington tweaks the air-intake to the Experience Aviation “Build&Soar” Supercar before the race. This Factory 5 GTM tops out at 200mph and was built by middle and high school students in the Build&Soar program. Inspiring.