It’s been 9 months since my last blog entry here.  Time to do something about that!  Needless to say, I’ve been busy.  Aside from caring for our children and growing my photography business, I’ve also been writing a monthly blog for the Columbia Tribune. The Tribune blog is about raising a child with special needs.

This past week I have been working on my entry for the next exhibition going up at the Columbia Art League. The theme is Blue. I have had so much fun working on these pieces! I wanted to give everyone a sneak peak at them. There are two triptychs, one of the blueberries, and the other features two tiny grape hyacinths. I hope to also have greeting cards made and ready for sale on Artrageous Friday’s (April 20th, 6-9), Come see me!

If you are looking for something to do Saturday, please come down to Orr Street Studios to help celebrate our 5th birthday! We are having an open house house tomorrow, the 14th from 11-3. There will be birthday cake, painting demonstrations and lots of frivolity. Come watch the short documentary video about the history of the site and how it came to be the awesome space it is today!

With hours of planning and preparing completed, making an image of the 300+ students and staff of Grant Elementary in the shape of the number 100 went off without a hitch this morning! Big thanks to key problem solver and PE teacher extraordinaire, Laura Dye, who really did the hard work of laying it all out on paper and then drawing chalk outlines with teachers’ initials onto the blacktop. Every teacher had a designated area to squeeze their students into.

I climbed the ladder to the roof of the media center. (For those of you who worry about me, it’s a flat roof.) Ms Dye and I shouted down final tweaking instructions and the students all did a fantastic job of being patient. When we were happy with the shot, Laura went back down to join the group and principal, Beverly Borduin, made one final call over the intercom to be sure we had everyone present. While we waited, I entertained the crowds with my dancing abilities. I was encouraged by a certain 5th grader (not mine) to do the YMCA moves…so I obliged. I haven’t talked to Joseph yet to see if he was mortified.

One more big thanks goes to The Defining Print who will crank out a poster for me by this afternoon so everyone can see it tonight at the big celebration. The Defining Print is a great little print shop on 9th street in downtown Columbia. Check them out if you ever need to print something really big at a very reasonable price!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANT ELEMENTARY!

Turning 5 is a pretty big deal, right? I think so. It’s a whole hand old. It’s ‘I’m going to kindergarten next year’ old. Seriously, 5 year olds know just about everything there is to know. I got to spend a cold rainy Saturday recently with Teagan and her family on the very last day of her 4th year. Their bright yellow accents and smiling faces really helped liven up the grey day. I haven’t processed the images from the end of the session when we went outside and played in the puddles. But for now, I hope you enjoy these from inside the studio.

It’s been nearly 2 weeks since I packed up my newly printed portfolios and hoisted them oh-so-carefully into the overhead bins on Southwest Airlines on my way to New York City.  This was to be my first time (unless you count the time Linda and I drove through on our way to P-Town one summer) in New York City and my first experience with a photography portfolio review day. It seems like almost immediately upon my arrival home everyone wanted to know how the trip was. It has taken me a few weeks to really take it all in and I hope I can share some of that reflection with you now!

First of all, New York was great! I didn’t have time to really see very much of it and it was raining and foggy on the one day I had to do any sightseeing so we weren’t able to do too much. The cab ride from the airport to my friend’s apartment was as exciting as a NY cab ride should be. Complete with the side swiping of a parked car as we sped down the crowded roadway. On Saturday we took the train into the East Village, had a delicious lunch in a British pub and did a little shopping at the incomparable ToyTokyo. After walking and shopping some more we had to visit momofuku - milk bar for a delicious afternoon treat!

Sunday we awoke to blue skies and warmer weather, a good sign for the day ahead. My first review wasn’t scheduled until 12:25 so we had the morning to relax a little and go to Steve and Damon’s favorite brunch place, Buttermilk Channel. After brunch it was back on the train and over to DUMBO, Brooklyn for the reviews. I’m all about good omens and when we were walking onto the subway, I looked down and found a lucky penny. Here’s a photo of the reviews to give you a bit of a visual to what it looks like.

There were about 35 reviewers, each at their own table. Each review lasts 20 minutes–which goes by much faster than you can imagine! I had reviews with Neil Harris of Time Magazine, Jessie Wender of The New Yorker, photographer and gallery curator, Brad Farwell, Daniel Power, founder of PowerHouse Books and host of the review sessions, and finally with Jon Feinstein, curator and cofounder of Humble Arts Foundation.

WoW!! What a great group of people I was lucky enough to meet with. It’s a scary thing to pack up your babies you’ve been working on for a year or more and head out to NYC with the sole purpose of asking people you respect in your field to have a look and tell you what they think. I had done my homework and was as prepared as I could have possibly been. (Many, Many thanks go out to Gloria Baker Feinstein and Deanna Dikeman for their guidance and support in getting me ready to go!) All of the reviewers had something positive to say about both bodies of work and I left floating off the ground just a bit. Hopefully I will have a follow up post with more good news about one particular reviewer, but we’ll just have to wait and see about that one before I say any more. I should also let you know that when I sat down to my second review there was a lucky penny right there by the chair!

So, what’s next? Lots of work! I definitely have more focus and know what I want and need to do. I’m committed to following through with some suggestions and to stay in contact with several of the reviewers. I’m definitely excited about the road ahead. One of the main things I wanted to get from this experience was validation that outside of mid-missouri and my close group of friends and followers–the bodies of work were good and worthy of exploration. I sometimes feared that I had one great image but the rest maybe didn’t measure up.

I got what I went for: the bodies as a whole were received very, very well.

I brought my camera, but I never even took it out of my bag. Here are a few images I shot with my phone to prove I was there!

Steve and Damon playing Angry Birds while waiting for the train

and the sweetest note from Isaac complete with photo (lest I forget my children while I’m away)

I know I often say I’m the luckiest person to get to do what I love for a living. This post I’d say I’m doubly (or triply) lucky. In September I got to travel to L.A. to photograph my little brother and his wife’s first child when he was 3 weeks old. Two weeks ago I was able to fly into Chicago for the weekend to photograph some very dear friends of ours for their annual family photo. And last weekend I drove to the middle of nowhere, Indiana, between miles of farmland to meet and photograph my new great niece, Jillian. I could go on and on about what a wonderful experience each of these trips was for me both personally and professionally…. but let’s face it… I know my relatives are reading this and all they really want to see are those pictures of Jillian.

My friend Karen and I made the journey NE to Indiana Friday night after work. We arrived around midnight and I was sooooo happy she was awake to greet us. She surprised all of us by giving me a full on, for real, not gas (I mean it!) smile. I was in love. (we all were) It looked something like this:

She has really long toes (like Garrett’s) and can hang onto your finger with them.

Of course we had to have some root beer floats.

It is beautiful out there. We went for brisk walks in the wind swept countryside every day. The first day was foggy cool.

I wanted to share two images from my Chicago trip as well. I’ve known these two boys since they were born. It definitely makes me feel old (and short) now that Kaelin stands taller than I do.

…about having a photographer for a mom is the leftover end of the white background paper roll.  Background paper is really thick and the boys always enjoyed the pieces I cut off as the roll was used.  Yesterday I bought a new roll and brought home the huge leftover end of the old one.  Isaac was super excited when he saw it.  He has been drawing maps for his imaginary world this week and when he saw this roll of paper he was determined to create the biggest map ever.

We had to clear out the dining room table to make space for the 12 ft wide paper and he got to work right away.

Last week when I was packing up to leave my studio, some people came to the main door (my studio is located in a group of studios, Orr Street Studios), which was locked. We let them in and they were so happy to get to come in and see the studios. It turns out one of the women is the president of the Columbia Friends of China club and she brought with her a master kite flyer and his wife (an artist who painstakingly paints his detailed kites) from China. They were here in town to attend the international kite flying day at one of our parks and to do demonstrations all over town for the next week.

I was completely smitten with them. Her artwork was truly incredible and he took care to show us his kite and explain the meaning of all her paintings. I took a schedule of events and made plans to attend the indoor kite flying demonstration the next evening. At the demo, he let the children (and adults) have a turn experiencing indoor kite flying. My son, Isaac, struggles in many ways. For lack of a better and faster explanation, I’ll just say he sometimes has a hard time being grounded…especially in a large, loud indoor gymnasium with lots of activity and crowds of people. He stood in line and waited his turn to fly the kite.

Most of the people trying their hand at windless flying assumed speed was the key to getting the bird aloft. Isaac somehow knew to go slowly in a circle just like the master had done. He had an instant connection with the master and with the kite. As his moms, I’ll say that time stood still for myself and Linda for those few brief moments as we watched our troubled son connect and be completely present in that moment. The master clapped wildly for him and threw me the thumbs up sign. He knew this was special too.

A few days later we attended the outdoor kite flying festival. It was 85 degrees (in October!) and no wind. Isaac ran up and down and all around the field getting his cheap, plastic smiley face kite aloft. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him so dedicated and focused in a situation that really would have frustrated anyone. He got his kite aloft, eventually.

I’m safe to say this here, we bought him one of the hand-made kites from the master. It’s hidden away until Christmas morning. The master had a special wooden wheel, though, that he used for flying the kite. I figured we’d have to do some research to find out how to get our new kite to work like his did. This morning, on our way to school Isaac started shouting, “there he is!! There he is!!” “Who?” I replied. “The master kite flyer! He’s flying in the church parking lot over there.” Beaming.

