Vision

copyright James Chance What is vision?  What inspires us to take a closer look at what is around us?  Why do certain ideas grab us and take hold, while to others they hardly matter?

I ran across this article on pdnonline.com, about Photographer James Chance winning POYi's new Emerging Vision Incentive grant.  It's a $10,000 grant that helps artists achieve an idea or vision.  The idea is reviewed by a board and they determine whether or not it is deserving of the grant.  James Chance's vision was entitled, "Living with the Dead."

James Chance ran across an article about how poor people were living in Manila's North Cemetery in the Philippines.  Chance will use the grant money to fund several trips to continue working on the project and documenting families there.  Officials said that his project was chosen because of the depth of the project.  Not only did it speak of poverty, how countries handle poverty, but generational issues, and public health as well.  I think it's fantastic that we still have grants and other financial support so that people can pursue their visions.  ARTICLE

Vision is defined in the dictionary as:

1.the act or power of sensing with the eyes; sight.

2.the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be: prophetic vision; the vision of an entrepreneur.

3.an experience in which a personage, thing, or event appears vividly or credibly to the mind, although not actually present, often under the influence of a divine or other agency.

4.something seen or otherwise perceived during such an experience.

5.a vivid, imaginative conception or anticipation.

6.something seen; an object of sight.

7.a scene, person, etc., of extraordinary beauty.

It has been my experience that vision in the art world is an idea that possesses your soul.  So often I have ideas that flit in and out of my head about great bodies of work that I could create, but there are few that truly keep me occupied to the point where I think about them constantly...and those are the ones that matter.

I think the second part of vision is the ability to act on your vision.  It's easy to jot down ideas but to actually start to create is the hard part.  How long did it take James Chance to be able to go to the Philippines?  But obviously this idea was important enough to him that he realized he would need grant money to help fund it.  Making a vision into reality is something that artists have struggled with for years.  How can you make others see what you have seen, feel what you have felt, and experience it as you have?

The third part of vision, and this is under the belief that you want to share this vision, is relaying it in a way that it is important to others.  Ideas that involve crisis, or social-economic struggles of the human race are themes that everyone wants to care about and relate to.  We all struggle, we all have hard times, and we can come together through that.  More abstract visions are harder to get across, at least to me.  And sometimes they are good in the fact that different people might see different issues in them.  For example, for some time now I have wanted to do a series of pictures of older churches in the South.  Why, personally?  I'm not sure.  Maybe it's because I see them changing.  Little back water churches have been over run by the mega church, and are slowly failing.  But when I take those pictures, what will others see in them?

Think about your own visions today, whether they are photographs, stories, writing, personal, career, crafts, or visions you have for your family.  Vision really is about hopes and dreams, as well as goals.  What is your vision?  How are you going to make it happen?

Portfolio

Portfolio's are very important.  It's important to keep track of what you have accomplished over the years.  It's easy to get too busy to take a picture of something you've done, but make the time.  It will be worth it. In light of that fact, here is my portfolio from my Undergraduate studies until now.  It has a little bit of everything, sculpture, traditional black and white photography, photojournalism, digital, landscape, portraits, and weddings.

Jack and Pockets

While on Vacation at Pipestem State Park, my brother Jack and his wife Pockets (also called Scientist Lady, because she's super smart like that) gave me the privilege of taking some portraits of them.  It was their anniversary present to themselves after celebrating 4 years of marriage.

I'm really excited how the portraits turned out.  We took some more conservative ones, then we frolicked, lounged around, played with leaves, and tried some new things.  Some of them worked out, and some were okay.  But we had a marvelous time and it was really fun getting to do that for my brother and one of my new sisters.  Unfortunately it took me most of the day today editing them because I was having such a good time trying some different effects.  Sorry for the late post folks but here is the end result, enjoy!

Hello, Monday

The day after coming back from vacation is always a rough one for me.  I have a sense of "coming back to reality"and trying to play catch up, while really all I want to do is go bask in the sun. There are good things about coming back from vacation though.  It's always good to realize you're home, to be kissed hello by a husband who maybe, (maybe) missed you, and to sleep in your own bed again.  But even then, I usually spend the first week back, thinking about my vacation and smiling at all the great moments.

This vacation my family and I spent at Pipestem State Park in West Virginia.  We stayed in a cute little cabin at The Resort at Pipestem, and were fantastically isolated in the woods.  It's always hard, for me, to find a balance between activities and just being lazy on vacation, but this time I think we got it right.  We usually got about one activity in a day, whether it was cards, playing life, archery, hiking, boating, swimming, or horseback riding.  There was even a little mini golf...I won't tell you my score, because I would just hate to brag that much.  And between it all I was able to get some couple portraits in of my Brother Jack and His wife Pockets, but more of that later.

