I am stunned and saddened to hear of Prince's death. His creativity was and is an inspiration on multiple levels. He was true to his unique vision and that truth was a gift to the world...as was his music.

On an anecdotal level, I was a painter on a movie set within Paisley Park (Grumpy Old Men.) The work days were 10-12 hours long and winter snows were deep outside. In fact, one night, the snowfall was so intense, a few of us decided to hole up in a nearby hotel instead of spending all of our free time driving home and back. One mid-morning, we were in focused "work mode" complete with paint-splashed clothes, when a voice over the loud speaker pronounced: "His highness is IN the building!" (Their emphasis.) This happened on more than one occasion and we perked up a bit at the idea that he might possibly walk through our sets of ice houses or home interiors with "wild walls" and void ceilings.

On another occasion, I felt lucky to get to work on a dance floor of faux marble for one of his touring shows. It was a small project, but inspiring to be on the periphery of his world...

We had wonderful 9-day adventure exploring places related to the Impressionist Rebellion...and maintaining visual travel journals. Here's the crew in Paris. A little bit of drama with one student losing her passport. But an emergency passport was acquired via the consulate.