the finale! \ Art Notes- December ’20 \
i sure hope this finds you hanging in there and finding respite in unexpected places.
after months and months of no updates, i want to share my 2020 photography happenings with you in the form of a year-end review. you may want to pour yourself a cup of tea for this one. it may take a few reads. 😉 (although you can view this on any device, it is best displayed on a desktop computer.)
it’s been a long and windy year wrought with immense challenges on many fronts. even before the pandemic, creating new work had been very sparse as i had been skating on thin ice both physically and emotionally for a while. i barely had it in me to focus on photography. while i was not used to this, i was trying to accept it as a passage of time that needed to be respected.
when the pandemic and ensuing quarantine began i panicked. as the virus moved from the abstract to the actual, i found myself bewildered about how to navigate life, including the ability to create pictures. my work explores one’s connection to self, each other, and the natural world, so living alone under quarantine left me feeling quite detached and mostly uninspired. as time went on, i settled into a routine and managed to make some work, thanks mainly to participating in two different online photography groups that i’ll tell you more about later. but frankly, i felt conflicted about participating in the groups. part of me wanted to further distance myself from photography. i busied myself, as many of us did, with organizing closets & cabinets, gardening, learning about food preservation and storage, etc. this all helped to expand a feeling of personal empowerment and abate the anxiety i initially experienced. it was quite unexpected since, as i mentioned above, the months prior i was struggling with depression that interfered with my ability to function aside from the basics. since i live with chronic illness being home so much is not unfamiliar to me. this lifestyle is often accompanied by a nagging feeling that i’m missing out on things in life. but a persistent, unrelenting (wise) inner voice gnawed at me to join these groups. it was screaming “even if only by a thread, try not to lose complete connection to your art.” so i acquiesced.
the two photography groups i participated in, albeit reluctantly, were the Six Feet Photography Project, a collaborative photography project, and Photography Under Quarantine created by Jennifer Thoreson, that took place solely on facebook. both, in their own ways, kept me afloat. who knew i would look back at these times as sacred and deeply moving. i made some work that speaks to the burden of loneliness the imposed isolation created, along with a heightened fear of being alone while living with chronic illness.
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i was hoping to join the Self-Portraiture group at Six Feet, but it filled quickly and i missed out. the only group available at the time i discovered the project was a documentary group. not exactly my interest but i decided to join nonetheless. the group was led by Susan Patrice, an artist, educator, and community arts organizer. she is a co-founder of Six Feet as well as the director of Makers Circle, a residency, retreat, and workshop center for photographers, activists, and makers. a group of us from around the country & world met weekly on zoom. we shared our art, our hearts, and our stories. susan’s generosity and keen critical insights created a wonderfully rich space for us all. in fact, it was so enriching and grounding that we kept it going after the initial 6-week commitment had expired. i even tried my hand at some documentary work. that was interesting. additionally, the collaborative hosted all sorts of artist talks and live guest editor & curator events. here is a smattering of photos made during this time.
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i gave up facebook long ago, yet in may, decided to log on in search of local updates about covid. the first thing i saw when the tab loaded was an announcement from Jennifer Thoreson about a photography group she started at the beginning of quarantine back in march; Photography Under Quarantine. i took a workshop of hers many years ago that was mesmerizing. both she and her art are immensely captivating, so i jumped in – well, sort of – didn’t realize quite what i was in for. there were 8 overall challenges and many mini ones, with varying topics from the surreal to re-entry. the group had strict guidelines; for example, the photos had to be created in isolation, using only elements found within your environment. i had never made work based on an assignment before and found it daunting – pushing me in ways that were both uncomfortable and rewarding. the level of ingenuity within the group was awe-inspiring. jennifer offered extensive critiques on all the work that opened new portals in me as to what’s possible. she has an innate ability to see with all senses and took us on a journey that was quite illuminating.
much to my surprise & delight, the group culminated in a juried catalog. i was fortunate to have two of my works chosen by juror, Ann Pallesen, who is a Seattle-based artist and independent curator. Previously she served as the Gallery Director of the Photographic Center Northwest (PCNW) for nearly two decades. the catalog announcement was made on my birthday back in september. how sweet! the day it arrived in my p.o. box i sat in my car, windows down, sun in my face as i combed through the pages with tears streaming down. it was certainly a highlight of this past year. it is a beautifully moving document, remarkably curated, of an unprecedented time in my (our) life.
you can download a free digital copy here, or purchase the actual catalog.
here are the two photos that were chosen:
‘Straddling Worlds’
Contemplating re-entry posed a different set of concerns and awakened many of the latent anxieties that the enduring quarantine mysteriously had quieted. I attempted to express the ambivalence this proposition presented: wanting the safety of home vs. the longing to be out in the world with others.
