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The Mash-Up at the Storehouse | Baltimore, MD | 2023

The House

MCHL WGGNS June 15, 2023

I love the concept of an alternative gallery space. 

When I visited the Storehouse dispensary in Mount Washington back in March, I was inspired to see some art on the walls by several local artists. It wasn't always like this—art on the walls—but I was stoked about the new direction. Paintings and digital illustrations, very cool, but I didn't notice any photography. This felt like an opportunity, so I decided to track down the manager to see if they'd be interested in supporting a Woodberry photographer.

I had the perfect photo in mind, a mash-up of two images that I captured in the neighborhood of Locust Point and wrote about here. I thought the work—if displayed in a sweet maple frame—would compliment the rainbow signage in the lobby, which also had a stylish wood frame. And the thin white line separating my two photos would play nicely with the horizontal lines that underscored the sativa, the hybrid and the indica, which are varying strains of the cannabis flower. And for bonus points, a mash-up and a hybrid are kinda the same thing, the hybrid being a blend of sativa and indica.

Hybrid | Baltimore, MD | 2023

The manager was excited, I was excited, everybody was excited. I only had one deadline to meet; make sure the mash-up was hanging in the lobby by July 1st, which was the first day recreational cannabis would be legal in Maryland.

Done. We hung that badboy on June 1st. 

The mash-up will live in The House indefinitely, or until it sells, or until I decide to replace it with something new. It's basically an ALT exhibition that I can have fun with, keep it funky, mix it up. 

There is a t-shirt you can buy at Atomic Books in Hampden that says, "Baltimore: Actually I like it." I'm digging that. But maybe an ALT tee would go something like, "Be: Art, Love & Trees."

Find your happy home.





⌘

Tags Baltimore, Photography, Exhibitions, Love, Flowers, Books, Nonfiction
Doug Angleton, Los Angeles, CA, 1990

Doug Angleton | Los Angeles, CA | 1990

Ten Marches Since My Last Confession

MCHL WGGNS March 19, 2021

When you've known someone for 37 years you develop a shorthand.

This is a portrait of my dear friend, Doug Angleton, in a series of March texts. 


March 2, 2012
 

Michael: JAH!
Doug: Rasta fari

Doug Angleton, Brooklyn, NY, 2010

Doug Angleton | Brooklyn, NY | 2010

March 2, 2013

Doug: Are you doing alright today bubbi?
Michael: Nothing but good feels.
Doug: I figured as much
Doug: Yay

March 28, 2014

Michael: Bodhisattva, I love you! I can barely wait to see you on Sunday to get our feel on!
Doug: Yes I am pissing on the floor like little chihuahua my tail is wagging so fast

Doug Angleton & Michael Wiggins, New York, NY, 2014

Doug Angleton & Michael Wiggins | New York, NY | 2014

March 3, 2015

Michael: "My barn having burned down I can now see the moon," said Mizuta Masahide.
Doug: Moon vs barn  Moon won
Doug: Everyone's a winner step right up bargains galore

March 17, 2016

Michael: Jah!
Doug: Him make the herbe for Man

Vacuum Flowers, Doug Angleton, 2011 (Oil on canvas, 4 x 6’)

Vacuum Flowers by Doug Angleton | 2011 (Oil on canvas, 4 x 6’)

March 1, 2017

Michael: Thinking of you. LA circa 1988.
Doug: Just before I went to Baltimore
Doug: Thirty years, old buddy

Doug Angleton, Los Angeles, CA, 1988

Doug Angleton | Los Angeles, CA | 1988

March 11, 2018

Doug: Happy Sunday mon ami
Doug: I was tripping on acid
Michael: Right on!! I was just thinking about the Legend of Doug. And how cool it is that you worked in the Flat Iron building in NYC. What a beautiful feather in your crown chakra head piece. Life is good!
Doug: Yes indeed

Doug Angleton, New York, NY, 2013

Doug Angleton | New York, NY | 2013

March 14, 2019

Michael: We all snowflakes. Ain’t that right, Sensei?!
Doug: True dat
Doug: All together we are the snowfall, our history an avalanche
Doug: When we melt in the sun of wisdom we run together to form the rivers and oceans
Doug: Which is what we were in the first place round and round

Doug Angleton, Rutherford, NJ, 2010

Doug Angleton | Rutherford, NJ | 2010

March 21, 2020

Michael: You doing ok Mr Angleton?
Doug: Well enough Wig

March 10, 2021

Michael: Wish we was playing Spades right now. Outside, on a picnic bench.
Doug: O what joy



Mr. Angleton died from complications of diabetes on March 11, 2021.

