Ghosts, Icarus, & Ladies in Hats...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all well out there. Things here are very busy and wonderful! To start, I had a free couple of hours in the studio this past weekend, so I hosted free head shots with a vintage twist for the ladies. Mimosas, vintage hats, makeup. We had a really good time. Shots to follow in the next post, but here are some pics of the studio all gussied up and ready to go!

Hats galore!

Don't miss the next event like this. If you're local, I announce all my fun stuff on my Facebook page here.

Have you heard of the Fun-A-Day Project? You basically gather a group of artists in a given area, and each artist agrees to create one piece of work per day for a whole month. I am doing Fun-A-Day with a group here in Portland. I'm shooting one red item per day the entire month of January, using the Instagram app on my iPhone. Here are some, and the rest will be posted on my Flickr stream here. Fun-a-day, indeed!

I came across a great short film from the 60's I believe that combines two of my favorite people: Ray Bradbury and Joseph Mugnaini. (Some of you may remember the little piece I wrote about Mugnaini here.) This film breathes life into Bradbury's short story Icarus Montgolfier Wright about an astronaut about to fly into outer space for the first time, looking back through the aviation history that brought him where he is. Take a look, it's a great little film.

Oh! I have to show you the great daguerrotypes my friend gave me recently. She said they are haunted, or the couple in them haunts a house, or something. The bottom line is, the tag said "haunted" and that makes it cool enough for me! I immediately put them in my very special bookcase full of old, rare books and special treasures. Take a look, I think they fit right in!

The same friend lent me a book I can't wait to start: Swamplandia. Heard of it? Apparently, it's a story with a bunch of eccentric characters who live at a gator farm in the Florida Everglades. If you read it, let me know what you think!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Pilgrims & Glitter

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all well out there as we approach the hectic holiday season. Things here are very good... and busy. To start, I finally have photos of my studio space to share! It's coming along very nicely, only a few things to do and it will be finished (but of course I am taking bookings). Here are a few shots and the rest can be seen on my Flickr page here.

A nice sitting area for meetings and guests.

The shooting area with plenty of natural light.

I love these Asian lamps, they had been gathering dust waiting to be rewired and I finally got them all finished up and back in service!

While I was visiting home, I think I mentioned doing a portrait session for my parents. Well, those are done, and here are a few. They own all those clothes, believe it or not. Kind of explains where I come from, eh? The rest are here.

And I mentioned in the last post that I was putting some corsages together for a holiday card shoot I had been commissioned to do. Well, here are some process shots of those, as well the finished product on the clients!

Do you have artists on your Christmas list? I may have found the answer to your gift-giving needs this season. The multiple book lists for artists on Wing's Art & Design blog sure peaked my interest. Many titles I had never even heard of, but I'll be picking up a few for sure. And that blog is worth a look-see anyway, lots of great gems there.

What is your favorite holiday movie and why? I want to hear them, Friends. I love, love, love Rankin Bass movies, so Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Clause is Comin' to Town are two of my favorites. I love the corny songs and the stop-motion animation no end. I also love another movie many wouldn't think of watching at Christmas-time: Gremlins. I mentioned it last year, and I'll mention it again, it's hilarious holiday fun. Come on, give me some movie ideas!

This behind the scenes shot from Santa Clause is Comin' to Town is the bees knees.

"Hi! I'm Mickey Rooney and I'm much cuter as a puppet!"

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Red Coats, Green Trees...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this week finds you all doing well out there! So much to share as usual over here. To start, I moved into my brand new photography studio over the weekend and after much cleaning, organizing, hanging and decorating, it's ready for business! I will take pictures this week and post them for your viewing pleasure. It's going to be such a great place for creativity and commerce, I can tell!

In other business, I have finally finished the first shot in my Red Army mini-series. This series is a personal project that subtly shows the true power behind the man (or in this particular case, boy since his Mom kissed his cheek). More fun uniforms and striking men to follow!

I am doing a holiday portrait shoot this weekend for a couple and I decided to make custom boutonnieres to dress up their suits and give them some extra flair (because I'm all about the personal touches). And in the course of gathering materials, I found this amazing listing on Etsy for a huge lot of beautiful vintage corsages from VelvetFinch! Look at them all, you guys! So shiny and beautiful. I am all about accessorizing men in my photography with vintage and/or fresh flower boutonnieres and these are just great. (Too bad they are way out of my budget...)

And speaking of great photography (hehe), I have discovered yet more great vintage circus photography in color via The New Yorker that I just have to share. This work is by Sverre Braathen (an attorney by trade), who traveled with the circus in the 40's and 50's in his spare time, chronicling circus life. I think the colors and the people and his composition (especially that man flipping in mid-air without any blur), are on par with the greats. And of course, the subject matter is also intriguing. Follow the link for more images.

We're going to wrap up this week with some strange and disturbing art that I just have to share. As you know, I like taxidermy, I even own some. But I find the work of Les Deux Garçon completely disturbing and in many ways, wrong. Why? Because they put animal pieces together like they're toys and they put a dog head on a teddy bear body. That's why. However, I guess from an execution standpoint, it's beautiful. I could see it both ways. Here are some examples, what do you think, Faithful Readers?

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...