Friends and Links

Marie Brozova / Martin Broz

Marie is my childhood friend and I remember her always drawing during our classes. Together with her husband Martin, who is not only her manager but also an excellent classical guitarist, they travel the world showing people the miracles that can be achieved with common colored pencils. Marie also wrote and illustrated two books of stories. I've had the opportunity to play a minor role in the beginning of her current career and her success just warms my heart. Keep drawing!

Website: www.the-colored-pencils.com

Daniel Kupsovsky

Daniel has been my soul twin for two decades now and we still have a lot to give each other. Sometimes we act like an old married couple with all the fights and challenges but there is a lot of love there and deep understanding. Daniel is a freelance film maker who works for television and film as a director, author and editor or all of it together. He is also a co-founder of the Art for Life project which uses cultural events and art to fundraise for HIV/AIDS charity.

Website: http://www.artforlife.cz

Ken Nash

When I walked into Jim's flat the first time, I found a book of Ken's cartoons which I made - an omen. Since then, Ken was our lucky star. He's a multitalented artist who works as a graphic designer, writes stories and songs, sings and plays multiple instruments. All of this with humbleness, kindness and his absolutely unique sense of humor. He organizes the Alchemy readings and is the kind of guy to volunteer as a face painter for kids in orphanages. We cooperated in multiple projects and working with him is a joy. So is being his friend.

Website: Here is a really fun little documentary about Ken's life and work. Portfolio is available at www.kennash.com

Anthony Tognazzini

When I realized that Anthony and I share a birthday, a lot of things clicked. We don't do the same things, but somehow we're on the same vibe. We share a passion for life and art as well as a quirky sense of humor. And he's a master of that - his stories, songs and lyrics continue to make me laugh. This was the last hug I got before he left Prague - all that love and energy is there. It keeps cheering me up and inspired this whole series of photos. My friends come and go, but the memories remain.

Website: myspace

Jeremy Saxon

Knowing Jeremy gave me the oportunity to see him grow as an artist and as a person and getting closer and closer to a perfect spot. After living in San Fancisco and Prague, he moved to Louisiana, to learn more about Cajun music. He's not only a great guitarist and a pretty darned good singer, he's an excellent writer. This translates to his songwriting abilities and his catalogue now counts in hundreds. Right now I live in a flat where he used to live before us and I still think some of those good vibes are here.

Website:

Marcus Green

Marcus made me realize what the expression "Southern gentleman" could mean. Marcus is a great story teller and listener, which probably destined him to a career in journalism. If he's going to write about something, he's likely to first go and experience it, visit the location, talk to people. As a result, his stories, whether journalistic or fictional show authenticity and humanity. As a friend, he has a grounding power for me, a roll-up-the-sleeves-and-work quality that many intellectuals lack. I love his appreciation for life and all good things ... he's a joy to cook for, because he really loves good food.

Website:

Jana Labutova

Jana (whose nickname was always Lucy) had photographed my wedding, my company profile photo and many events in my life. She's a pro and it shows. Jana works for leading house decor magazines and publications, focusing on interior design and architecture. Years of this work then showed when she and her husband reconstructed their own flat. But I find her portraits to be her true strength - with her calm demeanor and sense of humor, she can make anyone comfortable in front of the camera. She also happens to have a summerhouse in the village where we lived for ten years. The world is a small place.

Website: www.janalabutova.cz

Noah Barnes

Shortly after we met in Prague, sitting in a tram 16, I noticed he was flipping cards with strange pictures. "I'm learning port signals, I'll be a sea captain," he explained. I was stunned and from then on, things didn't surprise me. It didn't surprise me, when I realized he's a professional musician, plays just about any instrument he picks up and sings like an angel. It didn't surprise me, when he earned a degree in anthropology and spent time learning Chinese and dancing tango. Noah is now back in Maine, sailing Stephen Taber, the oldest still-at-sea schooner in America, built in 1871. One of these days, I'll go with him on a sea voyage, but for now, I'm still his "fourth landlocked sister".

Website: Stephen Taber

Bruce Damer

OK, let's face it, Bruce is basically a genius, he does so many interesting projects, that one of them will likely one day make him a millionaire. He's runs The Digital Space Commons and co-directs the Contact Consortium. He's also engaged in research and events with Biota.org and VLearn3D.org and hosts discussions on the early Christian period at GnosticWay.com. He the curator and co-founder of the DigiBarn Computer Museum and the caretaker of Ancient Oaks farm. Bur Bruce is an accomplished writer, educational speaker, an active participant in the Burning Man festival and even a fashion designer of sorts. But Bruce had found an equally interesting female counterpart - his wife Galen Brandt - a musician and educator who is also very involved in many of Bruce's activities.

