Doors

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." - Henry David Thoreau

"Everything has it's beauty, not everyone sees it." - Confucius

"One does not see anything, until one sees beauty." - Oscar Wilde

"People only see what they are prepared to see." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Opening Reception at Kimball-Jenkins

Well, last night was the opening reception of my exhibit at the Jill Coldren-Wilson Gallery that is on the campus of the Kimball-Jenkins School of Art in Concord, New Hampshire. This was my largest exhibit ever, with 24 pieces on display.

The work usually goes up a week before the reception, but I try not to go look at it prior to the opening night. I was a little apprehensive for the past few days, waiting for the time to arrive, and to be honest, I couldn't wait until 5:00 to show up. I pulled into the gallery at about 3:45 and made my way up the granite walkway to the steps leading into the old Victorian mansion that houses the gallery space. I was amazed at what the curator had done. Everything looked great, from the way my photographs were displayed, to the food tables, to the beverage carts. Everything was first class. The display of my images was beautifully done. I personally would have never hung it this way, but it really worked, causing each of the four rooms to be individual, yet connected to each other. It far exceeded my expectations.

There was a great turnout, as the reception was included as part of Art Concord, and hopefully, as this event becomes more successful, more venues can be added.

Some highlights of the evening (in no particular order):

1. Being "reprimanded" for the title of one of my images. This particular viewer felt that the title was insulting to him, as it didn't give him credit for seeing what I thought he should see in the image. It didn't need to smack him in the face.

The offending "Ghost in the Garage"

2. Listening to two viewers discuss the "faces" they saw in one image.

"Satin Rose" Do you see faces?

3. Meeting people that came from as far away as New York to see my work. I'd never met them before, and it was an absolute honor to meet them that night. Dave and Jan, I am humbled.

4. Meeting Jill and Robert Wilson, (the gallery is named after Jill Coldren-Wilson), as they attended my reception. They are wonderful people, and invaluable to the local art community.

5. Being referred to as "the Georgia O'Keefe of photography". However uncomfortable I might be with that comparison, it was very nice of them to say.

Georgia O'Keefe-ish?

6. Being offered a teaching position at the Kimball-Jenkins School of Art. Beginning in July, I will be teaching photography to the students at the art school.

For anyone that was unable to attend the reception, but is still interested in viewing the installation, the gallery is open from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday and other times by appointment. This display runs through May 29th.

I'd also like to take a moment to specially thank Ryan Linehan, the Director of the Kimball-Jenkins School of Art for all that he has done for the local art community, and for me personally.

Inspiration in the Closet

I'm not going to pretend otherwise, so I'll just come out and say it. I hate housework. I don't like doing dishes, laundry, sweeping, or dusting. I'm fortunate that my wife does the bulk of those things in exchange for me mowing the lawn and building things. I'm also responsible for killing any bugs, removing any snakes, and tending to anyone that might be bleeding. Sometimes though, I get the urge to clean out a closet or something similar. This is usually because I have just gone into said closet to try to find something and have been unable to do so. I get angry while digging through all of the junk that I have stored in there and decide to get a garbage bag and empty it out.

If only if was that simple.

You see, I like to keep old magazines. Don't ask me why, but for some reason, I think I might need to reference something I read in one of them, and I would be unable to find it on the internet. So, I save the magazines. There is something comforting about actually holding the pages in your hand while reading the article you were looking for.


So, I start to clean the closet. The job that should take 10 minutes, is bound to take me three hours because I need to read through all of the magazines I have stacked in the corner to make sure that I'm not throwing away anything that I absolutely can't live without.


After about 20 minutes, I'm feeling pretty cocky because I haven't actually decided that there was anything worth saving. My first bag is full, and I go get another. Almost as soon as I sit back down on the floor, I pick up an old copy of "Life" magazine. The one that had those amazing photos of a fetus in the womb. I studied those photographs, amazed by the focus, and the red, yellow, and orange compositions. I am simply amazed while looking at the photos of the tiny fingers and subtle facial features. I muster all of my strength and stuff it into the bottom of the new garbage bag. 40 years is long enough to hold onto a magazine.


I continue weeding through the pile for another 20 minutes or so until I come upon an old issue of "Sky and Telescope" magazine. Flipping through it before heaving it into the reject pile, I notice a series of early photos from the Hubble Space Telescope. The images are amazing. The shapes, the densities, the colors; another set of groundbreaking images that while of very specific things, have a very abstract look and feel to them. Someone not knowing what they are looking at in either of these photographic collections, might not know exactly what they are looking at. In my own mind, I instantly connected these two very different sets of images. They are both their own world within a world.


