David Orr

"Fascinating opportunities arise immediately after the arrival of a new technology. Watch for new tools you can use in the laboratory of life. Your discoveries will astound."
— Professor Irwin Spear, University of Texas, Dept. of Life Sciences and Biochemistry, life-long mentor.

Key experiences

• Microbiology Research, National Science Foundation Research Participation Grant for High-Ability Secondary School Students, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, 1969.
• Biochemistry Research, National Science Foundation Research Participation Grant for College Undergraduates, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 1972.
• Bachelor of Arts, Natural Sciences Area Major, Johns Hopkings University, Baltimore, Maryland, 1974.
• Genealogy Research and Y-DNA Marker Analysis, 2000 - present.

"The easiest way to make a floor plan rational is to rotate a few squares" — Walter Netsch, partner, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, who awarded me my first job in Chicago.

Key experiences

• Master of Architecture, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, 1979.
• Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1979-1971 and 1987-1989; Bruce Gregga, 1981-1984; Metz Train & Youngren, 1984-1985; Swanke Hayden Connell, 1985-1986; Lempp Kerbis, 1987; Interior Environments, 1988-1989; First National Bank of Chicago, Property Management Department, 1989-2008.
• Gold Medal Award, Illinois-Indiana Masonry Council, 1983, Mr. Lube Oil Change prototype design and initial build out, Michigan City, Indiana.
• Free-lance residential design, various terms after 1990.

"All is pretty" — Andy Warhol
"Abstract expressionism is pretty" — Sandy Roth, lesser known brother of acclaimed writer Philip Roth, but nevertheless highly respected in his own right as Chicago Ogilvie & Mather ad agency creative director, who taught me how to paint with acrylics.

Key experiences

• Over 20 shows in galeries and museums in the Mid-West and Mid-South.
  • "Found Objects," juried photography group exhibit, Praxis Photographic Arts Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Laura Migliorino, juror; August-September, 2018.
  • Three successful submissions to the annual Delta Show (2004, 2010, and 2011), Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas.
  • "Small Works," juried group show, Harper College, Palatine, Illinois (2007).
  • Juried Biennial, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, Iowa (2007).
  • Juror's Award of Special Merit, Regional Art Show, Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, Indiana (2007).
• Sale of stock photography with key client of Staatsballett Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
• Current work explores the concept of flow in nature (waterfalls and rivers) and street photography (Chicago).

"Action, reaction, motivation, emotion" — every writing instructor I've ever met.

Key experiences

• Childhood deeply embedded within Southern (Arkansas) narrative raconteur culture.
• Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
• Selected classes, Master of Fiction Writing program, Columbia College, Chicago, Illinois, 1985-1990.
• Play writing and solo-show writing seminars at Chicago Dramatists, Chicago, Illinois, 1994-2004.
• Current focus is a collection of interrelated shorts under the working title of "Ninety-Nine Taxis".

"Action, reaction, motivation, emotion" — every jokester I've ever met

Key experiences

• Solo Show writing and performance at Chicago Dramatists, Chicago, Illinois
• Comedy writing and Improv Acting at Second City, Chicago, Illinois

"I'm actually getting accustomed to having my tent broken into by a baboon" — a patient tourist from New Jersey on safari

Specialty Destinations

• Switzerland: Grindelwald and Zermatt regions
• South Africa: Cape Town, wine region, safari camps