The Cardinal

This is one of my favorite birds and one that I never get tired of using in an image. I have made images of both the male and female in which the bird itself is a small part of the frame, yet still dominates it for attention. One such image is Fire and Ice, a male cardinal on a snag during a fairly heavy snowfall.

In Fire and Ice I played on the contrast of the red bird and cool colored background that translated to film. The bird is small in the frame and proves how powerful red is, and how emotional. I offer the image as an 6.5″x9.5″ print matted and mounted to 11″x14″. This time of year especially I receive comments that it would make a wonderful Christmas card, and someday, maybe I’ll do that.

It was a pleasant surprise then that I should receive interest in use of the image from a Rabbi in Virginia for the cover of Virginia Jewish Life magazine. They were looking for just such an image for their winter issue. After-all, Virginia does get snow and the cardinal is their state bird. The issue is now out and I think they did a great job combining my image with text.  You can find the cover story here:

https://protected4.purehost.com/d30015070/jewishnews/cover.html

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Just Having Fun

The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen’s Holiday Show at Franklin and Marshall in Lancaster, PA this past weekend was a fun show. I got to talk with friends I don’t see often enough and as the crowd was never overwhelming, had time to talk with patrons as well. My neighbor at the show was a basket maker who has taken the craft to an art form. Turning 90 years old at Christmas this year, he is still working at his craft. Quite an inspiration. Having just turned 44 myself, I can’t even imagine doing shows for another 46 years!

I made the mistake of taste-testing a Sand Castle Winery Alpine Spice – bought 2 bottles. It’s great served warm! Let a friend of mine try it, she bought 2 bottles. It will be nice for the holidays.

During the Holiday Show, the Guild creates a gallery area on the show floor for display of Juried Crafter’s work with a chosen theme. This year’s theme was Movement. As a juried member at the state level, I was invited to participate in the gallery and did so. Monetary Awards are given in several categories with various sponsorship.  I was very pleased to receive the Best Use of Theme award for my image Flight Unfurled. Being selected among the great juried work in a variety of mediums was gratifying. Equally nice was being congratulated by crafters whose work I admire.

I am finishing orders taken during the last few shows and by phone/email. Then, the studio needs a good cleaning.

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Happy New Year’s To Me

Actually, it’s my birthday today, a personal new years of a sort. I like birthdays, what more important day can there be right? I’m spending mine preparing for the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen’s State Show at Franklin and Marshall in Lancaster, PA this weekend. I’ll have lunch out and a special dinner this evening.

I’m a nostalgic person, maybe one of the reasons I’m drawn to photography. Birthdays are a day of reflection for me. I’ll consider how the last year has gone and what I want to achieve in the next year. With my last show of the year being this weekend, one of the things I want to achieve is a day off (and a clean studio)!

If you see me at Franklin and Marshall this weekend, feel free to wish me a Happy New Years (or birthday if you prefer).

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Nicest Surprise

I’ve always felt it best to emphasize the good and positive and to diminish any negative outcomes. I try to find the positive from any show I do, whether it be a nice sale, an especially positive reaction to my work, or making a new connection with someone.

At North Penn’s Holiday Show yesterday, I was able to find a lot of positives. The patrons were enthusiastic and appreciative of the work they saw. I would however like to try to focus on one particular positive after each show as a regular post-show blog entry.

For the North Penn show yesterday, I think the thing that I want to reflect upon most is how many of my customers were making my work gifts for those they cared about. Thinking about the holidays and how a number of people will be opening wrapped presents of a matted or framed print of mine is thrilling (and maybe a bit scary).

I love the idea of art as a gift, and that it be my work is very exciting for me. I hope I hear from a giftee about how they reacted to receiving one of my prints.

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North Penn Holiday Craft Show – Nov. 17

If you can’t make another craft show this fall, don’t miss this one. I think it’s the tops. A great list of crafters and artists from around the East Coast and a pleasant day overall. This is the show that I have the longest history with and always feel honored to be invited to exhibit. If you’ve been putting off holiday shopping, this is the show to change that.

Here’s the link to the web page and a coupon for $1. off admission.

http://www.northpennifc.org/craft/index1107.html

If you come, be prepared for a crowd! It’s a one day show.

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Art and Nature

At every art or fine craft show I participate in someone asks me, “is that really what you saw?” Most of the time this question is in reference to the portrayal of color. This is a more complex question than it may sound. Color is always the result of many factors, including film choice, white balance, polarization, the scene’s actual light, color contrasts, exposure, and of course printing. My goal in each image I make is to present what I saw in my mind’s eye. The way I present a picture is a combination of both my aesthetic choices and the reality of the subject/scene in front of me. My choice of focus - deep or shallow, my choice of color – muted or vibrant, my choice of perspective – wide or narrow, my juxtaposition of elements – together or separated, all impact the presentation of the subject or scene. These are decisions made before I enter a location, while in the field, and afterward during the developing (not chemically, but cognitively), and printing of the image.

I’ve studied nature my entire life, in the field, in text books, and through various mediums of art. There is the biological reality of a subject and the emotional reality of a subject. When I decide on the presentation of any image, both realities come into play. Sometimes I will even look at other artist’s representations of a subject for comparison or inspiration.

