More From the Westside... Douglas Park

Here's a few new photos... shot these in mid November, but haven't had time to work on them until now. I've been wanting to photograph in Douglas Park for awhile. It's an amazing space that just seems to go on and on... it has a mini golf course, pool, baseball & soccer fields, ponds with stone bridges, trails, native prairie grass gardens, etc. Douglas Park is also an example of a Westside site that has fallen into a state of neglect and disrepair. Not to say that this park isn't used, but it doesn't seem to be utilized or valued for its full potential.

More images shot from the pink line platform...

And another Westside graffiti shot...

Spent some time printing this weekend - printed these 3 recent shots, plus a few others. I still have more editing to do of images that I shot a week ago. It seems like I can't ever get caught up on my own work, at least not while the semester is in full swing. Only 5 more weeks to go!

More from the Westside... The Pink Line

Okay so here's a quick post before I go off to teach my next class. Took some images about two weeks ago of interesting things I noticed as I ride the pink line. Can I just say how much I really love the pink line? My favorite parts of the blue line were always the areas that are on elevated tracks, well the pink line is completely above ground, and you see amazing things as you ride through the various neighborhoods on Chicago's westside. Here's an image I took at the polk station - propbably my favorite stop on the pink line because it has such interesting 60s-style windows that frame various views of the city. Here's one of the photos... will post more.

More from the Westside...

There's an amazing block in Little Village that is covered by graffiti on 4 sides - nearly the whole block. I had noticed the ever-changing graffiti before, but recently my husband and I took the time to walk all the way around it and really study the artwork on it. This section of the wall was made by the "Saw Crew". The wall features several different graffiti crews who seem to be battling it out with their paint. I thought it had an interesting use of color, and liked the way it fit into the late October foliage.

I printed this image on my new (well new to me) Espon 7880 printer - what a powerful machine it is! Love it!!

More photos to come when I have time to sit down and work on them...

Upcoming Events - Around the Coyote Fall Festival, and Mirando Al Sur at Woman Made Gallery - October 16-18

This is a busy month! But then again, October is Chicago Artists Month. Next weekend I will be super duper busy. I have 2 art opening events, plus I'm shooting an event for someone else, and I have tickets to see MeShell Ndegeocello at the Oldtown School of Folk Music! Whew! Trying to catch my breath in preparation...

So the first event I want to announce is:

Foto-op Collective has a booth at Around the Coyote Fall Festival and we will be displaying works by our members: Nicole Wingate, Gwynne Johnson, Mark Marano, and myself. Please stop by and say hello! If you haven't been to Around the Coyote before, it is quite an event featuring some amazing works by local and national emerging artists. Here's the info:

Venues
1817 W Division St Visual Art (this is where Foto-op will be located, booth #1)
1287 N Milwaukee Ave Theatre, Performance, and SlideLuck PotShow!
1275 N Milwaukee Ave Visual Arts
1240 N Milwaukee Ave Video and New Media by LiveBox
1238-40 N Ashland Ave Visual Arts

Hours
Opening Party Friday, October 16
All venues open: 7:00pm to 11pm, Special Evening Lounge Hours at Blue Coral Sushi from 9-11pm
Saturday, October 17
all venues open from noon to 10pm
Sunday, October 18
all venues open from noon to 6pm

The 2nd event I want announce is:

Opening reception Friday Oct. 16th, 6-9 pm.

Exhibition runs from Oct. 16 - Nov. 12 2009

I have one of my very favorite images from my de Pavones series in this show. This exhibit is also featuring works by fellow Foto-op member Gwynne Johnson! Not to be missed!

Thoughts on jurying an exhibition of works by women students...

As an undergrad and graduate student of art, I noticed the way art programs are dominated (at least in numbers) by women. As an instructor I see the same thing. My student populations are generally at least 75% women. And yet, high-paying full-time positions in academia, in galleries, and in museums - all of these prestigious positions seem to be heavily dominated by men. STILL. Look at works being exhibited in any gallery or museum space - the artists are STILL predominantly male. The numbers just don't add up. This may all sound like the guerilla girls circa 1989. But in 2009, representation of women artists is a huge problem. STILL.

