Projects is a collection of ‘ideas’ that I am working on, contemplating, molding, and fabricating. Some in their infancy created by visits from the Muse and some have been thought out plans, drafted and are now being photographed. Never permanently written in stone, but more like streams, winding, cascading and creating new paths. As these projects develop and mature these streams will have made their path more permanent but small rivulets will lead to new discoveries and new ideas.
The Flâneur | 2015 | Investigative Research & Photography
"Flâneur" is a word understood intuitively by the French to mean "stroller, idler, walker." He has been portrayed in the past as a well-dressed man, strolling leisurely through the Parisian arcades of the nineteenth century--a shopper with no intention to buy, an intellectual parasite of the arcade. Traditionally the traits that mark the flâneur are wealth, education, and idleness. He strolls to pass the time that his wealth affords him, treating the people who pass and the objects he sees as texts for his own pleasure. An anonymous face in the multitude, the flâneur is free to probe his surroundings for clues and hints that may go unnoticed by the others.
As a member of the crowd that populates the streets, the flâneur participates physically in the text that he observes while performing a transient and aloof autonomy with a "cool but curious eye" that studies the constantly changing spectacle that parades before him (Rignall 112). As an observer, the flâneur exists as both "active and intellectual" (Burton 1). As a literary device, one may understand him as a narrator who is fluent in the hieroglyphic vocabulary of visual culture. When he assumes the form of narrator, he plays both protagonist and audience--like a commentator who stands outside of the action, of whom only the reader is aware, "float[ing] freely in the present tense" (Mellencamp 60). Read more . . .
Un-loved Eggs | 2012 | Photography
After receiving some free eggs from an Organic Free-Range farm I realized the eggs were imperfect. These were seconds, unwanted eggs as it were. If these had been passed on by the farmer to the distribution system, the farmer would receive nothing for them. Not a penny. Any imperfect eggs that are either too small or way too large or cracked (understandably) or coloured funny or marked funny or perhaps don't even have a hard shell, are not wanted by the egg distribution system. These eggs are unloved! Doing some research I have discovered that many family-run farms do exactly what had happened with me, they pass these eggs on. To be used, for food, used in baking or eaten cooked for breakfast. These are still eggs, they are still very fresh, actually fresher than most store bought eggs, but they are just imperfect, unwanted.
This made me think about what happens to all the unloved eggs? How many of these eggs are destroyed by large farms every year? What happens to these eggs? Where do they go?
Behind Locked Doors | 2014 | Installation Video & Photography
Couples enjoying their first time together perhaps creating the miracle of life. A young woman weeping in tears after a phone call from a boyfriend. A mother anxiously awaiting the late return of her husband out drinking with the boys. A child reading a book under the covers by flashlight. What is it that happens behind closed doors? This photography and video installation explores these events that are seldom seen in real life and often just talked about later by best friends, family members and confidants.
Muse as Art | 2009 | Installation Photography
I imagine scenes and images that captivate and overwhelm me; with disciplined and guided attenuation I turn these scenes into a reality through photography.
For centuries the nine muses have inspired writers, poets and artists. “The Exhibition” is for me, the first image in what is the beginning of a long journey documenting my artistic exploration of self and the world around me through the nine muses, Calliope the Poet, Clio the Historian, Erato the Poet of Love, Euterpe the Singer, the Tragic Melpomene, the Veiled Polyhymnia, Terpsichore the Dancer, Thalia the Comedian and Urania the Astronomist.
“Muse as Art” is the photographic exploration of the nine muses in which the proverbial Muse will be the “Art” rather than the spark or inspiration of the artists. The Muses have been my inspiration for over 40 years and this is a Tribute to them and to the wonderful women that inspire children, friends, family, lovers and artists.
Moments of Time | 2014 | Installation Video & Photography
Photography is seen as capturing moments in time. Moments in history. Once shot, captured forever. "Do you remember that time" we hear often. Long exposure photography on the other hand captures "Moments of Time". What happens in that time? Watching a whole family walk by during an ultra long exposure one day I realized that whole family had been captured in my image. Latent. Unseen in the final print. But, they were captured. In other images, the parents may have stopped watching their kids play along the shoreline creating ghost-like images. Moments of time had been captured. Since then I have embarked on a journey to capture scenes that encompass "Moments of Time".
The Barista Project | 2016 | Coffee Photography
Coffee is a great developer! Its also very environmentally friendly. Using Coffee as a film developer and a print developer, I will be creating portraits of Baristas using a custom built wooden camera manufactured out of old recycled coffee boxes. Negatives and Prints will be developed and processed using coffee. The Prints will hand in various coffee shops and cafe's in the Pacific Northwest. Im sure I will have a few latte's along the way.