If you've never been to Pipestem State Park, I highly recommend it.  The park is clean, there are a variety of places to stay from the lodge to tent camping, and the staff were all really nice.  So without further ado, here is a lovely mix of our activities.  Sorry there aren't more of the swimming, archery, etc type activities...I had my hands a little full.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Don't worry folks, be happy.  Runawayalice is not going to have any updates for a whole week! *gasp*  But before you go into a hyperventilating panic, it's just because I'm going on a little vacation con mi familia.  My family likes to go remote places where there is no internet connection or phone reception.  That's how we really get away.  So, you're on your own for a week.  But don't worry, I'll be back with plenty of pictures to post, and lots of stories I'm sure.  Enjoy your week, and happy August!

I feel Pretty

I feel pretty.  That's right, I, goofy, awkward, uncoordinated Runawayalice, feel pretty. Yesterday I went and got my haircut by AJ at California Concept, here in Knoxville.  I love her!  She does such a great job and is really fun and easy to talk to.  Anywho, she had some extra time so she curled my hair for me.  I don't do hair very well.  We're talking my glam look is maybe I will put it up in a ponytail.  But the curls were different and made me feel very pretty.  So I did a little research on why women should feel pretty, the results were interesting.So by research I mean I put that exact question into google, just to see what would come up.  I got hits on everything from "I don't feel pretty please help me," to "successful middle aged women," to "I don't feel pretty without make-up."  It was a little scary.   I felt like starting a support group.  "Now repeat after me.  My name is Runawayalice and I feel pretty.  It's okay for me to feel pretty." The truth is it's taken me awhile to become okay with feeling pretty and with my "girlishness."  Ever since I was little I've been a Tom-boy and trying to keep up with my brothers.  I fell down stairs trying to keep up with them because my legs weren't long enough yet.  After my brothers, I always had guy friends, and I wanted to keep up with them.  I mean, I had to run just as fast, or faster.  I had to be able to be tough, to not cry, to hike mountains, skydive, bungee jump, not scream when something was scary.  All those things.  And I love every one of them.  I think that's what took me so long to figure out, I don't have to be one or the other.  I can love shooting guns and having my hair curled too.

I spent most of my teens and college, being one of the guys, and trying to be a tough chic, and I succeeded.  That's part of who I am and I have a great group of guy friends.  But now as I'm getting into my mid twenties, I feel like I'm coming into my womanhood a bit.  That sounds dumb but it's true.  Really over the last year I realized how many amazing women I have in my life.  They've taught me that I can embrace both sides of me.  So here it is, what makes me feel pretty and why I feel pretty.

Hi, my name is Runawayalice.  I feel pretty.  I feel pretty when...

1. I'm wearing my chacos

2. My hair is curly for no reason at all.

3. I'm camping in the middle of nowhere.

4. I help people.

5. My husband whispers he loves me.

6. I see my mother.

7. I shoot a gun.

8. I'm in a bathing suit.

9. I'm at the beach.

10. My Dad hugs me.

11. I'm with my girlfriends.

12. I laugh.

13. I take photographs.

14. I hold a baby.

15. I'm hanging out with the boys.

16. I'm skydiving.

17. I'm alone.

18. I wear cowboy boots.

19. I make art.

20. There's no reason at all to feel pretty.

Why do I feel pretty? (This is the hard one to say because we've been taught not to say it.) Because I am pretty.  Because I enjoy my life.  Because there's so many reasons to feel pretty inside.

Feeling pretty comes from confidence, from finally getting to know who you are, and taking joy in life.  It really has nothing to do with mascara, hair, clothes or anything else.  It's feel pretty Friday.  Feel pretty, because you are.  Happy Friday.

Pinhole Photography

Lately I've been thinking a lot about art.  My darkroom is still in transition, still lots to figure out about water pipes, and demolition.  But I have been absolutely craving to do a pinhole photography project.  Pinhole Photography is tons-o-fun, very easy to do, and you can get a lot of creative effects. Hanging above my desk is a pinhole photograph that my photography professor took of me for a class example in college.  It was one of my favorite wedding presents that we received.  In the foreground is a statue, one side is lighter than the other side, I think he was showing the difference in exposure times.  Then he had me stand on the right side for a certain amount of time to get a ghost image.  I love the mystery and the ambiguity of the photograph.  And in some ways it's like seeing a ghost of myself from back in college.

A Pinhole Camera is a basic camera without a lens.  Really it is just a box or object with a very small hole in one side that light passes through.  Whatever you use for your camera needs to be primarily light tight, and you will need to make some sort of shutter (I usually used electrical tape).  Getting the light right in pinhole photography can be a bit of a trick.  It can take anywhere from 5 secs to hours of exposure, depending on your light situation.  When it's done right pinhole photography can have exquisite tones, eerie ghost images, or funky focus.  You can make a pinhole camera out of an oatmeal can, a hat box, a regular box, something that can fit in your mouth, or (I've never actually seen this but I've heard about it) a red pepper.  Supposedly the light that does come through the skin of the pepper is similar to that of a red safe light in a darkroom, so it wouldn't expose your sensitive paper.  But like I said, I have yet to experience this.