How can this be?

What happens to our young women artists? Where do these women with BFA and MFA degrees disappear to? This discrepancy in representation both silences and de-emphasizes women's contribution to the arts. If I attend a gallery and I see that the artists are 50% women (which statistically they should be), I am absolutely astounded.

That's why Woman Made Gallery is so important - it more closely resembles the reality of who is creating art. Of course it is an extreme representation (100%), but it more closely reflects the ratios I have seen firsthand of young student artists in training.

So WHY are women artists disappearing post-BFA and post-MFA? I think it is certainly a reflection of our society - a male-dominated world where the sensibility and subjectivity of men is the "norm". Women's sensibility, point of view, and subjectivity is therefore regarded as "other". STILL.

Woman Made Gallery is a haven from the realities of the art world - a place where "other" becomes "norm". There you will find the women artists dominating (or perhaps trying to make an appearance in) the art world. Let's support them so they may begin to have a larger sphere of influence. Let's turn these others into the norm.

WHILE IN CLASS - the deadline is approaching! Submit your work by OCTOBER 14

Juried exhibition at Woman Made Gallery. We are looking for women student artists (undergrad or grad) to submit works. Works can be of any subject matter, and in any medium.

Go to the Woman Made website to submit your jpg images and artist statement:

http://womanmade.org/entryform.html

New Photo of Jesse

I took this photo a couple of weeks ago when Jesse and I were making dinner. The light coming in through the lacy curtains made it impossible for me to let this moment slip away.

I ended up using two separate images to build a composite here, although you can't really tell. In one image Jesse had a great expression on his face, but I didn't like the body language nor the way I had cropped his hands. So I found another frame that had a simpler posture and combined the two. I'm pretty happy with the results. I love the way Photoshop allows photographers to layer and build images, working in a way that is much more like a painter, rather than the traditional "straight" photographer.

I think this image of Jesse would look great juxtaposed with the one of me in the same location and in similar light:

This would look amazing installed in a corner, so that the two photographs are facing each other, creating a dialog between them.

Even though both of these images were created out of "happy" moments in our marriage and daily life, I can't seem to stay away from creating dramatic tension in the photographs. Perhaps it is a way to introduce intrigue and drama into an otherwise copacetic life.

More from the Westside

I went out yesterday and photographed some more for the Westside series. I started looking closer at the neighborhoods, found this quaint little lamp store:

An altar outside of a local church

Side view of backyards

Found this while walking through an an area where they were setting up for a neighborhood carnival.

"Creaciones Susy's" - advertisement for handmade crafts

More New Photos

Haven't started photographing people yet - still working up the nerve. Here's more photos from my new Westside series.

This building's exterior was constructed out of styrofoam. Bizarre building.

Love the golden light and blue sky in this one.

I don't know what the heck these metal structures are - are they silos? If you know, leave me a comment!

This wild prairie flower is called quinine - I learned that at the Nature Museum! :)

Nikki taking some photos. This was before we got chased away by a security guard.

While In Class

I will be jurying an upcoming exhibition at Woman Made Gallery, While in Class.

Here's the info:

Entry deadline is October 14, 2009, Exhibition dates: January 22 - February 25, 2009

Accepting submissions of up to three works in any medium by women artists from the international community, who are currently undergraduate or graduate students. Art schools are a major site of exploration and discovery for new artists. However, much of the work students produce is graded and stored away under the bed. This exhibition seeks to get these works out of storage and into the light, and thereby examine the process of becoming an artist. What kinds of innovations are being made “while in class?”

Click here to access online entry form: http://womanmade.org/entryform.html

Lots of new Photos!

I went out and photographed a couple times this week with a friend. Began working on a project loosely titled West-side - something I've been thinking about for awhile now. I started by just looking at some of the more industrial areas and sites of construction. I do hope to include people in my photographs, but for now the images are just places of visual interest.

