Drawing

I finished a drawing project and just had it framed.  On September 13, the Andrea’s Voice Foundation will have a fundraiser and I’m donating this for a raffle prize. 

Day at the Zoo

 I spent Sunday with my fabulous friends Sven and Matt.

As I waited to meet them, I snapped a few photos of kids playing in a fountain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was very hot at the zoo so there weren’t many animals out. So, I took pictures of flowers. Plants seem to be interesting me lately. I think they’re beautiful - especially up close. 

Here are a few I like from the day…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here we are with the monkeys…

 

Lots of art!

I’ve been much more creative in the past couple of weeks than I had been in a while, which I think is due to being inspired to do art after visiting the DC Artomatic show multiple times.

Last weekend, I went to the Rolling Thunder Memorial Day event downtown.  A lot of bikers/veterans were in town - unfortunately my timing was off and not many of the people were near their bikes but I got a few shots that I’m please with anyway. 

 

 

 

 

 Also last weekend, I began playing with collaging some of my black and white portraits with paper that I have…  Here’s what I came up with.

 

 
And two new pieces that I’ve done that are turning into some sort of “anti-violence” series:

 And, I finished cross-stitching a baby afghan…

It’s been a busy few weeks!!!

New Portraits!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of photographing a colleague and her husband at a lovely park near my home.  I was pleased with almost all the pictures; here are a few of my top picks:

 

Bamboo

I brought some bamboo stalks home today and took some close-up photos.  Here are a few that I liked:

Jardin d’Jour

I finished another cross-stitch today - this one for my mom.  It’s Jardin d’Jour by Needlemania.

Radio Interview - March 17

I’m going to be interviewed on Doris Smeltzer’s on-line radio show, “Savor yourself… beyond skin deep” today, March 17.  Below is the info: 

	Joslyn Smith will be interviewed by Doris on Monday, March 17th at 1PM (PDT) on VoiceAmerica™ Health & Wellness Internet Radio “Countering Mixed Messages” Click on Doris’ photo above to go directly to the show. Joslyn Smith is the Senior Legislative Assistant for the American Psychological Association’s Government Relations Office … …In this role, she is responsible for federal policy efforts addressing eating disorders and related issues. As a policy analyst and advocate, Joslyn is committed to raising awareness of eating disorders and challenging stereotypes surrounding weight and health. She currently serves as a Board Member for the Andrea’s Voice Foundation and on the Advisory Council of Ophelia’s Place. Joslyn recently co-authored the groundbreaking article, The Risks of a Quick Fix: A Case against Mandatory Body Mass Index Reporting Laws, with Dr. Jeanine Cogan and Dr. Margo Maine. Join us on March 17th to hear Joslyns’s insider’s perspective on the confusing mixed messages so common in our culture and what we can do to protect ourselves from them. Tune in on March 17th at 1:00pm (Pacific), 4:00pm (Eastern) Missed the Live Show? Episodes are rebroadcast at 1am Pacific and each show is archived within 24 hours for on-demand listening. Click on Doris’ photo above to visit the Archives located under “Content Library.” PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THIS E-MAIL WITH OTHERS WHO MAY BE INTERESTED

New Hobby

I’ve started cross-stitching again after not it for about 15 years.  I just finished my first piece on Saturday.  Here it is - Cirque des Cercles!

Going Home.

In April, I took a trip back to Evening Shade, AR - my hometown.  I hadn’t spent any meaningful amount of time there in many, many years.  The people are the same - just older, the feel of the place is the same - comfortable, but I couldn’t help but notice that some parts of town were a little more worn than I remembered.  It was hard for me to see so many store fronts on Main Street boarded up… Grady’s Grocery is gone…  The video store is gone…  The school has been annexed and I can’t help but wonder, especially with this most recent blow to the place, how many more times I’ll be able to go home and still find my “town” in tact.  I spent an afternoon while I was there, walking around photographing ”downtown”.  Here are a few…

 

As I was going through these photos, I was reminded of Mary Chapin-Carpenter’s song, I Am A Town:

I’m a town in Carolina, I’m a detour on a ride
For a phone call and a soda, I’m a blur from the driver’s side
I’m the last gas for an hour if you’re going twenty-five
I am Texaco and tobacco, I am dust you leave behind

I am peaches in September, and corn from a roadside stall
I’m the language of the natives, I’m a cadence and a drawl
I’m the pines behind the graveyard, and the cool beneath their shade, where the boys have left their beer cans
I am weeds between the graves.

My porches sag and lean with old black men and children
Their sleep is filled with dreams, I never can fulfill them
I am a town.

I am a church beside the highway where the ditches never drain
I’m a Baptist like my daddy, and Jesus knows my name
I am memory and stillness, I am lonely in old age; I am not your destination
I am clinging to my ways
I am a town.

I’m a town in Carolina, I am billboards in the fields
I’m an old truck up on cinder blocks, missing all my wheels
I am Pabst Blue Ribbon, American, and “Southern Serves the South”
I am tucked behind the Jaycees sign, on the rural route
I am a town
I am a town
I am a town
Southbound. 

Brothers

And from another New York trip…  I travel to Syracuse more than anywhere else and love going there.  Somehow, I end up there several times each winter which makes no good sense at all.  However, while I’m there, my friends feel like family, and I pretend that I’m home…  It’s nice.  I was there for a long weekend in mid-November to work on a project for Ophelia’s Place and had the opportunity to photograph Parker and Ian.  Parker (13ish) and Ian (6ish) are awesome brothers - the sons of my friend Lori.  Lori happened to be making a video about people and their passions for an upcoming conference.  So, she videotaped me while I took pictures (with her nice new camera) of her boys.  And, the pictures turned out pretty well.  Here are a few of my favorites:

And now for Ian - with his very cool drum sticks and sweat bands (possibly karate chopping, I don’t really remember) prior to the main “photo session”…