‘Lost in Space’
Directed to create work using boxes as the subject was initially quite uninspiring, and left me bewildered. This feeling had become omnipresent within the greater context of the quarantine and pandemic. Notably, the process proved to be a focused, cathartic exploration offering solace and validation.
here are some of my favorites made during Photography Under Quarantine:
and here is a small peek at the catalog:
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it took me about 2 years to complete editing my series, Compost. after many revisions, i am happy to say, it is finally done. quarantine created the space for me to take this project on. where i began, and where the series ended up took me by surprise. it often does. have a look and let me know what you think.
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this is the third time one of my works was chosen by Daniel Miller of Your Daily Photograph for a 24-hour sale. collectors were able to acquire a print of ‘An Immutable Spark’ at a reduced rate. although this was back in march & the sale through them is over, i still wanted to share the news. YourDailyPhotograph.com is backed by Duncan Miller Gallery, a prominent photography gallery with two physical locations, in Santa Monica and Los Angeles, CA. you may remember from an earlier post that this photograph won an award. it is from newer work that primarily consists of hybrid double-exposures. i started experimenting one day and, much to my surprise, found myself moving in this new direction. the working title of the series is ‘Alchemy’. you can view it larger here.
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two of my photos were chosen for the ‘Isolation in the Age of Pandemic’ exhibition at the Lightbox Photographic Gallery in Astoria, OR which ran from May 15 – July 4, 2020. What was unique about this exhibit is that LightBox released an open call for work and allowed the photographers who submitted work to the exhibit to be the Jurors. each photographer selected their top ten images from the hundreds submitted. the tabulations were made resulting in an exhibit curated by the collective group, resulting in a beautiful exhibit full of magical work. the first photo, ‘Sheltering at Home’ was made about a month into quarantining. i was feeling disconnected from my shooting practice and asked a friend if i could come over to make pictures of her through the windows. the experience was at once exciting, haunting, fun, and tiring. although the reflected house was less of a focus while making the photo, it became particularly poignant when learning that it is the home of her neighbor who, sadly, died of COVID. the second photo, ‘Languishing’, was made before COVID was even a thought, yet i believe, poignantly speaks to the feeling of isolation.
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Santa Fe Workshops hosted a live jury on zoom as part of their Creativity Continues initiative with the theme Windows. twenty images were chosen by Sarah Leen, former Director of Photography for National Geographic Visual Media, and her husband, Bill Marr, former Director of Photography for the Nature Conservancy. it was an honor to have, ‘An Immutable Spark’ chosen since it’s rare that the curtain is pulled back allowing us artists to hear comments and impressions of why work was selected, and what makes for a compelling image. you can click on the image above to hear my review (and others), which comes in at 19:50 min. i got a kick out of all their commentary.
here is a quick slideshow of all the chosen photos:
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‘There’s No Immunity From Life’
‘There’s No Immunity From Life’ was juried into an open themed Group Exhibition in F-STOP Magazine. the photo is from my series ‘Compost’ that i mentioned above. F-STOP is an online photography magazine featuring contemporary photography from established and emerging photographers from around the world. each issue has a theme or an idea that unites the photographs to create a dynamic dialogue among the artists. founded in 2003 and published online, bi-monthly.
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the announcement was made in july that my photo, ‘The Secret’ won 3rd place in the category ‘Other’ in the IPPA Awards (iPhone Photography Awards). the photo was made on a friend’s property that is endowed with a babbling brook and enchanted qualities of light, unlike any i have witnessed in my town. tim cook, (yes, that tim cook) tweeted the announcement. for some reason the IPPAWARDS website is down, however, you can follow the link in the photo below to see some of the winners and/or in the grids below.
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lastly, a big announcement is coming very soon! hopefully by my next email to you. 🤞i know this has been teased before. actually, it’s not intentional – it’s just taking way longer for me to receive all the details.
as always, i am immensely grateful for your interest and support. let’s hope the new year brings some wonderful surprises for us all! feel free to hit reply and let me know what you think….
with love from,
