Opening Reception a Success! ...Now What?

The opening for my solo exhibition at Woman Made was an absolute success! A ton of friends, colleagues, and yes even my students came to see the show. I arrived early around 5:45, and the next thing I new it was 8:45 and the opening was nearly over. What a whirlwind! I also sold a piece - Lily at the Table.


At the opening, someone asked me, "So what's next?" What a great question! I have several ideas for photographs and new bodies of work. So a pursuit of these new ideas will be something I'm focusing on now. Also, where else to exhibit the work? For a long time, I imagined my work at Woman Made Gallery, so now that I've checked that off my list, it's time to find new venues. And that is the trickiest part of this profession if you ask me!

New Photos
Summer is nearly here. One more week of classes and then I can really focus on my own work. Now that things are slowing down a bit, I actually have time to look back at some of the photos I've shot recently. I've got 2 images that I really like of the windows in my living room. I think I have a visual obsession with these windows. Their appearance changes so much throughout the day, and also with the seasons. These two were taken in winter & early spring.

Late Winter
The blinds are down. It's February and I just woke up. I'm headed into the kitchen to make coffee. My feet are cold. The sun shines bright through the bare trees, casting shadows on the blinds. It almost looks like it could be warm outside, but I know better than to think so.

Early Spring
On a mid-April afternoon, I am fascinated by the layering of limbs, shadows, and brick wall as seen through one of my 3 living room windows. I can feel spring coming. Any day now.

Intimate Distance - Opens this Friday, May 1


Wow - can't believe it is just around the corner! I'm going to the gallery this afternoon to help hang the show. Hopefully there will be a good turnout for the opening. I know there are lots of other Chicago art events going on. But you should definitely check out this event!

Where:
Woman Made Gallery
685 N Milwaukee
Chicago, IL
(between Chicago and Grand on Milwaukee Ave)

When:
Friday May 1, 2009
6-9 pm

See you there!

Solo Show opens in 2 weeks

If you want to preview the exhibition, you can check Woman Made Gallery's website: click here

I'll be dropping off my work this Sunday. Getting excited and... okay slightly nervous, about the big day.


Portrait Photography Showcase - TOMORROW!

This is also the last week of my After School Matters program at Wells High School. We will have our final showcase tomorrow. Yesterday we mounted prints, combined the text from student journaling with the photographs, and assembled portfolios. I think we are ready to go!



I just love all of these kids... so glad to have the experience of working with them. But I'm also looking forward to a little more "me" time after this week!

Hooked Purse - Finally Done!

The hooking part was so much fun, but I kept putting off the assembling and sewing part. I realized I don't really like to sew much... it is too tedious, and you don't get to think about color the way you do when you are hooking. But the purse is done now, and I think it looks pretty good.

SOLO SHOW - opens 1 month from today!

And that's no April Fools joke. I've got the postcards ordered, frames ordered, and the prints are being mounted.

If you want to receive a postcard invite, email your address to me.

HI

Just thought I'd say hi to those of you that actually read my blog - I'm still alive but super-duper busy, so no time for blogging lately. Hope to post some new photographs and new pictures of my hooked purse soon!

Happy almost-Spring!

SOLO EXHIBITION!!

So I was offered a solo exhibition at Woman Made Gallery here in Chicago! I have been in a couple of group shows at the gallery. The gallery director Beate Minkovski and the gallery coordinator Amy Galpin thought that my Intimate Distance photographs would compliment an upcoming group exhibition entitled, The Emotional Body. I couldn't agree more, since I was considering submitting works for the group exhibition!

Woman Made is such a great gallery space. They have an upper floor where they usually install the group shows and works for the artisan gallery. They also have a lower floor where they install solo exhibitions. My work will be in the rear space on the lower level.

Below is a map of the space where my work will be installed. You can click on the image for a larger view.

The exhibition will run from May 1 - June 11 2009. The opening will be Friday May 1 from 6-9 pm. I'll send out reminders when the date gets closer. Yay!!!