I will truly miss him.





⌘

Tags Love, Grieving, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Video, Music, Flowers, Doug, Melancholy, Nonfiction

Blue Skies | Lynchburg, VA | 2020

Nothing but Good Feelings

MCHL WGGNS March 27, 2020

Look outside, what do you see? Nothing but good feelings.

I struggle with the dark passenger. It's true. Even on the best days. But I was raised in Los Angeles in the 70s, a time when booze was lemonade, ashtrays were in airplanes, and getting roasted by the sun was far out. I knew I was moody. But we never talked about mental health when we passed the potatoes. I loved climbing on rocks and running real fast, but I didn’t realize that both of those things helped me avoid confrontation, you know, with people. I never really contemplated why I was an introvert. In fact, introvert? Not in my vocabulary. I didn't know what an alcoholic was. Cancer? I'm a kid, I am invincible. We didn't talk about why people died. They were just no longer around. I didn't comprehend that being alone was the happiest part of my life. The other parts were terrifying.

I'm not the best friend. Not the best son. Not the best coworker. Not the best partner. But I somehow manage to find my way. It's as though I have an extra compassionate gene, like the hugest C gene ever. That's what I tell myself anyhow. I justify being not the best on one hand with being the absolute best on the other. And I rely on this compassion to offset the melancholy.

It's taken me decades to deconstruct the dark side. Yes, therapy might have been quicker, but in my yoot, sports were better. I still love sports but I also love reading and pattern recognition and awareness. I've learned to self-medicate with herbs and a yoga mat. Nothing has really changed in regards to my good feelings. They are extraordinary. And nothing has changed with the darkness. I can name it now and I am prepared. I prepare with a knowing that love is always on the other side.

Look outside what do you see?





