Drink Ink

Here is a test shoot I did last weekend with my friend Brica. We took turns modeling/shooting. I am pleased with these because I think something really tight and gorgeous will come from it. Of course it’s not there yet, but I think I know what I need to do. This one is tricky for me because by necessity it includes the human face. Which I usually avoid like the plague in my own work. Does anyone remember Dr. Seuss’s Zink? She drinks pink ink, I think.

Sad Spring

Usually spring is a very exciting time for me but this year it all seems so flat. Even the flowers in my garden that I've so carefully cultivated fail to impress me. I've had the recent discovery that breaking up with someone you weren't seeing is just as hard as breaking up with someone you were seeing.

I've decided to pluck up and keep on going with making photography in whatever way I can. I will not allow myself to be overrun by all the other demands on my time. I will shoot when I can, and forget all about working on the business/self-promoting side of the art- making. I just can't do it right now. If that is as it must be- and it is- I will do what I can, and simply tend to the embers. And hope for the best.

I Reviewed Myself and it Was Harsh

I decided to pretend that instead of dispensing advice that is meant to be helpful to another photographer or artist (as I often do), that I myself was on the other side of the table facing me. In short, this is what I told myself:

You have a lot of good ideas but you aren't taking the work seriously enough. I'm sorry that you are a stressed, overworked single mom, but that is no excuse. Are you going to do this right, or not?

The answer was the scary part. I just don't know. I'm not sure how to get over the obstacles to doing it right. I feel like I'm carrying the embers of my work around, and barely keeping them lit- to use a tired metaphor. I'm trying so hard just to keep the work alive, until I can find a place in life where it will thrive. Now I have to go find it.

Slip and Double

I consider this an lousy test of an idea that might become successful in following versions. This is an ink drawing of a slip next to the real thing- after seeing the William Kentridge show at MOMA a few weeks ago I was inspired to try to finish some of the images I started using ink.
Also to try again with that pockets full of water shot. I think this time I'd better go for drama and figure out how to put some kind of a fountain in both jacket pockets. The ice and puddles in plastic I tried before never really worked out. More on this later.

Journalist of Milk

I took this over the weekend in a few rushed hours of studio time while Oliver was downstairs chattering a mile a minute as only a four year old can. He does not understand why I need to ignore him in order to get work done. I feel sorry that I have to snap at him to get this time set aside for myself. I wonder if there is a way I can incorporate him into my artistic practice a little bit. I'm going to think about some kind of mutually satisfying project we might try together, if such a thing is possible.
It was incredible how good it felt to be in my studio again after two weeks. There is nothing else in the world that makes me feel this way. There is no replacement for it.

When I took these photos I was amusing myself by thinking of myself as a journalist of milk. I thought if I was a certain kind of photojournalist, and saw this bowl of milk, I would take this shot.