just to let you know I am still around and kicking!  It seems like life is busier than ever right now, but in a good way.  Still doing lots of photography jobs in addition to trying to have fun with friends and family prior to the new school year.  This quarter of my daughter’s college courses ended up with three evening classes scheduled, it’s been hectic and tiring for the both of us.  When she has an evening class I am in charge of 18 month old Reagan.  So Tuesdays have been my only free evening during the week for the last few months.  Other quarters have had one or two evening classes, you wouldn’t think the addition of one more would make a difference but it sure has!  I thoroughly enjoy being with Reagan but sorely miss having some gaps of time that I can call my own.  Between that, some continuing light “nurse” duties for my husband as he continues to recover and the increase in photo business I just haven’t had the time, energy or enthusiasm to blog often.  And making any type of art has come to a standstill for now.  Our schedules will change again at the end of August, plus we both have some vacation time slated before the new schedule starts. :-)  We seem to live our lives in small batches of time until school is finished in another year.  The summer months have given me a chance to be outside more too, which is Reagan’s favorite place to be.  With the continued moderate temperatures and clear skies we’ve had of late it’s hard to come in the house until the sun goes down.  If it weren’t for the pesky mosquitos I’m sure we’d be out there even longer!  Here are some photos of my and my little buddy enjoying a walk to the pond last week:

Reagan & Grandma looking at the water

Walking & holding hands by the pond

Cheese!

Well, it’s been over a week since I last wrote, and I missed Wednesday after noticing that was my day of choice for blogging.  Inconsistency is my middle name.  Life is busy right now!  Between continuing to care for my husband and a surge in photography work I feel like I don’t have a minute to spare.  His recuperation is going along quite well, another trip to the doctor in a few days and we may be able to declare it a success!  Wonderful news indeed.

I don’t know what happens around the middle of July but for some reason each year I get a huge surge of photography work.  Generally the bulk of it is from high school seniors wanting to get their portraits out of the way prior to returning to school.  I’ve also had a few of my corporate clients requesting work at the same time, it seems I’m either shooting or editing photos all the time right now.  It is an odd business as far as the ebb & flow of customers and work but after eight years I am starting to get a feel for the pattern it takes and try to weave that in with, around and in between my artistic pursuits and daily activities.  Right now I’ve got three shoots that are edited and ready to deliver, another four that I’ve taken and still need to edit and three more shoots scheduled for the next week.  The August calendar is filling in as well.  I enjoy the summer schedule when I can shoot during daytime hours during the week, once school starts I end up with a lot more evening and weekend work and the schedule gets a little tighter.  Late fall always brings a surge in family photo sessions, everyone wanting to have them done for Christmas.  By January I will be sitting here wondering when in the world I will ever get another customer so I will take advantage of it while I can! 

Along with my paid photo gigs I finished a personal photo project this week.  Our youngest grandson loves to read books and look at pictures and is that stage where he is learning, growing and soaking things up like a little sponge.  He’s quite vocal and is, more and more, beginning to say things that we are able to understand.  Along with some sign language he’s pretty effective at getting his point across!  I couldn’t help but think how much he would enjoy a book about himself, his family & loved ones.  So I culled through all the photos I have taken that last year and a half and printed out pages for a album that are all about him.  He must look at it 10 times a day, pointing to his favorite pictures, saying names and pointing out activities he enjoys.  It’s been quite the hit! I also discovered that I didn’t have any photos of he & I together!  I had to do one of those “self portraits” of us holding my little point & shoot so I could be included in his book.  I think most people that are the designated family/group photographer, like myself, take on the job to avoid having our own photos taken.   At least that was always part of my motivaton. I am going to work on including myself in some photos from now on, I don’t want my family to look back through our photo albums and not find any evidence of me!

Tomorrow our oldest grandson will arrive for a week long visit.  He lives in Tenneessee with his mother so our visits aren’t nearly as frequent as we would like.  Generally he is here for a week or so in the summer, again at Christmas and occasionally during spring break.  We have a great time playing games, going to the movies, playing more games, playing putt-putt or bowling, playing even more games and just hanging out together.  When you add his visit to the already busy schedule and I am sure I will be ready for a day off very soon!  I’ve been looking at resorts & spas online, dreaming of a little bit of pampering.  Just thinking of it is enough to help me relax and say “aaahhhh!”.  The last week of August is a week-long break for my daughter’s college, which is a week-long break from babysitting duties for grandma as well!  I am plotting on what I might be able to do during some of that time, I am anxious to go somewhere and recharge my batteries.  Even though it’s a month away just knowing that it’s coming helps!