⌘

Tags Booze, Yoga, Flowers, Love, Compassion, Good Feelings, Melancholy, Cancer, The 70s, Virginia, Nonfiction
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  • 2025
    • May 31, 2025 Sun Salutation May 31, 2025
    • Mar 20, 2025 In Memory Mar 20, 2025
    • Jan 31, 2025 Pop the Hood Jan 31, 2025
  • 2024
    • Nov 30, 2024 Speed Dating Nov 30, 2024
    • Jul 14, 2024 The Debut Jul 14, 2024
    • May 17, 2024 The Collaboration May 17, 2024
    • Apr 18, 2024 The Ballad of Sun and Moon Apr 18, 2024
    • Mar 25, 2024 Traveling Light Mar 25, 2024
    • Feb 21, 2024 Dawn Patrol Feb 21, 2024
    • Jan 12, 2024 Awakened by a Dream Jan 12, 2024
  • 2023
    • Nov 16, 2023 Benefit Exhibition at Maryland Art Place Nov 16, 2023
    • Oct 31, 2023 Preach Oct 31, 2023
    • Sep 29, 2023 Thanks for Inviting Me Sep 29, 2023
    • Aug 31, 2023 Teenage Musical Theory Aug 31, 2023
    • Jul 27, 2023 The Process Jul 27, 2023
    • Jun 15, 2023 The House Jun 15, 2023
    • May 31, 2023 Church May 31, 2023
    • Apr 27, 2023 The Ponies Apr 27, 2023
    • Mar 25, 2023 Said No One Ever Mar 25, 2023
    • Feb 19, 2023 Patterns Feb 19, 2023
    • Jan 22, 2023 Red Bows and BBQ Jan 22, 2023
  • 2022
    • Dec 7, 2022 Holiday Exhibition at Maryland Art Place Dec 7, 2022
    • Nov 30, 2022 Mash-Up: The Dance of Two Nov 30, 2022
    • Oct 9, 2022 Don't Think Oct 9, 2022
    • Sep 28, 2022 Partially Based on a True Story Sep 28, 2022
    • Aug 30, 2022 Breezy Meditations on Urban Still Life: Part II Aug 30, 2022
    • Jul 31, 2022 Breezy Meditations on Urban Still Life Jul 31, 2022
    • Jun 27, 2022 A New Frame of Mind Jun 27, 2022
    • Feb 27, 2022 Life Is But a Dream Feb 27, 2022
  • 2021
    • Dec 31, 2021 The Year in Rearview Dec 31, 2021
    • Oct 15, 2021 My Record Collection: (1952-1992) Oct 15, 2021
    • Sep 25, 2021 Embers of the Spirit Sep 25, 2021
    • Aug 31, 2021 One Year in Baltimore Aug 31, 2021
    • Jul 29, 2021 A Portrait of Anthony, Fear and Compassion Jul 29, 2021
    • Jun 23, 2021 Different Color Socks Jun 23, 2021
    • May 29, 2021 The Oui in We May 29, 2021
    • Apr 27, 2021 I Was Baptized in a Jacuzzi Apr 27, 2021
    • Mar 19, 2021 Ten Marches Since My Last Confession Mar 19, 2021
    • Feb 26, 2021 The Early Beginnings of the Vibe Rater Feb 26, 2021
    • Jan 25, 2021 The Poet Dunbar, or, Something About Sanctity Jan 25, 2021
  • 2020
    • Dec 29, 2020 The Year in Haiku Dec 29, 2020
    • Nov 24, 2020 Art in Everyday Life Nov 24, 2020
    • Oct 29, 2020 Total and Absolute Love Oct 29, 2020
    • Sep 29, 2020 The Notion of a Tree Sep 29, 2020
    • Aug 31, 2020 The New Situation Aug 31, 2020
    • Jul 30, 2020 The Day I Broke Joe's Heart Jul 30, 2020
    • Jun 30, 2020 I Relax My Toes, I Relax My Toes, My Toes Are Relaxed Jun 30, 2020
    • May 28, 2020 Constantly Camping, or, Tending to Sophia May 28, 2020
    • Apr 29, 2020 The Healing Dance Apr 29, 2020
    • Mar 27, 2020 Nothing but Good Feelings Mar 27, 2020
    • Feb 9, 2020 Whose Legs Are These? Feb 9, 2020
  • 2019
    • Dec 23, 2019 The Patina of Memory Dec 23, 2019
    • Nov 27, 2019 The Light of Your Faith Nov 27, 2019
    • Nov 22, 2019 A Million Smiley Faces Nov 22, 2019
    • Oct 26, 2019 Mama Always Said I Would Be a Student for Life Oct 26, 2019
    • Aug 23, 2019 Welcome to Opening Night of My Virtual Photography Exhibition Aug 23, 2019
    • Jul 19, 2019 Awkward Ironic Pleasurable Pressure Jul 19, 2019
    • Jun 22, 2019 What is Art? Jun 22, 2019
    • Jun 9, 2019 Being Content : A Practical Guide to Awareness Jun 9, 2019
    • May 27, 2019 Meditation, Mindfulness and Detachment May 27, 2019
    • May 16, 2019 A Bit of Writing from the 80s May 16, 2019
    • May 2, 2019 Professor Wiggins: Higher Education May 2, 2019
    • Jan 28, 2019 Snap Out of It Jan 28, 2019
    • Jan 14, 2019 Values, Objectives and Results Jan 14, 2019
  • 2018
    • Dec 31, 2018 The Year in Review Dec 31, 2018
    • Dec 20, 2018 Fast Food Meditation Dec 20, 2018
    • Oct 13, 2018 New Canvas Oct 13, 2018
    • Sep 28, 2018 A Matter of Time Sep 28, 2018
    • Sep 20, 2018 Perpetual Tea, or, Preparing Our Minds for Anything Sep 20, 2018
    • Sep 14, 2018 Sisterhood Sep 14, 2018
    • Sep 12, 2018 This is Poetry Sep 12, 2018
    • Aug 30, 2018 The Composition of Stasis Aug 30, 2018
    • Aug 27, 2018 The Power of the Soul Aug 27, 2018
    • Aug 18, 2018 Bandit's Silver Angel Aug 18, 2018
    • Aug 17, 2018 Introspection Aug 17, 2018
    • Aug 5, 2018 An Offering Aug 5, 2018
    • Jul 19, 2018 Beginner's Mind Jul 19, 2018
    • Jul 17, 2018 Aromatherapy Jul 17, 2018
    • Jul 14, 2018 Proper Relaxation Jul 14, 2018
    • Jun 21, 2018 All Roads Lead to Love Jun 21, 2018
    • Apr 26, 2018 Ways of Seeing Apr 26, 2018
    • Apr 15, 2018 The Track and the Choo Choo Apr 15, 2018
    • Mar 16, 2018 The Fragile Nature of Fate Mar 16, 2018
    • Feb 27, 2018 The Art of Feeling Feb 27, 2018
    • Jan 13, 2018 I Am Wide Awake Jan 13, 2018
  • 2017
    • Dec 24, 2017 Our Earthly Bodies Dec 24, 2017
    • Dec 10, 2017 Polaroid Swinger Dec 10, 2017
    • Dec 4, 2017 Happiness Dec 4, 2017
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MCHL WGGNS