WHat's Next

This week has been exciting. I found out that my photograph 'Atomium at Night' made it into Photo-District News 'Picks of the Month' in their January 2009 issue (thanks, Arturo!); I started working as a teaching assistant for Andrew Moore at the School of Visual Arts, my venerable alma mater; and have another show to curate and another show to make work for! Through it all, though, I am obsessed; all I want to do is shoot new work for my big project. If any of you, my dear readers, have suggestions for grants to apply for to keep the project going, please let me know. This is the real challenge of life right now. I also take 4 x 5 film donations, so if anybody out there has extra 160vc sheet film they don't mind donating to my project, send me an email and we'll make it happen.


On a world's fair shoot in Philadelphia last winter

The Last Visitors: Lost Utopias

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In the last few days my show was up, I had several last visitors---always good at the closing of a show, because you can borrow their long arms to help take down the artwork! Thanks guys! I also finally met the elusive Ian of pre-press express, where I get all of my amazing drum scans done.
My long-armed friends Mary, Alex, and Paul:

And these are my great friends Sara and Alex who did not get stuck taking down the show. Instead, we ate celebratory Malaysian grilled pork together.

Last Days of a Solo Show: The Emotion

My solo show LOST UTOPIAS ended this week. There's so much emotion involved in showing work you are very close to. First, I didn't want my prints to be by themselves and felt guilty if I abandoned them too long. I got over that, only for the show to be over! Now of course, I am filled with sadness. There is really nothing equivalent to the feeling of being in a beautiful space surrounded by nothing but stuff you have made. It is nothing short of magic. Here are some installation shots:

MONDAY MEETINGS, NEW CAMERA

A huge part of being in artist is Meetings. One of my close friends made fun of me when I was in grad school; 'you're always at a meeting!' But, here I am, a bona fide artist, and that's still a big part of life. Today, I meet with the owner of Broadway Gallery, where my solo show is up, and where I often curate the work of other shows, to figure out the plan for next year. Then, off to the office of the Visual Arts Journal, the School of Visual Art's publication. I was interviewed last month about my world's fair project and am crossing my fingers it goes to press! Then the more mundane tasks; drop a file at Printspace for the piece I sold through my show, and then, work for a few hours.



And in between all of that, I am bidding on a new camera on ebay. My old camera, covered in black tape and shaky as can be, has lived a good and fast life. Time to work with something a bit more robust and accurate. Here is the object of my desire:

If any of you, my faithful readers, happen to read this today and want to help out a struggling artist who needs new equipment, all donations are welcome! :)

THE PROJECT BASHO OPENING

The curator, Peter Barbieri of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Me and my work

PROJECT BASHO OPENING, continued

Nice decrepit stuff, Philly style.

Some very odd architecture

My photograph in the show, right at the entrance of the Project Basho space

PROJECT BASHO Opening and, The Brooklynite's Give a Tour of Some 'Hood in Philly

One of my photos was included in a ginormous group show at a non-for-prof space in Philadephia. Me, the hubby, and my crew---also known as Necroshmooter and Brandone---hopped in our trusty green volkswagen and sang our way to Philly.
At a rest stop somewhere in the wilds of Jersey.

Self-portrait

A crazy and colorful mural

Brandon's tourist shot

A cold, stormy day in Philly

TURN THIS DAMN BLOG AROUND, PLEASE!

I've decided to switch up the point of this blog. I mean, there are a TON of great photo blogs out there which review stuff that is out there. Instead of taking this oft-repeated approach, I'm going to additionally include what it is like to be a poor, hardworking photographer-artist! It's fun, it's painful, it's frustrating, but pretty damn awesome when things work out. SO...this is the New Year's Blog Turnaround.

LOST UTOPIAS opening at Broadway Gallery

Well this past Tuesday my first solo show of world's fair work opened at the Broadway Gallery in Soho. The whole thing came about quickly, so the show is only up for 9 brief, tantalizing days. The opening was amazing---tons of friends, supporters, colleagues, and professors from grad school came and supported. People responded very positively to the project. It was awesome!
Lambert and Erica at the start of the opening

Yours truly with my photos of Paris, Spokane, and Seattle in the background---and my glass of 2 Buck Chuck

Yusuke Nishimura

The postcard image; the Brussels 1897 site.

My photograph of the 1876 Philadelphia toilet buildings caught a lot of people's imaginations.