Follow the Art — Adventure Update

For the last few months, I’ve been deep in the edit—bouncing between Michigan and Colorado, wrapping up interviews and sorting through the archives. I’ve been moving out of storage units, digging through boxes of old photos and tapes, and pulling everything together for the film. Dad and I have also been finishing the last conversations for the project. I took a few solo trips downstate to interview some of his former students and gather the final pieces.

Recently, we headed downstate together for a week-long trip. We started with an interview with Dad’s friend Tom Blackburn, who he worked for on the Grand Valley Steelcase Library stained glass projects and others. Then we visited the Goodwillie Environmental School for school programs—and an unexpected reunion! A couple of days filled with interviews and camaraderie.

One night, after a spontaneous visit with Dad’s friends downtown GR, David and Doff, we parked outside Dad’s childhood home nearby. I felt this pull to knock on the door. We were welcomed in with open arms. We toured the house, shared stories, gifted art, and stayed up late swapping memories. The last time Dad had been there, it carried a painful memory—but the joy, kindness, and warmth in that home dissolved all of it. Kelly, who lives there now and works on the Free Beer and Hot Wings radio show, later shared the story on air. It felt like gaining a few sisters.

Anneke, Lydia, Tom, Kelly

The next morning, on our way to four interviews, we got a flat tire. I aired it up and limped to Discount Tire, where the wait was hours. We called an Uber, and a loud, race-car-sounding vehicle pulled up—driven by an Afghani veteran named Castro. You truly can’t make this up.

Castro got us to our first interview in record time. Our friend Val said she’d been wondering where Dad was—and then he stepped out of that race car like a rising phoenix. Val then drove us to the next interview, waited through it, and brought us all the way back to Grand Rapids. Absolute angel.

Val :)

We rushed to Grand Valley State University to interview the editor-in-chief of the Lanthorn, which Dad created the first illustrations for, and then on to Sharon—an amazing art teacher and dear friend of Dad’s—for our final interview of the evening.

The next day, we explored our old homes in Long Lake and Greenville. We visited the Belding Museum, where our friend Barbara arranged to have the building unlocked so we could film Dad’s murals in the children’s museum section. We ended the night with some great Indian food, reminiscing about the day.

The following morning, we had a big family reunion with my sister and her family, then stayed with my aunt and uncle, continuing interviews before making our way back home in a whirlwind trip that felt completely surreal.

Thank you to everyone who has gone above and beyond to help us, welcome us, share stories, or simply show up. This film is being lifted by so many generous hearts. And through the ups and downs—finances, health challenges, and flat tires—we continue to see it through to completion. This whole journey is blessed; the proof is in the footage.

Follow the Art is coming—slowly but surely—in 2026, earlier or later.