Archive: Around Town

On a new book, one well known reviewer
Wrote "Don't read it, just toss in the sewer"
And he now shares his life
With the author's ex-wife
Though he never let on that he knew her. *

That's not something you want to do with Lansing author Doug Baird's new book, 'Please Take Care When You Utter A Curse'.  The book sports 100 limericks and illustrations by the author.  Baird is a local artist who took up writing limericks about two years ago.

"I started writing limericks because they would fit into the breaks from my art work," he says.  "It takes a long time for me to get into other types of writing, and I didn't have that time.  With limericks I could stop, write for an hour or so to cleanse the palate, then get back to my art work."

Baird is a full time artist who creates prints, drawings, paintings, and photographs.  He is also the artist behind 'Idea Enhancement', a series of exhibits that explore the use of imagery to stimulate creative thinking.  He started writing after joining the Lansing Writer's Group in 2010.

He had just finished reading 'The Circle' by Peter Lovesay, a mystery about a series of murders in a writer's circle, when he got notice that a writer's group was forming in Lansing.  He thought it sounded like fun, and decided he would write limericks so he could have something new to share with the group every week while continuing to focus most of his time on his art.  No one was murdered, but he did find a small group of dedicated writers who wanted to help each other write better.

"One reason I picked limericks is that I am a fan of haiku," Baird says.  "The limerick form using only five lines means you have to get to the point really quickly.  I also feel that limericks are related to things like fables that allow you to show basic human behavior in various situations, but the humor allows people to keep a safe psychological distance from it.  They can see the point and realize that they might even do this, but the humor keeps them back far enough so they can comfortably view it."

Baird was born in Brooklyn, and grew up in Connecticut.  He earned a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design.  He started in electrical engineering before switching to art, his first love. His career included creating commercial art as an art director for an educational magazine, creative director for a ceramic screen printing company, and worked in a number of departments at a marketing company, including product development for a collectibles company.  He moved to Lansing in 2007 to concentrate on his own art.  His pieces incorporate drawing, painting, photography, and computer processing to produce layered images.

He says he enjoys all forms of creativity, so it wasn't too much of a leap to jump to writing.  He started writing limericks for fun, but eventually decided to create a book.  He weeded through 225 limericks to choose the 100 that made the final cut, and created a series of whimsical sketches as well.


Recently Baird showed his limericks in the form of an art show, with each printed on a large card along with his illustrations.  He says he saw creating the book as a similar process to creating a drawing or a print, wanting the book to be visually pleasing.

Baird is already thinking about writing a second book.  He says it may have fewer limericks but more illustrations.  He is still part of the Lansing Writers Group and still bringing new limericks to share every week.


"I think of them as a bite-sized assortment," he says.  "Some are of a form that is whimsical.  Some are of a very pointed form.  Some are ones that older people would recognize.  I like laying out a whole buffet and letting people pick and choose.  I hope they'll find some that they really love and that really says something to them."'

The book is available on line and at his Lansingville studio.  Baird is part of the Greater Ithaca Art Trail, which invites people to come to up to 50 local artists' studios on the first Saturday of each month.  Baird opens his studio for all the Saturday events.  The next Art Trail date is May 5th.

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