One of my favorite artists is Ann Hamilton.  She does large scale installations that deal a lot with textiles, as well as photography, language, video, and sound.  Some of her works include Indigo Blue, Corpus, and Myein.  They are absolutely beautiful and moving, but also deeply thought out.  It's fantastic to hear how she speaks about her work as well.  One of my favorite photographic series that she did, though,  was called the "face to face" series.  In this series she made a pinhole camera out of a small plastic container, small enough to fit in her mouth.  She used her lips as the shutter and would open them to expose images of the people she was talking too.  Obviously she would have to keep her mouth open for quite awhile to expose the image, and she talked about the social awkwardness of having your mouth open while staring at someone's face.  In the photographs you can see the outline of her lips.  It's very interesting and you can check out some galleries of her work Here and some videos of her HERE.

Pinhole is a great way to get some fun, and beautiful images.  Sometimes going back to the basics can inspire and intrigue us in new ways.  If you decide to give pinhole a try, all you need is: photographic paper, your object that you are going to make into your camera, I suggest a small strip of metal to drill your hole into and then attach to your camera, something for a shutter, and lots of tape to seal up any holes or light leaks.  And then of course you will need somewhere to develop your pictures.  I'm hoping to do some pinhole soon, I'm just bursting with ideas.

The Enderson Family

Last night I met up with the Enderson Family at their beautiful home.  They decided to take advantage of the Summer Portrait Special and have some family portraits taken.  They were wonderful, and we had a lot of fun despite the heat!

Beach Bummed

I miss the beach.  This is a fact that I cannot ignore.  For over a year now I have been living in a landlocked state, for the first time in my life.  I grew up near or on the water, and I miss the smell of salt in the air, the heat that is so close it's like a hug, and the soft powdery feel of sand beneath my toes. Unfortunately with the way the summer is looking, I don't think Speed Racer and I will be able to make a beach trip this year.  We have always gone to the beach at least once in the summer, it's a ritual, it's a need, it's a raw animal desire...see? I start to get a little dramatic when I don't get some beach time.

The day the above picture was taken of me, was a day that my parents will never forget.  At that time we only lived about 30 min away from the beach, and on the weekends in the summer, it was a fairly common ritual to hit the sand.  This day in particular the beach was packed.  When I was that age, I never really went farther than the water front without my parents, and after some lounging in the tidal pools I decided it was sand castle makin' time.  One of my favorite parts of sand castle makin' time was collecting beach items to decorate my sand castle with.  My Mom started getting the buckets together and asked me to collect a few shells to put on the castle.

I started collecting and I guess got a little farther away than planned.  But what really did me in was that I lost our blanket in the sea of blankets and passed it on my way back.  I have no idea how long I walked.  But it was long enough that eventually I started to get scared, very scared.  Finally in frustration I just sat where I was and started to cry.  Luckily I was right in front of a lifeguard station.  The lifeguard came down and asked me if I was lost.  Being told so many times to not talk to strangers, it took me  a while to warm up to him.  But he showed me all his official uniform items, and his radio, and said that he was a good stranger and that he was going to help me.  He took me up on the lifeguard stand, gave me some crackers and some water, and radioed down the beach for my parents.

I can't explain the relief I felt when I saw my parents (or now that I'm older, the relief I'm sure they felt when they saw me!).  They took me back to our blanket, where my two brothers explained they thought I had drowned...and may have been a tad happy about it (no annoying little sister, yay!).  All kidding aside, they hugged me and explained how worried they were and how hard they had searched the beach.  It was a great reunion, and that's where that picture was taken.

With such a traumatic experience you would think I would be afraid of the beach or the water, but no.  If anything it strengthened my love for the beach.  For me it is a place to be alone, a place to get lost in the roar of the waves, and a place where the ever changing scenery is all I need.  It is a love that Speed Racer and I have always shared.

Here are some of my favorite beaches and watering holes.  Some of the pictures are not mine but hopefully the people who took them won't mind sharing.  They are all family and friends.  Hopefully this will give you a taste of the beach, even if like me, you can't get there this year.

Anniversary Party

Last Tuesday before I got the Plague, I was invited to take pictures of my Aunt and Uncle's Anniversary Party.  It was a great time and we had several opportunities to take some much needed family pictures. 

It was one of those classic summer parties, there was seafood, laughter, kids, kisses, hugs, big kids eating baby food (do not try that at home), lightening bugs, prayers, Eskimo kisses, and lots of Red Light Green Light.  But most importantly we were able to celebrate what a wonderful couple my Aunt and Uncle are, and the great example they have set for all of us.

Thank you both for letting me take photos of you (thanks to your sneaky daughter) and more importantly thank you for being a wonderful Aunt and Uncle to me.  Aunt Carol thank you for encouraging my love of art and photography, for being willing to make mud pies with me at the cabin, for nursing me when I inevitably would fall down your basement stairs, and for being my name's sake.  Uncle Walt, thank you for teaching me how to fish and your patience when I caught fish and you didn't, thank you for teaching me your love of nature and letting me quietly enjoy it with you, and thank you for always sharing your stories with me and being willing to listen to mine in return.  I love you both and I hope you enjoy the photos!