Author: Matt Maldre

Marginalia lovers rejoice! Blackwing wanted $12 for a pencil clip. I found 4 clips for $8.29. Math wins.

That time I turned goldfish-sitting into an art experiment: A fish swimming through rainy Paris streets and contemplating Japanese prints.

When a dog gets its own baseball card.

M.A.S.K.’s Dolphin Mask: Sonic blasts or dolphin conversations? Matt Trakker guards my hard drives while I ponder this mystery.

On this day, is the average date when Chicago has its last one inch+ of snow. Appropriate that we got a bunch of snow this morning.

A diamond’s facets can be fascinating, but the words aren’t connected. Fascinate is about enchantment, facet is about surfaces.

In 2006, I photographed spilled gumballs in a Chicago alley. In 2025, I asked AI to identify them. Not one got it right.

Did you know you can subscribe to Substack newsletters without having a Substack account? I found out the hard way—by creating an accidental second account.

Pill organizer wish list: 1. Jumbo-sized compartments for Halloween Milky Ways. 2. Labels in random languages for maximum chaos. 3. One shaped like Optimus Prime, because aging should feel heroic.

That moment when you're jamming to a new song, feeling like a cool parent… and your kindergartner walks in already knowing all the words.

As I explore the idea of making magic sticks, I'll be using sticks I find anywhere. A variety would be nice.

How does a change in environment shape the way we think and create? Can a suburban setting inspire creativity in the same way as an urban one?

Copying text for AI feedback? Plain text loses formatting like bold, italics, and links. A better way? Copy as Markdown! Install this Chrome extension and retain structure.

With every new Chrome tab—boom, art appears. Today? A Sol LeWitt print. But am I seeing a LeWitt? Or just a trace of his idea?

"When you have kids that are still kids, capture the little things that are still little—like the stuffies on their bed." — Matt Maldre, 2025

A really cool art critic on Instagram is Jerry Saltz. He writes with passion, energy, and a casual, conversational tone. He makes art criticism fun and easy to understand, mixing deep knowledge with humor and personal stories. His style is…

I’m continuing to post more of my programming snippets to Github. Over the years, I’ve got a bunch of short programming codes that I use to help me be more efficient. Already published on Github To publish on Github There’s…

...and like a supernova, this fades into nothingness

My driveway is an ever-changing Jackson Pollock painting, thanks to rabbits leaving their wild, crisscrossing tracks in the snow.

How does a brand-new artwork get into a museum? This 1962 print by Robert W. Mallary was added to @artinstitutechi’s collection almost instantly. What’s getting added today?

Every week, I take my garbage and recycling to the curb. I never noticed the perfectly spaced lines in the snow—until today. Sometimes, repetition creates beauty we don’t see at first.

Snow isn't just frozen water. It's a shield for the grass in the bitter cold and a gift of nourishment when it melts. A quiet cycle of protection and renewal.

My mail carrier and the neighborhood bunny take the exact same path across our yard. Efficiency knows no species.

They say winter is cold and dreary, but that’s only if you’re not out there flying an icicle through the cosmos.

From inspiring to corrupt. Paper Source went from creative haven to corporate scandal. What happened?

I tried translating something to Huttese. The only part that translated was “or die!” It would probably be more helpful to simply look at the list of all the known Huttese words and phrases. There’s a couple of sites that…

Always told not to put links in Facebook posts? Think again. My recent experiment shows Instagram links might actually BOOST your engagement. Here's what I discovered.

Found at the Art Institute shop: $11,500 Jeff Koons balloon dog sculptures. Found at Walmart: The same thing for $10. The art world is wild y'all.

A Reese’s Cup… with LAVA‽ The Super Bowl ad sold me, and I had to try it. The result? Pure, molten chocolate-peanut-butter bliss.

While others prepped for the Super Bowl, I made a tiny snowman with the last bits of snow in my front yard.

Reviving my interest in public spaces art (street art / guerilla art). I’ve been posting some ideas to a Pinterest board, Public Art Ideas. On the board is artists like: