you’ll hopefully be seeing a little more of these emma & isabelle (& perhaps their pretty friend who was there the day i met them) in the coming months…thanks to their mom heidi (& their aunt jodi). i noticed these two beautiful faces at a gospel concert we attended in marblehead a few months ago. what drew me to them was their spirit … i saw love & laughter and a spark of mischief and mentioned to jodi that i was looking for girls to work with on the little witches series and a few others i’ve been sketching out and thankfully the girls were excited! so wanted to share a few from our first little get together last week – i’m entranced. especially with those missing teeth!
i still remember the first time i went to the shriner’s circus … the big tall armory building that seemed a ways to walk to. the sounds of carnival music. the air filled with popcorn, cotton candy and peanuts mixed with a smell i’d never experienced before . it felt like i was on a ride – spinning in a very happy place. our seats were right next to where all the performers and animals came out - tigers and lions and elephants and ponies with big feather ribbons on their head & a pretty girl standing on top. the costumes were bright and glittery. the clowns wore painted smiles and frowns. i held my breath when the trapeze artists took to a swing high up in the air & covered my eyes when they walked above. why this little walk down an old memory…it’s exactly how i felt at the the watch city {stempunk} festival. no, not a circus, but it was that same childish feeling of giddy familiarity…different but the same feeling of excitement. there were calliopes & blacksmiths ….tall bicycle riders, fencing & Old House Parts, venders selling art, jewelry, clothing…and the unfortunate part – we only scratched the surface. though a steampunk gathering, it is really a celebration of the city of waltham’s history with watches (we will be returning to the museum). as for the portraits (or lack thereof), i’m a little shy to rush into someone’s face just cause they’re attired differently and assume it’s ok to take a photograph. that’s my own hangup that hopefully i can get over. at least i got the queen & lord of the event & … there’s always next year.
i’d love to know about your experience with a circus or interesting festival…just click on the title to leave one!
i wanted to explore this week’s theme and kept an eye out … i think i was too intent on finding the perfect match when looking back now there were opportunities that showed up – vintage china patterns, advertisement on antique, ribbon in a little one’s hair. instead, i waited until monday to a meet & greet with these two beauties i hope to work with more often. it’s a loose interpretation with floral print garments (& a few portraits with an easter lilly). my lesson learned is to capture what is in front of me throughout the week and let my imagination run a little more freely….
please continue on to Carrie Hyche in Wheatland, WY and the others in the circle to see the beautiful work this week.
one thing that I’m always interested in is the relationships we form when we’re kids. Think of it now – who was your bestest friend forever when you were just shy of ten? Do you know where they are today? What their life is like? Who they’ve become? So few of us – myself included – retain a friendship that spans a lifetime. I’m fortunate to have one I’ve known since fifteen, but not since before ten. I can remember who that was for me then – and seeing these two together this weekend gave me a hint of what those days must have felt like.
laughter
loud & unrestricted
chaos
fleeting & revered
we play
we eat
we meltdown in safety
we sleep
& dream
never ending tomorrows
I can’t get this new photograph out of my mind – it says so much without words – and I feel it on such a deep level that I’m rendered speechless.
Oh where do I begin…it’s been a week of pets – all shapes and sizes and ages and breeds and kinds – there were a few cats. In addition to portrait commissions, I also photograph businesses so these are from a half day I spent at Creature Comforts in Salem, MA – just a few of the many I took which will be featured on the new website we’re working on for Brooks Williams and team. I photographed at Creature Comforts a few years ago so i wasn’t surprised to see lots of new faces and was happy to see familiar ones. Overall, I forgot just how much joy I feel being around them. I think in part it’s how much they are loved – both at home and at camp. Everywhere I looked I saw caretakers loving on them – holding them, playing with them, kissing them – no wonder why there are so many smiling faces (and I do see smiles in doggies). A few highlights of the day were photographing the new building Brooks took over, a group of puppies (and oh my god were they cute), the arrival on the bus (not sure what cracks me up more – a bus full of seated dogs or the noise level), Jasper lounging, Finn & the tennis ball (um the game was he’d bring it me, drop it, wait for it and I’d give it a toss – then repeat). A little party with birthday hats (you’ll have to wait and see most of them on the new website & it’s worth checking THAT out)…and just playing and a few lovely portraits.
So without further adieu….I present the doggies of Creature Comforts (or rather those that were at camp this past Monday). Enjoy!!
(if you’d prefer to advance the slides on your own, just put your mouse over the image and you’ll see an arrow to advance)
(pss – I’d love your comment below!)
Continuing the theme of a visit to Oklahoma City, I wanted to share a few photographs of artist Marko Kratohvil – an accomplished inspired sculptor who arrived in OKC via London. His credentials are deep (um he’s a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors) but it is his energy & engagement, his wit & intelligence, and the ensuing dialogue that’s appealing. The conversation was deep & thoughtful, fascinating, interesting, inspiring. I’ve never had the opportunity to chat 1:1 with a sculptor so it was enlightening to listen to one’s point of view. i couldn’t help but take a few portraits – of the pieces around his studio, of the last leg of a new creation – and of the artist.
returning to the place where it all began – where the seeds were planted – where looking back, i became much of who i am today. it’s bittersweet joy to think of times past – the faces & places – some remain, too many are ghosts – cherished and never forgotten. I hear singing & feel the rhythm of dance, the freedom & exhilaration of all that was so new & never ending – days filled with darkness & brushstrokes of light. so my soul longs for what was – for who i was then mixed with who i am now….the fire was fed and is now alive – a youthful spirit returns anew – older, wiser and still seeking that which lies between.
(pssst….move your mouse over the photograph to see all the images….yes, i could automate it & yes, i could add thumbnails, but i find moving images annoying & prefer images full size!)