Choices
On a side note, I was beginning to feel a sore throat coming on, so I began to prepare some tea made by one of my favorite tea companies, Traditional Medicinals. As I waited for the tea kettle's whistle, I noticed the little note printed on the tag of the teabag. The words just screamed out at me (see above photo). It's so true - the choices YOU make, even the little teeny ones, can create change. In fact, they probably have a more serious effect than you may realize. And it seems to me that it is a conscious and continual effort to make choices that create the change you want in the world, the choices that fight against maintaining the status quo.

Are you recycling? You should. Click here to find a recycling drop-off location in Chicago. There really is no good reason to throw away so much of the stuff you buy.

Are you listening to, reading, viewing and/or supporting works by women? No? You should.

YOUR CHOICES WILL CHANGE THE WORLD

The hooked purse is done. Now I just have to finish off the edges and sew it up! I'm really happy with the colors, can't wait to use it!

Returning to Normal Life after a mini-vacay in North Carolina

We returned last week from our Christmas mini-vacation in North Carolina. We stayed in a cabin in Saluda, about 30 miles south of Asheville. Particularly memorable moments were: enjoying a Christmas feast on the deck in the sunshine, coffee in a hot tub with a mountain view, dense mountain fog, wine in a hot tub with a mountain view, playing disc golf in Asheville. Here's a few photos taken along our journey.

On our way out of town... about to embark on our 11 hour (plus) journey, as it rained the ENTIRE day... yes the ENTIRE day... through 6 states

A North Carolina winter landscape

Jesse searching for rocks in the creek

North Carolina Fog


Happy New Year!

The hooked purse is coming along...






Fig gives her approval

Snow

Here's a few photos I took the other day right in between snowstorms. There's a lot of snow on the ground. And more coming down steadily outside the window right now. Looks like Chicago will have a white Christmas.





Peace and Joy

New Project: Hooked Purse


Here's some photos of my new rug-hooking project. Thanks Dulcy for the pattern. And thanks Tammy for the the beautifully hand-dyed wools!


It has two sides that will be stitched up the side. It will have a deep aquamarine green background which should make the colors of the flowers pop.


More photos soon!

Bob

I found out today that one of my brother's close friends died in September. He came along with us to Costa Rica last summer. I spent a week with him in Pavones. It's so strange that he is now gone. I took a few good photos of him. Here they are.

Two New Images of Jesse

These were taken on Thanksgiving Day at my Dad's house in Springfield, MO. I love the deep reds of this room and thought that Jesse's milky white skin might look nice in there. Plus it was beautiful, warm day and the light was amazing.


I think I like the vertical one better because it gives you more of a sense of place - there's more of the room visible. Plus, I like his gesture - his fist propping himself up on the bed. But I'm still mulling it over - I like the horizontal one too.

These were taken with my digital camera. I can't help but imagine how much more detail I would get with my 4x5 camera. I just bought a Schneider 210 mm lens and I'm really itching to use it! Only 11 more days of grading and teaching left for me - then maybe I can focus more time on my own work. I can't wait!

Icons exhibition at Woman Made Gallery
opening reception Friday Nov. 21, 6-9 pm
juried by Margaret Denny
Nov. 21 - Dec. 18 2008
685 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
click here to see more works in the ICONS exhibition

I have 2 pieces in this upcoming exhibition. These works are from a series entitled Signs of Women. In 2005, while working on a research paper I found myself looking for synonyms of the word “woman”. I was shocked to discover that so many of the so-called synonyms were both completely offensive and belittling (such as prostitute or cupcake) or they referred to the ways in which women served or related to others (wife, maid, etc.). I realized that there aren’t many synonyms for women that are positive or that don’t involve subservience to others. So what do these synonyms for women say about the representation, status, and iconography of women today?

Signs of Women presents silhouetted figures along with “synonyms” of women. This project questions the way both language and imagery determines our understanding of women. The images are engraved on plastic plaques reminiscent of the signs we see on bathroom doors, everyday icons that reduce us to, and sort us into, symbols.

Icons at Woman Made Gallery features 3 other Columbia alumni/students: Liz Chilsen, Mary Farmilant, and Niki Grangruth. The exhibition was juried by Columbia faculty, Margaret Denny. I'm proud to be part of this exhibition, which adds some much needed, and sorely missed, female perspectives to contemporary photography. I hope YOU will see the exhibition and support women artists, and Woman Made Gallery!