Website: Bruce www.damer.com / Galen - www.virtualgalen.com

Theo Schwinke

As I write this, Theo fell asleep in the easy-chair across from me, his dog Basket in his lap. An excellent writer, he uses his skills mostly in journalism. For several years, he was the Chief Editor of the Prague Post (and it was only under his perfectionist "rule", when this paper was really worth reading). He was the brain behind Prague Daily Monitor and in recent years he works as a free-lance journalist focusing on Central European films. His wife Sylvie is an excellent translator and we often cooperate on bigger projects. Theo is a really close friend, he was the Master of Ceremony during our wedding and did a great job.

Website:

Jeff Herzbach

When someone says "He's a rennaisance man", I think of Jeff Herzbach. Jeff writes really well and is a computer specialist, working for big banks in the computer security field. Besides writing, the "other things" for Jeff include playing saxophone and sculpting. Then there is Jeff the traveler and you can bet I don't mean five star hotels. Jeff traveled to Tibet on horseback and trekked jungles and motorcycled in Europe on our bike. There are not many people who could borrow our motorcycle, but Jeff could - anytime.

Website:

Paul Martia

Watching my husband interact with Paul Martia clearly explains why they celebrate their Birthday on the same day. They love the same things - arts, traveling, the outdoors and everything rough and raw. That is unless it happens to be smooth and refined - that's good too, just not anything in the middle. Paul is a musician, a metal smith, a furniture builder and restorer, and a poet. I might have forgotten something. Whenever I think of Paul, before I can recall his face, I first remember that dazzling energy and love. I hope he comes back soon, I think we need another dosage.

Website: Cherry Metal Designs

Julie C.& Jean-Marc S.-S.

When Julie Chibbaro and Jean-Marc Superville-Sovak lived in Prague, we spend time together, when we moved to the mountains, the came to visit us. They're now back in the US, married, with a baby. Julie made us all proud with the success of her first novel Redemption, which won the American Book Award as well as her subsequent works. Jean-Marc is an extremely talented artist who started off as a ceramist and now moved on to video art and other experiments. We're convinced that whatever comes from his workshop will be excellent. For now, we have our house filled with his sculptures and drawings.

Websites: http://juliechibbaro.com / www.supervillesovak.com

Peter Orner

Peter Orner is one of the shieset and quietest people I know. When he reads his stories, his voice is soft and the people in the audience have to pay close attention to catch it all. But they do - there is a lot there. What I love about Peter is his combination of humbleness, focus and courage. Peter has earned both an MFA and a degree in law and taught in at multiple universities. His stories have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The Southern Review, and Epoch, as well as in The Best American Short Stories 2001 and The Pushcart Prize. He lived in Namibia, Prague, Rome and now is back in the US and we miss him terribly.

Website: Peter Orner

Ryan Mergen

"Friends are the Bacon Bits in the Salad Bowl of Life." - Pizza place sign. After Ryan returned to the US, he sent us a care package of all the stuff one couldn't get in Prague, including Bak-Os. Alright, Ryan, you got me, I love 'em! But funny things are to be expected from Ryan. He's a slam poetry chapmion, the kind that uses words sharp as sword. He has performed his work at poetry venues across the U.S. and Europe, including our living room on Christmas Eve. I remember the stunned look on my Czech friends' faces when I requested a poem and Ryan, just sitting on our couch, started to spin it off the top of his head. Performance poetry is really amazing.

Website: myspace / an interview / a very funny poem on youtube

Katerina Pinosova

There is nobody else I know who is as daring in exploring our internal landscape as my friend Katka Pinosova. In fact, it takes courage to open "the door that leads into madness" as Christopher Morley put it, the real challenge is to not open it fully, but keep it only ajar. Katka is an accomplished surrealist artist, a writer and a translator of very difficult creative and philosophically oriented texts. If you're among those thinking that surrealism is a thing of the past, make sure to check out her website where you can find Katka's drawings, sculptures, jewelery and bio.

Website: www.katerinapinosova.com

Morgan Sowden

While most my friends are artists or writers, Morgan is an enterpreneur in best sense of that word - a creative and inovative one. Part British and part Italian, Morgan knew both these languages as a native and by the time we met in Prague, he could speak unusually well Czech. When he moved to the post-war Sarajevo to open an internet cafe, he "naturally" picked up Serbo-Croatian. But a lot of things natural for Morgan are struggle for all the rest of us - computers for instance. Morgan wrote his first program when he was 8 and didn't stop since. With Ken Nash he ran the Rudemountain.com tell-it-like-it-is greeting card site, very funny. With Morgan, the only question is always: "What's next?" and I'm already looking forward to it, whatever it may be.

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