Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to let you know that my photo, "Self Portrait #1" was a winner in Black & White Magazine's "Looking Forward - Looking Back" contest in the Alternative Processes category and was published in the December 2024 issue! I'm honored to once again, be published in this amazing magazine. This self portrait was actually taken in 1999. Last year, while I was at a Mordançage workshop, I put the photo through the Mordançage process and this is what turned out. 

If you are not familiar with Mordançage, it is an alternative photographic process that involves chemically altering black-and-white photographic prints to create unique, textured effects. The process originates from a 19th-century technique called etch-bleach, which was later refined by French photographer Jean-Pierre Sudre in the 1960s. Elizabeth Opalenik, who was a student of Sudre's, put her own spin on the process by creating the "veils" in Mordançage. The veils are the lifted black emulsion from the print that give the print texture and depth. Sudre never kept the emulsion on his prints, but wiped it away. I find that it adds so much to prints when the veils are kept. I was lucky enough to take 2 workshops with Elizabeth, learning this process. Since you need a print that was created in a darkroom for this process, it is near and dear to my heart and I hope to be creating many more wonderful images with this process.

I am beyond thrilled to announce that my photo "Lay of the Land" was juried into the Abstraction show at PhotoPlace Gallery! Over 1,800 entries were submitted and I was part of the 35 chosen for the gallery exhibition. Another 40 were selected for the online exhibition.

 A huge thank you to the juror, Janet Jeffers, for selecting my piece. I'm honored to be part of this beautiful exhibition.

For more details and to view the show online, go here - https://photoplacegallery.com/online-juried-shows/abstraction-2/gallery/exhibition-gallery

The show runs August 2 - August 23, 2024.

Lay of the Land

Hello Friends!

It has been quite some time, again, since my last post. I do apologize. But this last year and a half has been life changing for me.

In January 2023, I was laid off from my role in tech. I had been working in the tech industry for 22 years, which is just insane when I think about it. Twenty-three years ago, I chose to pursue a more stable career other than my art. I was working at a custom photo lab where I did a bit of everything, including custom black and white printing. Those five years were some of the best times of my life. I had a great group of artist friends who frequented the darkroom, and I had 24/7 access to the facility. With the advent of digital photography and Photoshop, the photo world was rapidly changing. At first, I resisted digital and didn't want to have anything to do with Photoshop. I wanted to stay true to my first love, film, and nothing gave me more joy than printing in the darkroom. Eventually, in 2010, I embraced digital and Photoshop, and I love them today. However, I often wonder where I would be if I had stayed on that creative path full-time instead of making art a “hobby.”

Since my layoff, I've taken numerous photo classes and workshops, listened to artist talks, and devoted more time to my art. Figuring out my artistic path is easier said than done. And whether or not I go back to the tech industry remains to be seen but right now I am enjoying the ride.

I actually wanted to be laid off from my job. I was burnt out and had no time for anything but work. When the layoff happened, I was relieved. I believe the universe made it happen for a reason because, in February 2023, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. It all happened so fast. My mom has Alzheimer's, and he was her primary caregiver. He had been taking care of her for four years and wouldn’t let us bring in any outside help. I lived about an hour away from them, so when the diagnosis happened, I moved in to take care of them both. My brother, who lived closer, would come over and help me, but it was incredibly hard. It was the hardest few months of my life. My dad passed away on March 25, 2023. I continued to stay there through April, taking care of my mom until I was able to place her in a facility 10 minutes away from where I live.

I was supposed to go to Barcelona in April to participate in the 19th Julia Margaret Cameron Award Exhibition because all of my entries had received honorable mentions. Obviously, I couldn’t make it out there at the time and canceled the trip. On that note, let’s switch gears and talk about some of the highlights of what’s been going on with my art over the last year and a half.

November 2022, is when I found out about the honorable mentions for the Julia Margaret Cameron show. To view my images and the categories, you can visit my Facebook post here. The gallery hosting the exhibition, FotoNostrum in Barcelona, invited me to participate in a sideshow later in the year, which I did in October. More to come on that later in this post.

