The next

After spening all the time (not to mention the money for the frames) preparing for the show, I made about $400 for selling some prints yesterday. The gallery owner told me some buyers may very possible come back later in the month, but still, a feeling of some kind of loss (not lost) and emptiness.

Barbara reminded me again today, doing art isn't going to make a living. I think unless I can engage my collage with some kind of business ideas.
So here are the things I can do:
1. Go back to the Pike Place Market and be one of the make-do vendors?
2. Aggressively promote my collage to more galleries, attending contest, doing shows?
3. Give art classes? (Two people showed strong interest in taking my collage class)
4. Make and publish children's storybooks with my collage illustration?

I think instead of feeling sorry for myself and worry about the financial outlook of being an artist, I should just do my best until all ideas runs out.

Yes, that's what I'll do.

Jury Selected!!!

CONGRATULATIONS ___CAROL LORD______________________________



The National Collage Society, Inc. jury convened on September 24, 2010 to select collages for the 26th Annual Juried Exhibit. This jury reviewed your slides:


Matthew Kolodjiej, Artist and Associate Professor of Art at the Myers School of Art,

University of Akron, Akron, Ohio

Ellen Rudolph, MA Art History, Case Western Reserve University, Curator of Exhibitions,

Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio

Laura Bidwell, Graphic Designer, Collage Artist, Photographer and Arts Patron, Peninsula, Ohio


This jury selected your collage titled:_________SUN DANCE AND HOME COMING



The NCS, Inc. will retain your slide (if submitted) for our permanent collection. Your other entry (if you had two) is enclosed. If you entered with a CD, it will not be returned.

There were 211 artists with 412 entries – 32 entered with slides and 380 used digital images.


The exhibit will be available globally online for one year starting on November, 1, 2010. The e-catalog will be sent to you directly via e-mail in PDF format. You will be able to print a copy either on your own printer or at a copy center.


Gretchen Bierbaum, President & Founder

National Collage Society, Inc.

254 West Streetsboro St.

Hudson, OH 44236

330.656.3673

www.nationalcollage.com

Occation shots

There are times all you need to do is to aim and shoot, effortless. I think this is one of those:

It's on my way to the Oysters House in Olympia WA. It was 7 pm, streets were busy with cars and hungry people. Wait, let me take this shot first. Oysters can wait, so can you. And it's worth it, isn't it?

Fall is Around the Corner

Or is it here already?

I looked up in the sky on my way out of the door, wait, wait, let me grab my G11, it's just too pretty to pass. Only three minutes later, the red on the tree was gone, leaving the pink sky to lid our walk in the neighborhood.

What a lovely evening.

How disappointed

I thought once my friends sign up to "follow" me, they will automatically receive an email notice from Blogspot whenever I post a new entry. It's not true. I will still have to do it manually.

So disappointed.

All three of Us

This is an image stuck in my head during shooting with my D300. The those northwestern giant trees seem even bigger in the reflection of sunset. Because it's so vivid, this piece didn't take me too long to finish. I call this piece "The Three of Us" - one tree is lonely, two doesn't look right, three is unbreakable. That's why.


I like the multiple layers of the tree trunks. I also like the similar-color patch arrangement around the roots – to give it depth and flow.

I added the very tiny blue lines in the center to catch eyes. Did it work?

Off to my next piece now.

Dock in Sunset

When I was making this piece, my mind was extremely busy.

1. I wanted to try something more abstract with collage. I wanted to be able to paint on my mat board freely without thinking "does this look like a boat? Does that look like the post?" I just wanted to dance (so to speak) with the flow without thinking too much...

2. At the same time, too many other things in real life also were fighting over their territories in my head. Options in life sometimes can be so messy and muddy...

3. And two images came to mind in turns: one is a fully packed dock resting in the sunset I saw in Olympia. The pinkish sunset glow on the packed boats hitting the rush hours before. One is the big orange sun in Northwest last week. I tried to capture it with my camera, four attempts, but I was either too late or too slow or too clumpsy...

So there you go, the dock, the sun, the pink, the heat, the business and the silence... all in one.

As for this piece, this is how I look at it. Don't ask what's this or what's that, just step back, try to only look at what most prominent is to you in the picture, and let the rest take care of itself. This way, a beautiful and peaceful image shall merge out of the chaos. (See it?)

And that's good enough for now.

D300 - on my way to becoming a serious photographer

I bought this Nikon D300 DSLR with Nikkor AF-S 17-55mm f2.8 G ED DX on Craigslist. It comes with:

Sigma EF-500 DG ST flash

2-Extreme III 4gb memory cards

B+W 77mm UV Haze filter

Tiffen 77mm red filter

Domke camera bag

battery & charger

remote

lens hood

Very excited!!!

A different angle

 Tunnel to a dream land.

When we see something from a different angle, everything about it changed.

A note to remind myself.

Meeting

My imaginary meeting with mom. Something I long for. The distance between us makes me miss her more, like a romantic longing that could never be filled.