7/5/15 – Happy Fortuna of July

Artist: Mary Fortuna

Location: My place

Breakfast: Vegetarian chili & salad

Well, I knew that I had dinner plans with Mary Fortuna, but I wanted to include our conversation in Breakfast with the Artist, because she is such a great artist, like, one of the artists where I stalk her every artistic move, hungry to see what she comes up with next. So, total conundrum meets ingenious solution–I subsisted throughout the day on nothing but a handful of sour gummy candy, so our dinner was actually my breakfast. PROBLEM SOLVED. Let the above stats reflect poorly only on me–I’m sure Mary’s breakfast was some kind of regular, non-insane fare.

Anyway. We had a great talk about things that ranged largely personal, thank you very much, but certainly one thing that I think is broadly relevant is the concept of trusting one’s instincts. I know there are artists who work in a highly strategic, conceptual manner, and I just don’t find them nearly as interesting as people who play it from the gut. And Mary is an instinctive weaver of culture, you know, taking in information from every direction, and running it through whatever mythic filter is stitched into her core. What comes out is really magic.

She is also a shining example of the power of advocacy. If you need to see an example set for tireless championing and support for the work of others, you need look no further than Mz. Fortuna. She is one of those absolute goldmines of information about the Detroit art scene, a social connector par excellence. I’m so happy to know her, and happy any time I get to tap into her amazing mind. Keep on truckin’, Fortuna!