Cage says that somethings are always created out of nothing, the intangible, living void. They’re not a form of self-expression; instead they are a inner response. One starts with a structure that is empty and all possibilities are on the table. Wu-wei or effortless action, says that nothing should be forced.
~ https://www.kimmanleyort.com/
Dyslexia is not a disability – it’s a gift. It means that I, and many other dyslexic thinkers can portray the world through images because we think in images. I can build worlds, freeze the frame, walk around and touch. I can read people’s faces, drawings, buildings, landscapes and all things in the visual world more quickly than many of my non-dyslexic friends. I paint with words; they are my colours.
~ Sally Gardner (Davis Dyslexia Association International)
Growing up, I had no idea why I had such a hard time reading and comprehending what I read. In my day, elementary school classes divided readers into groups: good, so-so, and poor. I always wanted to be in the good readers group, but I consistently found myself in the poor group with another student assigned as our tutor. I never understood why reading the things I wanted to read felt so difficult.
It was not until I joined the USAF that I discovered I was dyslexic. Reading is still a struggle, but like Sally Gardner, I believe dyslexia also allows many of us to experience the world differently. Personally, I think dyslexia contributed to my ability to express myself through art and other creative problem-solving endeavors.
I included Sally Gardner’s poem, Disobeys Me, with my suite of images titled Words That I Cannot Spell, because it speaks to an experience many people with dyslexia understand deeply.
I also want to thank Hunt and Gather Antiques for allowing me to photograph the incredible collection of letters in their backlot.
“Disobey Me” is a poem by Sally Gardner.
They told me I was dyslexic
it didn’t describe me
belonged in the library
of words I can’t spell|
no matter how many times they tell
you just try harder sound it out
simple when you think about
it. Stop giving me the third degree
don’t put me down
don’t make me fret
I can’t learn my alphabet
it doesn’t go in any logical order
the stress gives me attention deficit disorder
at school I wanted to go it alone
they told me that’s unwise
they called me unteachable
The poem continues …. Disobey Me
Please visit the other images in the series, “Words I Cannot Spell” (words-that-i-cannot-spell-an-experience-of-a-dyslexic/)
My name is William John Hendricks, and I work professionally as Bill Hendricks. I am a Minneapolis-based artist and retired art and design educator. My work moves between drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, digital media, 3D modeling, interactive installations, and virtual environments.
I have also created and exhibited digital work under two established identities:
These names represent different periods and settings within one artistic life. Shadowmason and Tap Quentin are both parts of my history as William “Bill” Hendricks.
My work moves between tactile and virtual forms. I am interested in what happens when the handmade and the digital meet—when systems and structures become containers for emotion, imagination, and spirit.
After retiring from teaching, I returned fully to my studio practice. My recent work includes watercolor, gouache, ink drawing, photography, mixed media, and digital modeling. Across these forms, my work moves between observation, memory, and imagination.
Memory has become increasingly important in my recent work. I lived in New York City during the 1980s and into the 1990s, where I worked at All State Art, Circle’s TR Gallery, and Desired Printing. I was part of the gay community during the AIDS epidemic. My memories of Christopher Street—of friendship, loss, survival, and the extraordinary creativity and joy of that period—continue to enter my work today.
My work has been exhibited in Minneapolis and New York and is held in private collections throughout the United States.
My exhibitions include The Intimate Gallery at Gallery 148 in Minneapolis, a group exhibition exploring collective consciousness, and Postcards From the Edge, presented by Visual AIDS at the Robert Miller Gallery in New York City.
In 2026, my work returned to New York through Collective Z Gallery. Marsha P., a work rooted in my memories of Christopher Street and Marsha P. Johnson, was exhibited during Pride Month on the Lower East Side. My work is also represented through Collective Z Gallery on Artsy.
My interactive digital work Interpreted, Obscured and Sought (2005) is archived by Rhizome ArtBase, whose collection documents significant works in the history of internet-based art.
I earned my MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). For more than two decades, I taught Graphic Design, Web Design, and Fine Art at Minneapolis College, formerly Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC). I also taught at MCAD.
Teaching shaped my understanding of art as a continuing conversation among thought, feeling, experimentation, and craft.
In Second Life, I exhibit as Tap Quentin. My virtual projects include digital prints, drawings, constructed environments, and work presented through Ephemeral Traces.
