Happy New Year

Here's a man I met over the holiday in New Orleans. He captures the spirit of ordinary daily celebration. And isn't he just so debonair? I love the way he holds the nub of his cigar.

Wishing all a happy and fun new year.

When I first thought about this new year, I became all heavy, thinking of discipline and accomplishment and output. But today I turned that crap around and thought about playfulness. What I really want in 2011 is a stronger sense of play. Cheers to that.

Future Unclear

The world of writing is getting harder to read. Let's just say the editors that be are moving things around and nothing looks too clear staring out into the year 2011.

But the freelancer's life is always about starting and stopping. Thank goodness I've been at this long enough to see the cyclical nature of work, assignments, and journeys marked by beginnings and endings.

Still, it's a little scary and a bit lonely working for yourself.

Warming Up

Looking through a series of shots from last summer, I came across this one. It made me feel warm on this icy, cold, shut down winter day.

Your Voice Reaches Me Always

It's probably too simple a statement really, but coming up with a name for this new series of work I'm building and developing is like reading a dream. Kinda hard to get the meaning.

What's apparent so far is mood, fragility, a layered skin of light, the suggestion of pattern, and often a great head of hair.

I'm thinking a unifying title could be Your voice reaches me always. It could be just the ticket into the show. Maybe it's the English major in me, but I need a theme, a way to see, select, and edit.

But, then again, the title may be pretentious, girly sounding faux-ocity, fo sho, fo sho.

Oh well, for the moment, let's just agree this new title seems better than its earlier iteration, There Are Limits.

Dreaming on a December Afternoon

Got some excellent news this week. One of my new pieces was accepted in a gallery show juried by none other than one of my abiding inspirations, Keith Carter. He's a dreamer who captures the ordinary in extraordinary ways. The show will be up in January at Eastern Carolina University's Gray Gallery and Keith Carter will give a lecture on the 13th. Hope to make that.

This photograph is one I made yesterday working with a new model and friend. We shared a sense of play and ease, and I love the way this fabric in front of her looks like snow. Low tech magic.

Sitting Down

The security guard at the museum stopped me before I could really get this shot, but I still like it and see the lines and the promise of two people seated in the chairs.

It's my birthday and I can't really say what will happen in the newness of the new age, but I am hopeful I move from fret to freedom. I just want to make more and more things and not waste so much time worrying about whether it's good or will go anywhere or will sell or land and stick.

Make art.

Make it up.

Make a connection.

Make something of this precious experience of being alive and awake and able to make things.