I hope each of you are continuing to enjoy the summer months, they will be gone sooner than we think…time passes so quickly. 

xoxoxo,

Lynne

I just noticed that I’ve posted to my blog each Wednesday this month! Interesting coincidence. The last week has been a hectic & stressful one for our family.  My husband, Mark, went in for a lengthy & complicated surgery on Friday so I have spent most of my time at the hospital keeping him company (and making sure they were taking good care of him!).  They originally thought he’d be in there 5 to 7 days but, amazingly, was doing well enough to come home Monday afternoon.  :-)  He’s been a great “patient” through everything and we have high hopes that he will continue to heal and this will be the end of a two-year long battle with a rare skin cancer called Extra Mammary Pagets Disease (or EMPD).  After exhausting every other avenue it came down to removing all the cancerous skin and doing skin grafts to replace/rebuilt the area.  Of course after two years it had spread to cover a much larger area than the original site.  :-(  We are cautiously optimistic that the grafts will all heal as they should.  Since it’s such a rare thing they don’t really know why people get EMPD nor do they have firm data or information on it’s progression, cure and recurrence.  The best news that we continue to get is that it has been localized to the skin and not generated from nor spread to any internal organs.  He is not in a tremendous amount of pain but the site on his thigh where they took the skin from to graft with is very uncomfortable, the painkillers seem to keep that under control for the most part.  Anyhow, that is my life for the moment.  I remembered this image I made a couple of years ago and how it reminded me of the internal workings of our bodies so I thought I’d post it just for fun.  I hope each of you are enjoying the summer days and your lives.  I’ll write again soon!

(untitled fractal art, 2006)

A few updates:

I will have work on display at both Broad Ripple Art & Design (through September) and at The Jazz Kitchen in Broad RIpple (through July 20th).  The opening for both shows is Friday, July 11th…see details below:

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Indiana Dunes last week!  It was beautiful weather and a beautiful spot to get away for a few days.  Our first day we took a four mile hike through the bog to an overlook on the beach. 

The scenery was beautiful, but the mosquitos were BRUTAL!  You could literally wave your hand and feel them pelting against your skin.  Ewww. Thank goodness for bug spray!  There were some of the biggest ferns growing there that I have ever seen.  Some were as tall as we were!  Amazing. There were several varieties of wildflowers blooming too, very lovely!

Our second day we walked the beach for several hours in the morning, exploring barefoot with cameras in hand.  It was a beautiful place to walk, listen to the waves hit the shore, snap some photos, get our toes wet and enjoy the sunshine.  Although Lake Michigan doesn’t have a lot of shells gracing it’s beaches it had some beautiful, smooth polished stones.  I couldn’t resist filling my pocket with a selection of favorites!

Along with the variety of stones there was a nice array of driftwood both in & out of the water.  I love driftwood!

Our afternoon included a visit to the art museum at Valparaiso University and a trip to Anderson Winery to sample their delicious wines (and purchase a few bottles to enjoy at home)! We returned to the beach that evening for a sunset walk & more photos.

Add in some good food, time to rest & relax, swimming laps in the pool and lots of good conversation and it was a wonderful time!   I hope you are enjoying these summer months and the beautful, warm weather!

xoxoxo,

Lynne

The ATC workshop/swap last Saturday was a lot of fun!  We had a group of seven that gathered at Sugar Creek Art Center to play & create.  From the enthusiastic response I would say a good time was had by all.  Three of the participants were first time visitors to the center, which was a bonus, they got to wander the building during our lunch break and visit the various studios.  I am working on scheduling a date for a second workshop, most likely sometime in the fall.  Here are some photos from the day:

I’ll post about my road trip soon, it was a wonderful time, with beautiful scenery and time to relax mixed in with the other activities.  I took almost 200 photos - I promise not to post that many though! :-)  Talk to you soon!

xoxoxo,

Lynne

Just a note to let you know that I updated the website with some new images and info, as well as a bit of overdue cleaning and maintenance.  Always good to stay current & presentable!  I posted all the images of my newest artwork, here are a few samples:

 ”Sonata”, Mixed Media Assemblage, 16×20″

“Tribal” Mixed Media Assemblage, 26×16″

“Scatter”, Mixed Media Assemblage, 16×20″

After the opening reception at Sugar Creek last week this week is a bit quieter, in a good way.  I’ve had some time to work on some submissions, spend a little time with family & friends and enjoy the less hectic schedule.  Tomorrow I am going to start gathering materials and preparing for the ATC workshop this Saturday.  So far I am expecting about nine people coming to play that day!  I think we’ll have lots of fun, I am looking forward to it!  I’ll be taking a short “road trip” for a few days after that, I am looking forward to getting out and seeing some new scenery and having time to relax & recharge.  I’m sure I’ll have some new photos to share when I return. Have a great week, I’ll check in again soon!

Lynne

As promised, here are the images of the newly created ceramic pieces from the April pottery class!

Ceramic Tile with Copper Wire - 19″x17″x1.5″ deep

Ceramic Tile with Aluminum Wire & Charms 19″x13″x2″ deep

Ceramic Tile with Aluminum Wire, Beads, Charm 16″x12″x1.5″ deep

Ceramic Tile with Wire, Charms 12″x4.5″x.5″ deep

Ceramic Tile with Wire & Beads 15″x5″x.75″ deep 

Ceramic - approximately 5″x5″x5″

I really enjoyed creating these pieces by hand, adding the texture and playing with the different color glazes, as well as adding the extra wire & embellishments to the wall tiles.  Although I have my favorites I was pleased with all of them.  I hope you enjoy looking at them too!  I’ve made arrangements with a local potter to do some firing for me so I can continue to create items during the summer months (as soon as I get some clay & glazes that is!). 

Take care!

xoxoxo,

Lynne

(Fire & Flowers)

I am busy this evening (and I’m sure tomorrow morning!) getting everything prepared to hang the show at Sugar Creek.  I am getting SO excited, I think it’s going to be an awesome display!  Tonight I’m doing the paperwork type things that go along with a show, label/price tags, inventory lists…the “behind the scenes” stuff that makes a show a show but most people don’t think about.  I am always amazed at how much time artists end up spending doing things other than making art.  Many times because it’s what you have to do to get your art out there, opportunities rarely fall in your lap!  They take application forms, submissions, copies of artist statements & resumes, letters of recommendation and that’s just for the chance to show your work!   Occasionally, it is easier to do all the paper stuff than it is to start or complete a current art project.  I have avoided creating work on many occasions by submersing myself into the “business” of art.  I almost always wish, at the end of the day, that I’d chosen to be creative! 

Right now I am basically in a state of letting out a big exhale - whoosh - and stepping back for a bit.  I have cranked out over 20 pieces of new art in around 2 months.  Like the image above a few of the pieces were digital/photo art, which (other than clicking my mouse a few thousand times!) doesn’t take quite the time & energy, but the majority of them were all “built from scratch” hand assembled mixed media pieces.  Add in teaching some classes, a photo session or two, judging a show and my normal schedule caring for my grandson and the rest of the family and it’s been hectic!  I don’t think I paid much attention to how hard I was pushing to get them done until I was finished.  Now I am tired out and ready for a break!  At the same time I am exhillarated to have so much new work to show.  I guess that makes me satisfyingly worn out. :-)  I found out earlier this week that the classes I was scheduled to teach at OASIS this month were cancelled due to low enrollment.  I suppose I should be disappointed but the truth is I was kind of relieved.  They would have added to the chaos that will be the month of June so it turned out to be a blessing to be able to take them off the schedule.  Things seem to work out for the best, even though I am often convinced otherwise! 

Later this week I will be picking up my finished ceramic pieces.  I am SO anxious to see how they look all glazed and fired.  They will be a bit of a late addition to the show (it officially opens on Thursday) but I plan to have them hanging before the reception.  Even if I have to hang them in my little studio space and point people in that direction to see them!  I will be sure to take photos and post them once I’ve got them home & finished (most of them are getting some metal and wire added to them before they hang). 

That’s all the news for tonight, just hadn’t checked in this week and thought I would put in a quick update.  Take care!

xoxoxo,

Lynne