How can I do something like this? Again, nearly instantly, my mind makes another connection. What if i did a series of images of the inside of a flower? Not the typical beautifully sharp focus "look at this flower" photo, but something much more abstract, highlighting the shapes and the colors and the very fine focus points? Tulips would be the right flower to use because of the way they are closed up, protecting their delicate interiors. Using a very small depth of field, I can accentuate exactly what I am looking for.

This full size series of images will be debuting at my Exhibit at the Jill Coldren Wilson Gallery at the Kimball-Jenkins Estate in Concord, New Hampshire in May of this year (2008).

Fortune Tellers, Palm Readers, and Weathermen

What do they all have in common? About a 50% accuracy rate, that’s what. Oh how I wish I could only do half of my job right and still be a celebrity in town and get paid for it too. Not that their accuracy was any better 20 years ago, but now, with everyone on the news being some sort of character in a bizarre 30 minute sitcom, I’d at least like them to recognize that they are correct in their prognostications far less than they should be. Someone who gets paid to analyze the weather and predict to the public what is going to happen SHOULD be able to do a better job than I can by looking at the satellite loops on the internet.

Saturday was Opening Day for the local Little League baseball. While watching the “news” Friday night, against my better judgment, I stuck around for the weather report. It looked to me like it was going to rain, but let’s see what the professionals have to say. Now understand that at this point, Saturday morning is less than 8 hours away. I’m not looking for a 10 day forecast (now there is a joke), I just want to know what the weather is going to be eight hours from now.

Saturday – Mostly Sunny with temperatures in the low to mid 50’s

Sunday – Mostly Sunny with a chance of an afternoon shower creeping in

Saturday morning arrives and it is pouring rain and in the 40’s. Well, maybe it will clear up by noon time….

Noon comes and it is still pouring out and in the 40’s. 150 kids marching in the Opening Day Parade, all soaking wet and shivering. 150 kids standing on the field being introduced to the fans, who are also all soaking wet and shivering. Everyone standing in the rain eating soggy hot dogs and potato chips, while soaking wet and shivering.

Almost forgot, it rained all day Sunday as well.

Nice job Mr. Meteorologist. Thanks for the help.

(The photographs included in this blog are obviously not from this weekend. They are samples from last seasons photographs)

Are Hobbyists Bad for Business?

Pricing of art/craft work is always a hot topic, with some people feeling that those with lower prices undercut the market and hurt the professional artist. I am not of that opinion.

There are several different types of Artisans.

Type one is the Professional Artisan. They create out of the love for their craft, and charge accordingly. Sales are not the priority, they are driven by creation, but they are supported by the income derived from their work.

Type two is the Hobbyist Artisan. They create for the fun of it, to pass time, maybe hanging out with a group of people and all doing the same thing at the same time. They sell their work simply to finance doing more of it. Their time is of no value, they seek to recoup their costs for materials so that they can do it again tomorrow.

Others work hard at what they do, trying to generate much needed income to help support their families or themselves. These people are stuck in the middle, being underpriced by the hobbyists, and not feeling like they can't sell enough at the higher prices.

It's tough to be in the middle. I learned a very long time ago that people either want to buy the cheapest, or they want to buy the best.

One of the co-op's that I am involved with recently had someone that knitted apply to be juried. Her work was of excellent quality. Her prices were between $15 and $20 for something that would take her about 6 hours to make. She was rejected because her items were inadequately priced for what we were trying to do.

Items that are inadequately priced skew the marketplace for everyone, but in this internet world that we live in, it is an inevitable issue that the folks in the middle will continue to have to deal with. People with the top quality work will continue to get top quality prices as long as they have the backbone to ask for them.

Invitation to Reception

Mark it Down!

April 22nd, 2008....the snow is finally gone from my front yard. It took 80 degrees today to do it, but it is finally gone. Oh, did I mention that I had to spend the last week chipping away at the 4 foot piles, spreading it around the yard to get the sun to melt it a little quicker? Today finally ends the 150 consecutive days of snow covering my lawn. I was beginning to feel like I should be on "Nightline".

"Scott's Lawn Held Hostage, Day 149, Hello, I'm Ted Koppell....."

In honor of my grass being freed from the grip of it's icy shackles, I'd like to share a few images that always warm me up.

I'm really going to enjoy this summer. It's been a long time coming.