I connected with another artist from the JMC show who attended the reception in Barcelona. She made a video inside the gallery that featured some of my work and sent me a photo of it. Hey at least I could see what my art had looked like in the gallery! I posted it on Facebook, viewable here.

In July, I went to Santa Fe for a week long Mordançage workshop with the fabulous Elizabeth Opalenik. I loved this workshop so much that I took it for the second time! Working with Elizabeth is magical as she learned the process from the creator, Jean Pierre Sudre. She is also the one who created the “veil” effect in the process. I love this process so much that I am now set up at my house to work with it. Keep an eye out for new Mordançage work soon.

And speaking of Mordançage, last month, I found out that one of my Mordançage images will be featured in the December 2024 issue of Black and White Magazine, which will hit newsstands in October. I entered their "Looking Back – Looking Forward 2024" contest in the Alternative Printing Processes category and won an award, so I’m pretty excited about that. To view the image, you can visit my Facebook post here.

Getting back to New Mexico, I stayed a couple of extra days to drive out to White Sands National Park. White Sands is 275 square miles of desert consisting of wave-like dunes of gypsum sand, creating the world's largest gypsum dune field. Despite the over 100 degree heat, I managed to capture some beautiful images of the park, which can be viewed in my New Mexico portfolio or on my Facebook and Instagram pages.

In September, I took an online class through Santa Fe Workshops with the amazing Susan Burnstine called “The Poetry of Abstraction,” where we learned the key elements of creating abstracts. This was a great class and got me excited about thinking of photography in a different way. Abstracts are another area I have been working in and will continue to explore.

October was when I had my sideshow at FotoNostrum Gallery in Barcelona. I exhibited some enlarged digital images of my recent Mordançage work. It was interesting to see them printed so large. Although I probably won't work in such large formats again, in this gallery, the size helped them stand out. I have posted some photos on Facebook, viewable here.

Barcelona was beautiful, and I fell in love with Gaudi’s magnificent architecture. The Sagrada Familia is the most amazing church I have ever seen. Park Guell, Casa Batllo, and Casa Mila are all architectural beauties as well. We did a guided tour that took us to Figueres to visit Salvador Dali’s museum and his house in Cadaques. This is a must-do tour for any Dali fan. I have posted some of my Barcelona images on my Facebook page and will be creating a new gallery on my site soon.

Before going to Barcelona, we stopped in Provence, France for a week. We stayed in Aix-en-Provence, which is very charming and beautiful. We also did a day trip to the villages of Lourmarin, Bonnieux, Roussillon, and Gordes and another to Saint-Rémy, Les Baux, and Arles. The quaint streets, vibrant markets, and stunning landscapes made each village unique and memorable. We explored historic sites, enjoyed local cuisine, and soaked in the picturesque views of the countryside. Our time in Provence was filled with delightful experiences that perfectly complemented our journey to Barcelona.

In October, I also found out that all my entries into the 20th Pollux Awards, another amazing show, received Honorable Mentions in four different categories. If you would like to view my images, please go here.

As for 2024, I have started working more with composites and am currently developing a series called “Floral Fantasies.” These images will be posted on my site soon. And as usual, I continue to enter juried shows. At the San Francisco Women Artists Gallery, I received a juror’s choice award in January for one of my Barcelona images called “Fragmented Reality.” The Facebook post is here. I also received a juror’s choice award for SFWA’s upcoming June show, “Radiating Pride,” for my image, “Golden,” which can be viewed here.

In closing, this past year and a half has been a whirlwind of emotions and experiences. From the challenges of caring for my parents to the joy of refocusing my artistic passion, every moment has shaped my journey. I am incredibly grateful for the support of my friends, family, and fellow artists who have encouraged me along the way. As I continue to explore new techniques and creative paths, I am excited about the future and the opportunities it holds. Thank you for sharing this journey with me. Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, keep creating!