The Only People For Me Are the Mad Ones (Jack Kerouac)

A favorite former professor of mine, with the grace to ignore the fact that I went to class about half the time, commissioned a portrait of Jack Kerouac for his son, Colin. When someone smarter than you commissions your work, it's enough to make you weep with terror and gratitude.

I made this portrait in the Dickinson College library after having taught a workshop on recycled art (on a side note, you should know that Dickinson is exploring some elegant solutions to old problems and employing wicked smart people to do it). I fished the cardboard out of the mail room trash and borrowed some scissors from the lady selling coffee in the corner. Thanks, guys.

The text is ripped from Dharma Bums, Colin's favorite Kerouac piece (on a side note, you should know that Colin used to be a student of mine. He's 17 now, happy birthday, and he's becoming one of my favorite writers.)