Selected to Participate in Onward Compe'

 I knew that the winners were going to be announced today for the International Onward Compe' photography competition, judged by Todd Hilo.  Usually, I check email in bed before I get up to see if there is anything urgent to do first thing in the morning.  I received a bulk email from the Onward folks with a link to a video where they announced the photographers selected for the show.

I pressed play on my iphone while I was still laying in bed barely awake.  I didn't have my glasses on (which I need when I'm on the computer) so I was squinting to see the names on boards passing through the screen.  As name after name came up, I told myself that I was sure I didn't make it so my focus shifted to see if I knew any of the people announced.

All of a sudden, my name came up.  I was in disbelief.  I rewinded the video to watch it again and paused it on my name to see if the spelling was correct, to be sure that it was actually my name.  I played it again all the way through and then started thinking that it must be another photographer with the same name until they flashed all of the images at the end and I noticed my image, "The Wedding Guest" appear in the blur.

Just to make sure, I had some coffee and looked at the video again.  To my amazement, my name was still there.  The video I woke up to is embedded above.  My name appears at second 54.  I am just thrilled to be included!  Opening reception is February 11th In Philadelphia.  Click HERE for more information.

"The Wedding Guest" Selected For The Portraits Exhibit At The Center Of Fine Art Photography

I am so thrilled that my photograph titled, "The Wedding Guest" was selected by judge Anna Walker Skillman to be in the Portraits Exhibit at the Center of Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, Colorado.  All photographs selected will be on display at the Center's gallery from January 13th through February 25th, 2012.  I feel very honored to be among the talented artists in this exhibit.  You can see all of the selected images by clicking HERE.

As the Center of Fine Art Photography describes on their website, "Anna Walker Skillman is the owner of Jackson Fine Art, one of the premiere photography galleries in the nation. Anna Walker Skillman began her career working at the Haines Gallery, a leading contemporary art gallery in San Francisco . In 1993, Anna moved to Atlanta to manage the studio of famed Atlanta artist Todd Murphy. After working with Mr. Murphy to establish his career for five years, Anna turned to photography and joined Jackson Fine Art in 1998. In March of 2003, she purchased Jackson Fine Art from Jane Jackson who became curator of the prestigious and renowned collection of Sir Elton John. As the gallery director and co-curator for the past five and half years, she is honored to have the opportunity to continue a reputation of excellence in exhibiting photography by both emerging and established artists."

Making Art

I've been lacking on the blogging lately.  Since I've been home, I have been slowly unpacking and making art.  Believe it or not, I still have my camping equipment in my car.  Everything in due time, I suppose.  As you may know, I have a hard time relaxing.  I am not one to sit back and relax and read a book.  I've read a few books in the past few months but they have to grab my attention for me to continue reading.  I need to be learning something new each day and doing something with art to fulfill my creative soul.

That being said, I have been spending a lot of time working on some pieces for a few shows coming up.  I will be one of the artists at "ALLOW" this Saturday at the Avia hotel in Long Beach and my work will be included in the Sipology exhibit "Urban Pets"opening this Saturday and continuing through early February.

I've stepped out of my comfort zone of mounting and framing photographs in traditional frames to mounting them on wood boxes.  I spend a lot of time first working with the box by sanding and treating it so it's a nice smooth finish before I mount the photograph and complete the finished piece with a matte coating of acrylic paint over the entire piece to give it texture and durability.  It's been a learning experience for sure.  I've done a lot of 4x4 boxes with photographs I've taken with my iphone (for sale on etsy), but the larger boxes are with photographs I took on my big camera and I spend a lot of time on each one to make it perfect...at least in my eyes.

Even though I am not out traveling the country at the moment, I am still trying new things at home.  I don't think I am one to ever stay still so who knows what will happen next.  I try to enjoy each moment while I can.  If you are still out there looking for gifts for the holidays, perhaps try something new and make art.  If you don't have the time, www.Etsy.com has several hand made goods that would make a great gift.  I hope to see you at one of the shows if you are in the area.

Handmade iphone Photography Photo Art Boxes

I tend to get bored easily.  I am not one of the many people that can grab a book and sit on a beach and read all day.  I am excited to report that I have read two more books from beginning to end to complete my, "5 books from start to finish" goal this year.

Another goal of mine that wasn't on the list was to put together art boxes from the photographs I've been taking with my iphone on this journey.  I am happy to say that I completed this goal.  Sometimes I get ideas in my head that I have to follow through and complete before I obsess too much about them.  This project was one of those ideas.

Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE to take photographs with the other cameras I have and will continue to upload portraits, events and landscapes to my photography site, but there is something about the iphone hipstamatic app that I just love.

I had these 4x4 photographs printed on archival paper and I mounted them on 4x4 wood blocks after I hand sanded them and applied primer  with several coats of paint in either black or white.  After I mounted the photograph on the finished block, I then applied several layers of non toxic clear matte finish to give the boxes a nice texture and durability.  I am pleased on how they turned out.

Since these are my first round of boxes, I have them up for sale on etsy in my shop that you can see here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AlisonTravels

Each box is signed on the back and I also put where the photograph was taken.  Many of the photographs are featured in an iphone photography slide show I put together that you can view HERE.

I will continue to write about my travels but wanted to mention what I've been up to.  I look forward to sharing more photographs of my adventures here soon.

A Visit With Lauren Grabelle in Bigfork, Montana

Sometimes when you sit back and remember how you met someone in your life it was by chance encounter, a different turn, a mutual friend, a new job, etc.  I am thinking on how exactly I started talking to Lauren and it all started last year.

A virtual friend, Jane O' Hara's artwork was in a show last September and I went to the link to look at the other artists on the site.  I clicked on Lauren's website and instantly fell in love with her "Natural Boundaries" portfolio.  Not only that, there were and are so many images that I am drawn to.

I wrote to her to tell her just that.  She checked out my blog and what I was doing (driving around the country with my dog) and she identified with some things I wrote about on my travels.  We started talking and ended up having a lot in common.  After writing for almost a year here and there, I finally met her in her home/studio in Bigfork, Montana and Max and I spent some time with her and her dog, Sugar.

We had a nice slice of life in Montana going for walks, eating at the local establishments, listening to live music, visiting a farm house and enjoying her "yappy hour."

I had a great time in Montana.  I can see why Lauren chose to make Bigfork her home.  It is an amazing place and I look forward to returning again.  A big thank you to Lauren and Sugar!  If you are on facebook, you can be her fan by clicking HERE.

She is a blogger too and wrote a nice piece on our visit with her.  You can view that by clicking HERE.