Living on the west-side of Chicago is really a completely different experience than living on the north-side, as many young people of my ethnicity and class seem to do. Recently a friend mentioned that we are living in "the real chicago"... an interesting idea to explore.

I've been pretty productive on my first week of summer vacation, I only wish I had more time off!

On a side note, I also spent a lot of time learning Adobe Lightroom this week. I'm pretty impressed with all of the non-destructive editing that can be done, before you even open a file in Photoshop. It has really sped up my process for posting images on the web. Highly recommended!

New Photo: Summer Self Portrait


A new(ish) photo - made this one in late June, on the one day we've had all summer when the temperature was in the 90's. I was taking a break from painting some boards on our back porch, waiting in between coats of white paint.

I think it will be interesting to examine the changes in the physical self, after years of doing these self portraits - like Rembrandt or even Nick Nixon's Brown Sisters.

I am now done with the summer class I was teaching, and I have 3 weeks off!!! My plan was to photograph in Florida and Costa Rica, but those plans fell through once Jesse lost his job. So I'm going to utilize these 3 weeks to photograph regularly, as I was planning to do when I went on my trips. So more photos will be posted soon!

New Photo: Jesse with Dandelions


I shot this photo back in May, but finally got around to removing all the dust from the scan. I took this photo with my Toyo 4x5 camera, using my new Schneider 210 mm lens. This photo was taken in Douglas Park, when the Dandelions were in abundance. I knew I wanted to use the space as a backdrop. I really like the warm yellows and greens.

I also love Jesse's expression. His eyes and his wrinkled forehead convey a sense of earnestness. This is the Jesse I know, but I'm not sure everyone sees.

Photos from our trip to Michigan

Dune Flora

Criss Cross Trees

Joni in the Dunes


Beaches like Florida, but prettier

Saugatuck Dunes State Park

Women Imaging Women: A Study of Female Portraiture
Opening Reception Thursday July 9, 5-8 pm


A multi-media exhibition curated by Beate Minkovski and Amy Galpin of Woman Made Gallery. Featuring new work by Lily Mayfield, from her Costa Rican portrait series "de Pavones"

Exhibition runs from July 9 - September 13 2009
State Street Gallery at Robert Morris University
401 S. State Street, Chicago IL
Opening Reception Thurs. July 9, 5-8 pm.

Hope to see you there!

Disc Golf

I'm thinking this could lead to an interesting new project. The hard part is deciding whether to photograph or play, since it is hard to do both and keep up with the group. I recently had a minor surgery that prevented me from playing, so I brought my camera and tagged along. These are some of the images I liked.






In an article I read recently about disc golf, the author described the sport as a "long walk in circles." I hadn't really thought of it that way - but what an accurate and poetic way of thinking about the the sport. The courses are often in fairly small parks, and through a highly creative and meandering use of space, the players are able to play 9, 18, or 27 holes. I often find myself slightly disoriented, because of the twists and turns of the course. You come around some corner, and realize you are right next to an earlier hole. Walking in Circles might be an interesting working title for this project.

Meet Foto-op:
BBQ & Art Party, Sunday June 28th 2-7 pm

What: inaugural exhibition and potluck for foto-op, a lens-based artists’ collective, where works by its newest members will be on display. This event will be held on Sunday June 28th, between 2pm and 7pm.

Why: While at the party, we will discuss our purpose and future plans for the group, and take suggestions as to ways to improve the collective.

Why not? Any drink or food donations for the BBQ & potluck would be greatly appreciated! What better way to start the summer?

Please RSVP if you wish to attend. We hope to see you there!

- Lily Mayfield, Mark Marano, Nicole Wingate, & Gwynne Johnson

Note: Location is near all CTA lines, Union Station, Ogilvie Transportation Center, and I-90/I-94.

Light snacks and grilled food will be served, but feel free to bring your own as this is a potluck. Due to the very limited space of the room, we kindly ask that you RSVP.

For more information, click the button below:

Some photos of my solo show at Woman Made Gallery