La Ponderosa Beach, Pavones, Costa Rica

So the election is over... and I'm ecstatic about the results!! Maybe now I can get back to my own work.

The above image is one of my rare landscape photos. Rare in that I don't show many of them. I shoot a lot of landscapes, but I never feel like I quite capture the place. It always feels like the photograph needs something else - like a person within the space. Maybe it is just my personal bias toward portraiture. I think another problem is that this place, Pavones, pictured above is just so vastly beautiful and amazing in so many different ways that I find it difficult to capture it within the limited space of the frame. When I look at this photograph, I am also thinking of and feeling the expanse of the space around and behind me, which is not shown within the frame.

I realize that a photographer obviously cannot capture every aspect of a person in a photograph either, but somehow the physical space of Pavones seems to allude me and my camera much more than the faces of the people I come across.

I guess this challenge will be part of my next task whenever I return to Pavones.

So I haven't blogged in quite a long time. I've been swamped with the classes I'm teaching and also getting ready for... Around the Coyote 2008 Fall Festival. It is just around the corner... October 17-19. I will be there all weekend long, so stop by and see me! Check the website for more information aroundthecoyote.org

For a feminist's views on Sarah Palin, read the following article by Gloria Steinem:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-steinem4-2008sep04,0,7541303.story?track=ntothtml

This election is crucial... make sure you know who and what you are voting for!

Se Vende

The handmade signs in this photograph read, "Se Vende Palmas" and "Se Vende Este Lote". For those of you who are not Spanish speakers, the signs read, "Palms For Sale" and "This Lot For Sale". These signs kept catching my eye as we were driving, walking, or riding bikes down the road. Both signs signal the growing tourism-based economy in the area. Prices for land have increased tremendously over the years. A lot of tourists come to the area looking to purchase land. The fact that they are selling palms is a bit humorous since there is such an abundance of palms everywhere. But some tourists buy land that was cleared for farming, and may be looking to re-establish palms and other plants on their land.

The photograph above will be on display at:

The Women's Caucus for Art

Midwest Regional Exhibition

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, September 5, 6-9 pm

Juried and curated by Beate Minkovski, co-founder and Executive Director of Woman Made Gallery, this exhibition includes artists chosen from 13 midwestern states, and the featured work includes painting, sculpture, photography, video and mixed media collage. Educated in Germany and the US, Beate is a recognized presence in the Chicago art world, particularly through Woman Made Gallery, a notable forum for women artists.

Participating artists include: ATYL, Barbara Aubin, Wanrudee Buranakorn, Pritika Chowdry, Patricia Delker, Ellen Roth Deutsch, Teresa Dick, Janet Gerske, Magadalene Gorecki, Susan Grace, Judy Gregurich, Jodie Hardy, Leslie Hirshfield, Sara Holwerda, Cydney M. Lewis,
Lily Mayfield, Monika Meler, Sheila Oettinger, Marivi Ortiz, Corinne D. Peterson, Judith Roth, Maura Schaffer, Victoria Senn, S. Gayle Stevens, and Rena Zaid.

Exhibition runs from Sept 3- 27. Come and check it out!!

ARC Gallery
832 W. Superior St. #204
Chicago, IL 60622
www.arcgallery.org

Trina

This is Trina standing in the doorway of her house. She is a seamstress and her husband Carlos does carpentry and construction in the area. Carlos does a lot of work for La Ponderosa.

Grandchildren

These are the grandchildren of the woman that sells Guayami crafts.

Tania

I came to photograph at this house because I was told it was a typical Tico-style house. Upon arrival however, I was consumed by a frenzy of activity - I was surrounded by 3 young kids who were intrigued by my camera, plus adults who were talking to my sister, and other older kids who were headed off to the surf, with surfboards under their arms. So instead of focusing quite so much on the house itself, I ended up concentrating on the 3 young kids who had stuck around - Dominic, Leo, and Tania. I particularly like this photograph of Tania sitting on her front stoop. The muted color palette appeals to me, as well as her serious expression. She looks so feminine and delicate dressed in pink, just the opposite of the rough wooden and cool stone environment that surrounds her.

