Less yammering

Hoo boy...the last few posts have been rather wordy. Hence, less yammering this time around. The two images here are from my 'hood. The one of the orange day lillies are at the Veteran's Park near Rio Rancho Library. Another SX-70 Polaroid manipulation (both of these images are). With these images, they were shot straight from the Polaroid camera, then I take them directly to my studio to manipulate them. One shot deal, unlike working with slide images where I can use the slide to expose the same image and try again. The second image is from my front yard; chamisa that blooms each fall. It grows everywhere here. I think everyone is allergic to it. Each fall, we all start complaining about our allergies. If you'd like to see how extensive the possiblilites are with non-digital images via Polaroid film, go to www.polaroid.com and click on the word, "creative". Browse around! You'll be amazed...

Best Fishes and The Journey

I started working on my second bachelor's degree (in art studio) in spring of 1998. I had planned to take one class a semester (spring and fall) and had hoped to finish up in 7 years or so. It ended up being the "or so". There were a few semesters where I felt so burnt out that I had to take it off in order to survive. But, wait! I didn't reveal how it is that I decided to do a 2nd bachelor's degree. One of the wonderful benefits of working at university is something called, "tuition remission". Fancy word for free tuition, really. Although, if there are special fees or lab fees, you pay for those out of your pocket. Having worked at California State University, Northridge for about 6 years and NEVER taking advantage of the tuition remission package there, I vowed that I would not let that benefit go unsed the second time around. So, then, the next question is, "what degree should I declare?". It would seem logical to pursue a master's degree since I already had a bachelor's degree. Looked through all the programs and nothing felt inspirational. Especially since most grad classes are at night and the commute and late hours was not something I could withstand. Hmmmm...look at those art classes. I ALWAYS wanted to take art classes but never had the time. Did I dare to declare THAT as a major? I took a deep breath and dove in. My first class was Drawing I. One of my teacher's mantras was about how important the process was, not so much the outcome (I think that was her way of consoling those of us who were far from being masters of drawing). It's all about the process. An important lesson for any artist (or, human being, for that matter). So, what's this got to do with the fish image here, you ask? Well, it's been tinkered with by yours truly in Photoshop. When I started doing manipulations in Photoshop, I thought I would record what I did in case anyone asked me how I achieved that look. That lasted for about 3 images. I've totally abandoned that. Too tedious, too much work and it interferes with my process. I'm not sure how I " got there" with this image. Not important, though. It was a journey. I took a few pathways to get there and I got there. Today's car tunes: Marc Anthony, "Exitos". Lucky Jay Lo!

Living in the moment...

We all talk about how we need to "live in the moment". I think though, that we "westeners" miss the mark. We're very good at verbalizing what we need and should be doing. But, the actual doing takes more doing than we allow ourselves. Some sure signs of not living in the moment are feelings of anxiety, worry, or stressed. What does it really take to be able to live in the moment? How is it that in this land of plenty and opportunity, we come with so many forms of anxiety and depression? How is it that so many poor people in India know how to be happy living in what we would call, "squalor"? I think it has to do with this concept of living in the moment. It is a balancing act; when you find that 'spot', there is no cruise control button to turn on. There is no magic pill. Here are my thoughts on some key ingredients for being able to live in the moment: 1-have no expectations 2-completely focus on the here and now in every sense (this one is perhaps the more complexed and layered of the key ingredients) 3-let go of the past (you can recognize it, but you must not hang on to it) 4-recognize the future, but keep it only in your peripheral vision 5-surrender to the moment and celebrate every detail present in the moment Items 2 and 5 are almost the same. There is so much that passes us by each day because we don't live in the moment. We are too busy rushing from one thing to another. Did you notice all the birds flying around today? What were they doing? Do you know what kind they are? When you were driving, did you see that Robin fly past your car with the worm hanging out of its mouth? How many of the flowers blooming did you pay heed to today? What were their colors? Were they in the beginning of their bloom, or about to be spent? What was the quality of the sunlight at 8 a.m. today? What was it at 4 p.m. today? How did it feel on your skin? How did your eyes drink it in? The art of being happy has so much to do with the art of living in the moment. The image presented here was a cactus plant by a swimming pool at my brother's home in Hawaii. The warm afternoon sun was hitting it just so; along with the gentle play of light from the pool, it presented a vignette that I could not pass up. I took the image on slide film in the summer of 2005. This week I took the slide and transposed it onto Polaroid SX-70 film and manipulated the image to get this painterly effect. By the way, I just found out this week when I used up the last of my SX-70 film that Polaroid stopped making the film earlier this year. I am greatly disappointed by this, but this will open up new chapters for me in image manipulations. No Photoshop adjustments were made to this image. The cactus plant by the pool is not something that most people would give notice to. I'm using it here to hopefully illustrate one of my points about living in the moment. It means paying attention to all that is around you and finding beauty in it and surrendering to that moment. Todays car tunes: George Michael "Faith" album and Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" (which also included "American in Paris" and "Lullaby Suite"). Track 1 on "Faith" is one that I crank the volume up full in the car. And, often I have to play it over again because it is that good (at least to me)!

