to haiti with love

I know there are many of you out there who have been wrestling with just what you can do to help the relief efforts in Haiti.  I was in your same spot.  Then Kate Inglis, an incredibly lovely writer I adore (of sweet l salty and glow in the woods) partnered up with Rene Joshi Sims (of fruity fantastica) and organized To Haiti With Love, an online auction of art, photography, papercrafts, clothing, and creative goods.  Thirty talented artists are featured...and I was lucky enough to be one of them.

You can find one of my favorite images there as a 16x20 fine art print, ready to be bid upon!

The proceeds of this auction are going to Broken Wings, the Canadian fundraising organization whose primary mission is to support the vision and ministry of the St. Joseph Family in Haiti, which includes the St. Joseph’s Home for Boys in Port-au Prince, Wings of Hope in Fermathe, and Trinity House in Jacmel.  Kate and Rene did a fabulous job explaining just how your proceeds benefit these boys and their caretakers, so please scout out the pages of To Haiti With Love. 

The auction opens at 8 AM EST on Monday, February 1, 2010.

The auction closes at midnight EST on Monday, February 8, 2010.

Please let everyone you know who appreciates craftiness like we do about this auction!!!  There is such amazing art found within every category of talent and every penny goes towards the immediate care of the people of St. Joseph and and then on rebuilding.  Thank you so much!

without you, there's no reason for my story

In the midst of pot stickers and Scooby Doo, this song came on today.  The chorus got absolutely right to the point of it. 

is life like this for everyone

When I spend time with Colleen and Dan, I always imagine them sitting on a couch in their living room.  Colleen is draped with her legs across Dan and their conversation is always interspersed with bits of laughter and playful digs and jabs.  I do not know if this is certain or true, but I walk away feeling that their love is an incredibly intense and private thing.  Neither of them is shy, necessarily, but I feel like the brilliant ties that link them together burn brightest when hidden away from the world...free to be who they are, enveloped in themselves.

Here are my favorites from our session today at the Garfield Park Conservatory.  Oh so excited to spend one lovely August Saturday with them this year...  (And drooling over the thought of summer weather!)

there's not enough breath in a single day

Oh, hello, my lovelies.  It's been a bit of time, hasn't it?  I had all of the ambitions to pull together a super-fabulous 2009 round-up, but then the middle of January hit and I feel like we're well on our way towards February...yes, the SECOND month of 2010.  So please know that this WILL happen in 2010, as that is one of my goals for the year. 

As we've eased into the new year, I am extremely enlightened and inspired.  Everything I've learned to do in the years previous, I want to do better.  I'm aching for renewal and revival and rebirth.  I feel, as the I've delved deeper into this brilliant little career of mine, that each year promises to peel my layers away like an onion.  And somehow, by peeling away who I am and what I want to be, I somehow get stronger.  My core becomes a bit more apparent.  I get rather curious about every mistake I've made or disappointment I've held...I try to see why it is that ___ went wrong or how I can improve or do better.  The turning of the calendar just enables me to step back and draw a deep breath and believe in myself and what is possible all over again. 

One of the other goals I have for this year is to really connect with other photographers.  For the stretch of time that I've been building my business, I tended to hole myself up in my home and scheme away.  I wanted to hone my skills without distraction or worry (i.e. the fear of rejection).  The funny thing about that is that growing that way is quite a lonely process.  I forgot how much I covet camaraderie.  And that's just something you can't enjoy without putting yourself out there.

So off I went to Nashville!  I convinced my dear pal, Kate Crafton, to join me in the craziness that is Imaging USA, and over the course of three days, we took part in classes taught by some of the most established and popular names in the industry and perused the tradeshow floor over and over and, well, over again.  It was overstimulating and invigorating and I loved it.  :)  It was incredibly validating.  And it was exciting to experience everything with the same woman who years back, when I felt my world was crushed beneath my feet, believed in me enough to say, "Sooo...when are you going to start doing this professionally?" 

[all photos courtesy of Kate Crafton]

One of the highlights was connecting, personally, with photographers who really inspire us.  Last summer, I read a really fabulous book entitled, Fast Track Photographer by photographer Dane Sanders.  Now, the point wasn't so much about getting to be a good photographer really quickly as it was on truly focusing who you are and what you want to bring to the table as a photographer while utilizing all of the resources available right now.  It really focused, also, on building each other up rather than pulling one another other down, which has always been my biggest fear in such a subjective and creative craft.  I could go on and on, but if you're a photographer (or want to be!) and you're intrigued, I highly recommend reading the book--Dane is incredibly inspirational.  That said, I'd followed Dane at his website and read all about his workshops, but meeting him in person and getting to know him better at the get-together at Imaging was by far one of the best experiences I had.  Hanging with all of the other lovely photographers I met while milling about and then bowling later just bouyed me.  So yes, the whole connection with others infatuated with the Fast Track concept was really a lightbulb sort of moment for me! 

Here's a point where Dane went live from the trade show floor at Imaging USA with prominent photographers Laura Novak and Jesh de Rox.

And Kate nabbed a moment with Dane and me (ahhh, flattering tradeshow lighting; I look like I hardly slept, which I guess we really didn't while we were there!).

Now, Jesh (seen above) was one of the other incredibly lovely photographers I've come to adore.  It's really difficult to describe Jesh.  There is a peace about him that is deeply meditative and reflective.  His photographs and his style draw me inward in a most reflective sense.  Jesh quietly cultivates all things things infused with love and joy and his writing?  Oh, his writing.  It's like a great therapy session.  Kate and her husband, Randy, in fact, were able to participate in a Beloved photography session with him that Randy described as the equivalent of an "emotional massage".  *drool*  So as a result, I was fortunate to connect with him, too, and just enjoyed every moment.  We were quite a foursome riding around the streets of Nashville while they searched for the proper backdrop for the session and I cannot wait to see what comes that session with K&R!  I'm also hoping to participate in the workshop Jesh has focused in Chicago over the summer, so all good things with a really inspiring artist!

Here is a really lovely clip from when Dane and Jesh were talking at Imaging USA.  If I've peaked your curiousity enough about both of them, you'll get a better sense of them here.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/3929785

Here's Kate and me cheesing with Jesh after their session...

And to wrap things up in Nashville, I was able to have my first taste of Five Guys with Kate and her fellow endearing photog buds.  Ohhhh, heaven on a bun!  And their cajun fries?  Total gluttony. 

So that's a small piece about these January days.  I've become involved in the Chicago Fast Track Photographer group that just started, so if anyone is interested in more information, please hit me up!  And I'm excited to share the plans I have for 2010 in the coming weeks, as well, as I fine tune what I hope the new year holds!

hang a shining star upon the highest bough

A week late, yes.  But if you find the corners of your mouth curling into a smile by these sights, imagine the glee within the heart of that little boy and multiply it by 1,000.  And then you'd *maybe* be close.  

(We're now in full-fledged detox-mode.  Why don't four year olds nap????  Someone find me a magic wand!)

A look back on 2009 is in the works, too!