The name Shadowmason connects my earlier internet-based work, my digital practice, and the history of ArtChangesLives.com. Shadowmason and Tap Quentin are not separate people or disconnected identities; they are parts of my broader artistic history.
I continue to make art and write from Minneapolis. ArtChangesLives.com brings together my studio work, photographs, digital experiments, reflections, and observations about how art shapes the way we understand our lives, relationships, and communities.
Budapest is a new experience, so… It has been exhausting. Wonderful but tiring. In Paris, Italy, and Switzerland, I had a chance to understand what I was reading, what was on the menu, or what someone was saying to me. Hungarian is a beautiful language, and it is fun to hear conversations around you. Still, it is so different, with all the accented characters and additional characters… there is no hope. In all fairness, though, the people here are very kind and helpful, but it can be a bit of a struggle for them and us.
There are just so many things to see… I am glad we didn’t rush through but stayed a few days more. The city is so alive… and at night too. People stroll the boulevards and streets or sit at cafes. The Danube divides the city. Buda is on one side, and Pest is on the other. Pest is where our hotel is located. That portion of the city is flat, while Buda’s side is hilly. Buda is gorgeous at night from the Pest side. Don’t get me wrong, there is one city government, but you may talk about each area using its historical names.
We lucked out without knowing it… Budapest has a lot of activity this week as the city prepares for the Formula One Race that will run on Sunday. We got to see a practice or promotional event as they shut down Hero’s Square and fenced it off so the racers could use its perimeters; I think the event was designed to get the locals excited about the race coming to town. Another unexpected event in Budapest was a Rembrandt print exhibition celebrating Rembrandt’s 400-yr b-day. WOW! I was fascinated…, particularly by the multiple storylines he would include in most of his images. I guess … illustratively they would be the same as a sidebar accompanying a publication’s article. In tandem with this show, they curated another local artist exhibition and asked them to use the Rembrandt show to inspire their art for the show. The interactive and the video were both beautiful works. The videos were kind to Bill Viola’s work, and the interactive piece operated similarly to a periscope, but as you raised or turned the LCD monitor, it allowed you to see Rembrandt’s work and turned them into abstract or 3-D images. It was fun watching the viewers navigate the device.
In many cases, the viewers never touched the piece. For example, two older women stood before the device, reading the article describing the work but never touching it once. Another event is the billboard event that is running now; it started on August 3 with an open-air concert. These boards are assembled and run for a couple of blocks; some are replicas of actual boards that ran… the event must have open submissions because many of the panels there are in English. There seem to be several categories as well… ranging from art to social commentary… and political statements. I’ve included a few shots.
The most telling show I attended was across the square at the Müsarnok Kunsthalle… when I saw the work of Dan Perjovsch, a Hungarian political cartoonist… He entered the museum with a few Sharpies and a keen wit. The newfound political and economic systems that accompany all don’t appreciate it. He addressed it in his work, but I was also stunned by the globalization that is taking place and how quickly the major companies have moved to Hungary with all their signage, advertising, and products. Guess the world can enjoy the Éspirits, Pumas while dining at their KFC.
Today we visited the Ludwig Contemporary Museum of Art… a huge Walker. There was one exhibit that we both enjoyed… a photographic essay by ten photographers, each assigned a new member of the European Market. Excellent show… each interpreted the assignment differently. Powerful show… if you have a moment, check it out online.
Then we went to the Terror Museum… DEPRESSING! The museum was dedicated to Hungary’s recent history from the 1930s until 1991, when the last of the Soviets left. It was so hard to see what people could do to one another. The museum was the building where so many people gave up their lives. So many might have been guilty of fighting against the Nazis or resisting the government or the Soviets. Still, it came through clearly that many weren’t involved and were taken and disappeared strictly to terrorize the citizens. One of the most challenging aspects for me is that the building was in a very upper-class area and neighborhood. So this torture was going on … in the Hungarians’ midst.
Overall, the food was good, the people incredible, the hotel comfortable, and the weather cloudy and rained a bit, but the Budapest portion of the trip was great. Tomorrow will pack again and are off to Praha, which is Prague. We are looking forward to seeing it. The folks we have run it at restaurants, and Budapest’s mineral bathes say we will enjoy our stay. It will be only a 6-hour train trip.
We are tired and will not go to Vienna … straight to Prague. We’ll be there for five days