"1 out of 4 B4 13"

One out of four girls will be sexually molested before they hit the age of thirteen. Yep, that's here in the good ol' US of A. I don't know about you, but I find that number to be shocking and unacceptable. This is a mixed media piece I just did in May for the Las Semanas project (see March archive). It is a form of social activism. Change starts with public awareness. So, if you didn't know, now you do. What can you do? Raise the level of public awareness. Talk about it. If you are a victim, find someone to talk to about it. If you know someone who is a victim, let them talk about it. Talk to your children about it. You'll find a great website/link/information on Oprah's site if you want to find out more. For those who are victims, it shouldn't become a dirty little secret. I am amazed at the responses I get from this piece. Many women will say, "I was one of them". Others become tight-lipped and look furtively away. I think what's important is that stepping forward does not make you less of a person or tainted. We are always afraid of how others will see us. What's more important, though is how you see yourself. When a wound is healing, initially, it does require protection. Then, in order for it to heal completely, the bandage must come off for fresh air to get at it. Recognize the need for this for yourself.

Flamenco Festival 2006

Every June here in Albuquerque, Flamenco dancers from around the workd converge here, along with singers, musicians and students studying these categories. The Festival takes place over two weeks and consist of day long classes and workshops for all ages and abilities. In the evenings throughout most of the two weeks are performances. This year marked the 20th anniversary for this; all started single-handedly by a woman who is about my age with incredible vision and conviction. Her name is Eva Encinias. For more on the institute that she has founded, go to: http://www.nationalinstituteofflamenco.org/ It is simply amazing what she has accomplished. We went to a performance last night; the second to the last for the Festival. 3 hours of intense performances presented by 5 companies; one local and the rest seem to be from Spain (I haven't finished studying the program yet). Three of the performances presented only one dancer (there are musicians that comprise of singers, guitar players and percussionists). I think what really struck me with the soloists is their ability to maintian the level of energy that they did; they were able to "eat up" their audience, no problema. Whteher they were engaging in rapid fire, electric footwork, or simply doing a slow, sustained walk around the stage, the energy level was HIGH. It's something that is difficult for me to articulate; I think you have to just witness to understand. Understand too, that these live performances by these companies are usually interpretive and much of it is improvised. No two performances are alike. The relationship between the dancer and the musician is intricate. In fact, the relationship itself is a dance unto its own. The calibre and talent that we got to witness last night was far beyond the mortal experience. It was electrifying! Before I got involved in my Art Studio degree (only two more art history classes to go), I took flamenco at UNM for a couple of semesters from Eva. I loved those classes. I had to stop taking them because I couldn't juggle those classes along with the ones I needed to take for my degree program AND work AND maintian family life AND keep up with my studies. So, I had to put it aside. I promised myself that as soon as I finished this degree, I will return to taking flamenco classes. I can hardly wait. I will never be able to dance like those I witnessed last night, but I will enjoy the journey nonetheless! BTW, UNM is the only university that I know of here in this country where you can get a bachelor's degree in Flamenco. The images I've posted here are things that most people don't see. They are of my flamenco shoes (yes, they are from Spain). Did some tweaking in Photoshop (how can I resist?). The other image which my husband and son says look like rocks, are of the bottom of the heel of the flamenco shoe. Look closely. What you see are many nails that are driven into the shoe. They are on the heel and the toe tip of the shoe. They help to make the sharp sounds that you hear in the footwork. The shank is incredibly strong on these shoes; they have to be as you are delivering those blows to the floor with a lot of force. Without that shank, your shins get very fatiuged and problably suseptible to injury. If you live here in New Mexico and have never been to one of these performances (there are many others that take place througout the year), by all means DO get out to see one! We are so fortunate to have access to this kind of performance and to have the talent that we do locally. Support your local artists! Today's car tunes: soundtrack from the movie (which I never saw), "Havanna Nights".