In the current issue of Wildlife Art magazine there is a feature article about Robert Bateman, a personal hero of mine and a favorite artist. He was talking about his approach to his art and is quoted “…..if I ever have conflict between art and nature, art takes over.” I have to admit I was a bit surprised, but not at all disappointed that this should be his approach.

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Projects

I’ve recently finished reading Jim Brandenburg’s treasure of a book – Chased By The Light. This was a personal project that Brandenburg took on to create one image everyday from the first day of fall till the first day of winter. Just one image a day, no more. The result was seen by a National Geographic editor who convinced Brandenburg to allow it to be published. All 90 images appeared in the magazine and the response was immediate. It may be one of the greatest works and greatest projects known to the medium.

Then the book came out, a calendar, and other merchandise. Anyway, I found the book to be excellent. I won’t say that every image grabbed me equally, but the best images were very moving. The real thing about this book was the project itself. The discipline involved to be creative everyday and to limit ones-self to only making ONE image a day. I doubt I could do it!

In fact, I’m not working on any project right now. The only project I’m even thinking about isn’t even within my typical genre of nature imagery. I don’t think my creativity runs in project form. I like the freedom of being able to think about individual images outside of an overall structure or to respond in the moment to a visual experience. Projects to me seem binding and limiting. I may change my mind about this should a project present itself or I become especially enthralled with a given subject matter. I like being a bit of a generalist right now though.

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Holiday Marketplace -This Weekend

This weekend (Nov. 10-11) I will be participating in the 22nd Annual Holiday Marketplace show produced by the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen. This is an intimate show with a nice selection of media and craft. It is a great opportunity to casually walk around and select hand-made and artistic works for gifts or personal enjoyment.

The TV commercials are already appearing on Ch 69 here in the Lehigh Valley, so the word is getting out! As Vice President of this chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild, I know the hard work that the show chair and volunteers have put in and will continue to put in. It’s greatly appreciated!

Here’s a link to the show website -

 http://lvcraftsguild.org/Shows___Events/shows___events.html

Last year Ch 69 came to the show and covered it for the evening news. Coverage included great footage of me bending down, this year I’ll try to be more conscious of where the camera is.

Speaking of television, several people at the Reading/Berks Chapter show last weekend mentioned seeing me on Berks Community Television. BCTV played the episode of Your Berks Craftsmen on which I appeared, all week prior to the craft show. Viewership seemed to be high.

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A Shot at Vocabulary

Should you be in my booth and hear me talking about my work, you may notice that I don’t use some common vernacular about the process of image making. One word I avoid is the word “shot”. This is a term I grew up using in relation to photography and is well ingrained in the vocabulary of photographers and non-photographers alike. However, I stopped using the term “shot” to describe or refer to any piece of mine or another photographer. There are two primary reasons for my dropping the word from my discussion about photography.

First, I don’t feel the term does justice to the photographic process. Fine photography is a complex and involved process both physically and creatively. As a medium that requires a physical presence with a subject and an array of creative decision making, I don’t feel that the word “shot” is good enough . The term “shot” implies a fleeting, almost chance-driven enterprise, not one of deliberateness and deliberation. Fine photographers do not “take a shot” at making a powerful image, they contemplate, evaluate, and are moved emotionally to translate a scene or event into a 2-dimensional representation that communicates a feeling.

Secondly, and this reason has unavoidable undertones, the term “shot”  has a connotation of “shooting” something. Photography is not hunting. And while some may achieve a thrill that they associate with hunting, that is not the thrill I seek. My goals in photography are artistic, expressive, and meditative. As my work incorporates several genres including landscapes, macro, and abstraction as well as wildlife, the association with a term used in hunting seems even more inappropriate. I’m not judging hunting, only indicating that the terms associated with hunting do not describe my process or work.

It is a lot easier, and I feel less confusing, for me to talk about an image I made of a deer, a great blue heron, a mountain view, or a tulip, if I use words that better describe my approach to photography. So if you ask me “where I took that shot”, I will likely reply, “I made that image while at …….”

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Giving the Gift of Art

At this time of year, more of the work that I sell is purchased as a gift. After-all, the holidays are soon upon us. Art and fine craft is a great gift for someone cared about, but it may also be a difficult decision. For those that I know well, family members mostly, I can be pretty comfortable with my selection of art or fine craft as a gift. I know the tastes and likes of my close family well enough to make a good choice.

I have been exhibiting and selling my work at fine art and craft shows since 1995 and have seen marvelous works in a large variety of mediums. I have a bit of a weakness for quality original works and have over the years bought from those artists and crafts-persons whose works I could not resist. Art and fine craft as a gift is not a high tech, convenience, or functional type of gift. It is a gift of someones imagination and handwork. And it is personal in a way that an mp3 player or toaster can’t be.

I particularly like the idea of surrounding myself with the works of some of the creative people I have met and with whom I have made friends. Their works are not just objects of beauty and contemplation for me, but reminders of the person who made them. As much as possible, I make my gift-giving selection include these objects of art. It not only makes me feel good to be giving them, I feel good about supporting the work of fine craftsmen, artists and friends.

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