After dropping them off, I drove back to the church and, sure enough, the master was still there–flying his kite as his wife watched. I got out armed only with his business card and the business card of the friends of China woman. I couldn’t see her with them and I didn’t know how this was going to work since I don’t speak any Chinese and he doesn’t speak any English. I approached and showed him the cards–my way of asking for the interpreter! He led me next door to the house where they were staying. As I explained who I was and the whole story of Isaac and the kites… I couldn’t help it, I started to cry. I asked if he had any of his wheels for sale or where I could possibly purchase one. The interpreter explained all of this to him and he said he was so touched by my story he was going to give his wheel to Isaac. It’s something he has designed himself and had a craftsman in China make specifically for him. It’s a beautiful piece of art by itself. The gesture of his kindness has completely blown me away. It’s a reminder for me to be more selfless every day.

I know this is a LONG post! Perhaps the longest I’ve written. Thanks for hanging in there and reading the whole thing. Here are two images I made of the master and Isaac flying their kites on Sunday.

Today is National Coming out Day.  It seems like every year, October 11 comes and goes with my partner, Linda, and I forgetting its significance.  This year, with the prevalence of face book, I was able to remember.  In fact, I was able to plan ahead a bit and even made a t-shirt to celebrate the day.  It says, “that’s so gay” and has an arrow pointing up (like it’s pointing at me).  I think it turned out pretty nicely!

I recently had a discussion with a good friend of mine about that phrase and why I find it offensive. It’s one that makes me bristle when I hear it used by my kids’ friends, and my friends as well. I thought I might try to turn it around and take it back by putting it on a t-shirt in a fun way. Typically, I hear it used in a derogatory way—meaning that something is lame or strange or totally uncool. Of course, I don’t think my sexual identity has anything to do with how lame or strange or un-hip I am. I’d find a way to be uncool even if I were straight.

With the recent rash (is that even the right word to use in describing it??) of gay teens and young adults committing suicide, I felt it extra important to come out some more on this day. Recently, when at a session with one of my centenarians, he asked me if I was married. “oh boy…. do I really want to open up this discussion?” I thought to myself. It seemed easier to just answer, “no”. But then I thought, “oh crap, I’ve already told him I have to young boys…now what?” My friend, his grand daughter, who was there jumped in and helped me out by explaining I was in a committed relationship with a woman and we had two beautiful children. I hate when I get in those situations and I just don’t know what to do. So, this year I pledge to take a deep breath and be out, out, out in all those situations. I owe it to those kids who are out there hurting and being bullied today in their schools because they are being who they are. I owe it to all the gay and lesbian people and their allies who have given up something so that I could have the pretty easy life I have, comparatively, today.

I just spent the better part of an hour looking through my hard drive to find a picture of my family all together…. or even one of Linda and I. Being the photographer, it seems I’ve done a rather nice job of avoiding having my picture taken! Here’s one of the two of us working on the tree house we built last fall. Joseph (10 years old) or Isaac (6) must have taken this one.

And here’s one of the boys taken a few weeks ago.

Last night was a big night at the studio.  I hosted a silent auction fundraiser for my upcoming trip to Buenos Aires to see the Julia Margaret Cameron Award winners and attend the workshops and portfolio reviews surrounding the exhibition.  A lot of excitement also surrounded the raffle for a free photo session.  Many people came out to enjoy Artrageous Fridays and take in all of the art on display.  I was very pleased to have the opportunity to talk about my Centenarian Project with so many people.

A highlight of the evening for me came when I had the opportunity to talk with a couple I’ve known since we moved back to Missouri in 1997.  We talked about their children, who I’ve had the pleasure of watching grow into thoughtful and amazing adults, our passions and the journey of following our hearts desire.  Thank you J & C for your incredibly generosity and especially for taking the time to talk  and share with me.

I was also thrilled to speak with a doctor from The Center on Aging and two other University professors about possible future collaborations and exhibitions of The Centenarian Project.

Last week I traveled to Kansas City and spent some time with Meryl, who turned 100 this summer. I enjoyed hearing his stories of working on a bucket brigade as a fire fighter in the late 1920’s. Here are a few images from our session.

Today was walk to school day. maybe.

We went to the usual spot where a group of kids and teachers from my sons’ school meet every year to walk together. Maybe we were wrong about the date. Maybe the school just didn’t sponsor a group of walkers this year. Who knows, but there we were, all alone. It was a stunningly beautiful day for a morning walk and we had the best time, just the three of us. “Let’s do this every day” cried the boys. (and alternately, “my legs are so cold I can’t feel them” - Isaac was wearing shorts.)

I appreciate Isaac’s efforts to avoid stepping on all cracks as we walked along. My back can use all the help it can get! The sidewalk down Broadway between West Blvd and Garth is literally riddled with cracks so it was quite a challenge.

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