Comfort Zones

"...and then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." As I had mentioned in a previous blog, some dear friends of our got married this past weekend. I think I'm still recovering from it! : ) You know how at weddings, there is an open invitation to the guests to volunteer and step up to the microphone and offer a toast to the happy couple? I always sit there churning with many thoughts that I would like to send them off with, but never had the courage to get up and do it. This time, I thought I would leave my comfort zone and prepare a toast ahead of time to deliver at the reception. I asked my sister in Hilo, Hawaii if she could send me some Hawaiian "blessings" or sayings that I could use for the occasion. And, she did. When I received them and tried saying everything out loud, it was awkward with all of the vowels the language has. But, with a few coaching sessions over the phone with her and my rehearsing the lines over and over again, I got the nerve to get up there and gave them a 'toast from my heart', Hawaiian-style! It was nerve racking! At one point during the toast I saw my hand holding the paper quivering out of control! The day before the wedding I had wondered why I had taken on something that was causing me so much stress and anxiety. But, growth does not come with being comfortable. We don't learn about the potential the lies within us when we stay with being 'safe'. I was glad that I had gone through with it and I realized once again, how true one of my mom's mantras is: you can do anything you want to if you set your mind to it. Image is of a cactus bud taken on campus at UNM with a bit of Photoshop tweaking. Today's car tunes: Soundtrack from the movie (which I've never seen) "Dr. Doolittle 2"

Organically Grown

Photo collage, 2005 This image started off as a Polaroid transfer photo collage. The images are placed on a Polaroid copier and exposed on Polaroid 669 film, then transferred onto Strathmore paper (for more info, go to www.polaroid.com and refer to the section on "image transfer"). From there, the image was scanned into Photoshop and tweaked some more. The images are of two shells, a feather and a rock. The shells are from my older brother, Robert’s childhood shell collection. The feather I found here in New Mexico. The rock is from Moloka’i (near Mo'omomi beach). Today's car tunes: IZ (Israel) Kamakawiwo'ole (say that 3xs real fast) "Facing the Future". Perhaps one of my most favorite albums.

Flora and the flora

Sorry, no fauna! Went to a great wedding yesterday; it was a very special wedding of someone we consider as a friend, but has been working for my husband since he was 18 years old. Nine years later, he's gotten married to the right one! He's been like a son to my husband and it's really neat to see how he's grown up over these years. I was one of the photographers at the wedding (auxillary, thank goodness). Shooting side by side with another photographer whose style is different than mine made me aware of what my style really is. I look for those snippets of time; moments that are soon forgotten or perhaps not noticed during the event. My style is more of a photojournalistic style; I love capturing very candid moments. I often find myself distracted by details that have nothing to do with the event itself. Like, the beautiful hollyhocks that were on the property with the sun shining on it perfectly. I especially liked the contrast of the background. These two images are the same image; I posted both so that you could see the image 'as is' and slightly altered in Photoshop. Todays car tunes: second album from "Salsa Caliente" set.

Baby Robin comes a bobbin'

It has been a very windy season. A few days ago, the wind blew a bird nest out of the fruitless mulberry tree in our back yard. I went investigating a few days later, hoping to find some evidence of life. No broken eggs, no sign of death. I noticed some movement nearby in the garden and found a baby Robin hanging out there. Big daddy was nearby with a nice juicy worm to feed him. He was already a fledgling, so I thought that he might be able to fly soon. I went looking for it today and didn't find it, so I assume he learned how to fly. Robin's are very good parents, so I doubt that any harm came to it. They get bold, aggressive and very vocal when anything comes near their babies. We had dug up my rose garden by the patio yesterday too (it was a mess, so I'm starting over) and the boys who were working in the garden said that the birds weren't even bothered by them working there as they (the birds) were delighted at all the worms and bugs that were exposed due to the soil removal. It's been a very busy few days in our backyard for our feathered friends! Today's car tunes: Salsa Caliente (salsa music compilation found at Brookstone store).

Virginia Creeper

Parthenocissus (Ampelopsis). Deciduous vines. Cling to walls by sucker discs at ends of tendrils. Superb and dependable fall leaf color, orange to scarlet ( from Sunset New Western Garden Book). In the dead of winter, this plant doesn't look like much; all you see is the naked vine with what I call gecko feet clinging to the walls. It's as though the plant needs to climb something in order to grow. Before dropping all of its leaves for the winter, it does put on a brilliant color show. I keep trying to capture just the right image on film, but I'm not sure if I've gotten it yet. I tell myself that there's always next fall for another pass at getting that shot. Somehow, there is a bit of a lesson to take with us in life from this plant; it has the ability to hang on tight, yet grow and soar to remarkable heights. These images were taken on my digital camera, imported into Photoshop and given several 'translations' via the filters. Today's car tunes: Sound track from Cirque de Soleil's show, "O".