Taking a Break

  So it's official. I've decided to take a break from wedding photography. It's a result of several factors, both personal and professional. But mainly, I'm just tired. These past six months have been the hardest of my life, and to be honest I can't think of anything I'd rather do less than photographing weddings at the moment. Don't get me wrong. I love weddings. I absolutely love them. I love the excitement and the beauty and the emotion and everything involved in being part of a day that is so incredibly special and sacred in a couple's life. And because I respect my role as a story teller, I recognize that I am not in a place to do my absolute best work. So, I've given myself permission to step back, refocus, and regroup. I fully anticipate that I will return to wedding photography. I'd be absolutely shocked if I didn't. My hope is that as I spend my creative time and energy in other areas, that my photography will have new life breathed into it, and I can come back to it with a fresh perspective. I want to be excited about photography again. I want to look forward to upcoming jobs and enjoy brainstorming new and fresh ways to capture people's unique story and tell it in a way befitting just them. I believe with all my heart that that's what they deserve, and until I can offer that, I need to take a step back. I'm starting this self-imposed sabbatical with both excitement and reservations. Finances will require some adjusting, and I'm not totally sure what I'm going to do next to be honest. Textile design has been a wonderful new opportunity for me, and I hope that this break will allow me the time to expand that part of my business. And on the purely personal side of things, I'm really just loving getting pencils and paint back in my hands. I've needed it more than I can say. I know now, better than I ever have, that I don't have to choose between photography and other types of visual art. I just haven't done a very good job at balancing my time and making room for both my own creative expressions, and working professionally to tell someone else's story. Being self employed in a creative field it's easy to let all that energy go to business and not prioritize any time for my own personal non-work projects. That's a huge goal for me right now, to learn to manage my time better and prioritize my own non-work. I think that as I do that better, it will probably benefit both my professional and non-professional artwork. So, with a sigh of relief, as a birthday gift to myself this year, I start down an unplanned side road, excited about what the detour might lead me to.

Underwater Swimmer

 I did this pencil drawing with Prismacolor pencils (my absolute favorites) and used a photograph from the incredibly talented Howard Schatz. His underwater fashion photography is groundbreaking and dynamic. I'm using several of his photos as reference in a few other pieces as well. If you have a little extra time I highly recommend visiting his site and taking a look around. It's absolutely inspirational. http://www.howardschatz.com/ 

Too Much of a Good Thing

  Lately, I've realized that I'm spending too much time in photography and not nearly enough time working with my hands. Don't get me wrong. I love photography. I love everything about it. I love the creativity and the adventure of it. I love the places it takes me and the people it brings me to. And mostly I love it's unique ability to freeze time and capture a moment, a certain look, a glimpse of someone's life or a place that is so beautifully preserved it becomes eternal. I suppose it's a side effect of the job, but I do tend to get a bit tunnel visioned when I work. Having my profession and my creative outlet combined in the same process is a dream come true. But it can get a bit monotonous. I've been dreaming of multi-colored Prismacolor pencils, brand new sketchbooks, sheets of beautifully thick bumpy watercolor paper, and paint I can get my fingers into.


  Part of my journey as a "divergent artist" is the constant discovery of what makes me tick creatively. What exactly is that thing that lights my fire? And what I found is that it's the variety of interests that really keeps me going. I need to paint, and draw, and sculpt, and weave, and bead, and paste, and yes, photograph. If I get too focused on one thing I tend to get creatively stale. This is a mystery to most of the people who've been telling me to focus on something, anything. I understand their attempted encouragement, but it's just not for me. So, today I'm gonna put down my camera and pick up some pencils I think. And I fully intend on not focusing one little bit.