Road to Punta Banco

One of the many things I love about Pavones is the wild jungle road. This photograph was taken at my favorite ceviche restaurant, Brisas del Mar, looking down the road toward Punta Banco. This image is interesting to me because of the mix of sprawling wild growth that is typical of the area, juxtaposed with the handmade sign that is a signifier of the tourism in the area. It makes me wonder just how much longer this region will remain unpaved and wild.

Guayami Lady with Grandson

This lady sells handmade local crafts made by the Guayami Indians who live up in the mountains above Pavones. Proceeds help support the local Guayami community. I bought one of her dresses 2 years ago - I love the hand-sewn details and cheery colors.

About 6 years ago on a previous visit to Pavones, we had a guide (who happens to be the son-in-law of the woman in the above photograph) who hiked with us into the mountains to see the Guayami community. We were invited into the house of one family, and they served a warm banana drink to help fuel us on the rest of our journey. But by the end of the trip I was so dehydrated and exhausted I felt sick. It's hard to imagine that the Guayami hike up and down the mountain all the time.

HECTOR

Hector is the son of the woman who runs Brisas del Mar on the road between Pavones and Punta Banco. I love the soft yellows and greens in this photograph.

DON RICARDIO

Don Ricardio poses with his shovel in this photograph taken in the late afternoon in Pavones. The sky was darkening and the rains were on the way, but Don Ricardio was happy to stop and chat with me and my sister. He is standing on the property he owns. Other members of the family own the adjacent property. He had just returned from fishing in the river nearby.

Don Ricardio said he remembered seeing big cameras like mine a long time ago.

AGEL WITH BICYCLE

Agel was very intrigued by my large camera. He was eager to pose for this photograph and, as you can tell, he took his job very seriously. His sober expression makes him seem so much older. Agel is also in the photo of the 4 boys posted earlier (scroll down). This is one of my favorite photographs that I made during my trip to Pavones.

BOB

This is a my brother's friend. He came along with us on our trip to Pavones. Bob is wearing his LP souvenir tank, and with his passport sticking out of his bag, you can tell he is getting ready for his return trip home.

Bob, Rueben (my brother), and Dane (sister-in-law) were leaving that morning. I stayed on for two more weeks.

This was the first portrait I made with my 4x5 camera while I was in Pavones. I had been shooting my digital SLR, a bit too timid to break out the "big boy" until this moment.

ANGELA IN THE GARDEN

This is a photograph of my sister, Angela. Her and her husband own and operate La Ponderosa Beach Resort in Pavones, Costa Rica. Here, Angela is pictured on one of the many pathways that weave through their 14 acres. This path goes along the northernmost edge of their property, from their front entry to the Villa.

In this portrait, I enjoy all of texture and the abundance of the ferns and palms, as well as the contrasting colors of Angela's clothing.

ALEX (the painter)

Alex was working on the mural that you see behind him. He paused for a moment to let me take his picture. The mural is on the side of Pavones' surfshop, owned by another Alex (see photo of "surfshop" Alex below).

Alex also paints on canvas and creates designs for tshirts and stickers. He also designed the current La Ponderosa tshirts, and some of his paintings hang in La Ponderosa's rooms.

Alex lives in Pavones year round.

AMADA

She works as a housekeeper and cook at Angela and Marshall's resort, La Ponderosa, in Pavones Costa Rica.

Amada was very patient with me. She later told Angela that she could feel a mosquito biting her on her leg, but she didn't want to move while I was setting things up for her portrait. Amada let the mosquito bite her.

JIMMY

He is a caretaker on some land that is owned by my sister and brother -in -law up in the mountains above Pavones, Costa Rica. Jimmy keeps the land maintained. It used to be a farm.

I love Jimmy's pose - it reflects his strength and a bit of swagger. With his right arm bent, and his left leg extended like a kickstand, Jimmy leans into the curve of the land and rests for a minute to pose for his portrait.