Jes Lee

Projects

Season changes and artwork challenges

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It has been a bit quiet around here again.

That is due mostly to the fact that I have been very busy printing book pages, and planning artwork for my show.

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After a few long days of printing on the etching presses at MCBA, I am two print runs away from being finished with one book.

I also took a class to learn photo-polymer-graveur! This is something I have been wanting to learn about for some time. It is just one in a series of old photography printing techniques that has been adapted a bit to modern technologies.

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It was amazing! I’m really excited to work with this process more.

The seasons are shifting, and suddenly there seems to be more photo jobs than time. I’m not complaining though! Each job is fun and full of amazing people and opportunities! However, I will admit to wishing there was a fairy around at times to help with the work load…but who hasn’t done that once in awhile?! ;)

Mostly I have just been my moody, contemplative little self lately, contemplating how I fit into the grand scheme of the artwork I’m working on and how I could manage to cram a few extra hours into each day. Upcoming deadlines, projects, and that another birthday is sneaking up on me…around 12 weeks away as my mom recently reminded me…maybe I’ll skip that one this year!

In the morning it will be April, and just like always I look at the new month and think positive thoughts. Tomorrow marks National Poetry Month and for the first time I am going to attempt at participating! While I have written quite a bit for my project, I need a better writing practice, and I am continuing to search for what that means to me. Perhaps a poem a day will be it. I am not planning on blogging what I write each day, but maybe I will. You never know. Right now I am more obsessed with what notebook/sketchbook/iPhone/Android/laptop/pens/pencils/handwriting style I will use for this writing…this could be why my writing practice is not very well structured…I’m too focused on what toys to write with! Ha!

For now, I am off to get a bit of sleep before a full day of work tomorrow. Happy Spring!

 

 

printing and gluing, printing and gluing…

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….that seems like all I have done the last few days, with a bit of waitressing, and one day of skiing with John thrown in for a bit of variety.

It is Tuesday night, and it already feels like it has been a long week. Yesterday was divided pretty evenly between working my day job and working on a project for my box making class.

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Today I spent the day printing on one of the sweet little etching presses at MCBA. I had John drop me off on his way to work, and pick me up on his way home. I printed the entire time I was there (except for some time spent trying to tame a plate with a “rebellious spirit” – named that by my friend Erin), and a bit of time for lunch. I am learning this new printing process quite well, and I’m sure I will be able to print in my sleep by the time I am done with this project. I’m heading back to their studios Thursday for another full day of printing.

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Tomorrow will be another day full of my day job, and more work on my box in the evening.

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I love what I am doing. And there is something amazing about turning off the computer, and other social media things, putting on head phones, and cranking out prints. Much like being back in the darkroom in college. This is a lot of work, and this show that is going up in June is a big challenge for me. I know I have said that before, and I have a few friends that I’m sure think I’m a broken record or something. But the work I am creating for this is a lot different from what I have done before. It is challenging me in a lot of good ways! But it is a long process.

So, one day at a time, breaking down each big project part into little parts and working on those one by one, step by step,…

…and looking forward to the weekend, just a bit!

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In my head

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I admit it has gotten a bit quiet again around my blog.

I haven’t gone anywhere. I have just been working hard on my project, which has included a lot of non-visual not-very-exciting prep work, but things are moving a long smoothly. I have done a lot of research and writing as well.

I admit that I have also been sucked into a really good book and I have often been spending every quiet moment reading “just one more page” instead of updating things here. I’m not apologizing for that though! Perhaps I will post a little book review of it here later, just to make up for being quiet ;)

Things in my personal world have been a bit whirl-wind-ish lately as well, which is really nothing new. That always tends to make me a bit more introspective and into journaling more than blog posting. Ho hum. Enough excuses.

We are having a gorgeous snow storm today! The kind that makes you want to curl up and read from a warm couch where you can watch the flakes swirl down! The kind that makes you start planning skiing and outdoor wintery activities later in the week. The kind that makes you start clearing schedules….

…..or is that just me?

Maybe I’ll be inspired to post some snow photos later. For now, I’ll be here, reading and sketching and daydreaming.

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New supplies, new colors

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After sorting through a bunch of new supplies for pieces for my show, I was so excited I just had to post about them!

I took a few photos with me (Impossible Project instant film photos to be exact) to Wet Paint so I could pick out papers to cover boxes with. My paper color palette ended up going in a completely different direction than I thought, with a lot more warm and sepia tones than I usually have in my artwork. But you know what? I’m super excited about it! This is honestly the first time I have picked out a stack of papers that just look so cool together.

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Of course the lighting is just a bit funky in my kitchen where I had these lovely pieces out of their wrapping, but you will get better visuals soon when I start putting them to work!

What else came today?

A set of Smart Plates (no photo of these, they aren’t very exciting until I get the text put on them) from Takach Press, lithography ink,

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and a gorgeous new brayer!

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I also purchased one more large piece of binders board and a large piece of rag board for constructing boxes.

*swoon*

Now to get to work!

 

Dive right in

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Within just a few days I have gotten to the “make it work” point of so many parts of this project. Printing supplies have been ordered, lay-outs are almost done…

Last night I was finally able to go to the Extreme Box Making class taught by Jodi Williams at MCBA. I had to miss last week’s class due to being sick. This class could potentially change the way I create! Ok, maybe not that drastic, but it is giving me all sorts of new ideas. I’m off to my favorite little art supply store later today to buy supplies for my class project. (Yay for buying paper!!) My class project will actually be a part of my show…or will lead to a piece that will be in my show. I had tentative plans for making little boxes to be displayed along the wall in the gallery, and this will be the start of them. In some ways, this class is kicking my butt into physically making something for this show instead of just imagining it and trying to perfect it in my head first. I need to be making it, not just day dreaming about it!

There is the little matter of how sitting in the class room/gallery my show will be up in is reminding me how very large it is and how much space I have to fill up….but I am not going to dwell on that now!

Head down, back to work!

Photo/word count:

February 23rd

words: 100

iPhone photos: 2

February 24th

words: 0

iPhone photos: 3

February 25th

words: 369

iPhone photos: 8

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Accountability

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I want to start by saying that the past weekend was great! I worked my day job Friday morning, then photographed a big event at MCBA Friday night. There were quite a few people that were very grateful I was there photographing, which of course made me feel good! Those photos will be processed and posted soon.

Friday evening we started the birthday celebrations for my dear husband. We had dinner at our favorite little brew pub after I was done with my photo gig, then came home to relax. Saturday we spent the morning baking his birthday cake (orange cake with lemon filling and a vanilla frosting!!) and made a couple of other treats to bring over to a friend’s house. We played games and watched movies pretty much the second half of the day. Sunday was his actual birthday. 10 years ago he was reporting for meetings and orientation and preparation for going overseas with his army unit. It wasn’t snowing. This year we got loads of snow, and spent the day driving through the snowy city searching for vintage records. Much better, don’t you think? ;)

Of course I didn’t do much artwork this weekend. This weekend was about celebrating, as it should be.

It always seems like it is a smidge hard to get back into the swing of things when I have taken days off of working. I know it is necessary, and I probably need a few more breaks than I give myself, but it has gotten me thinking about how I work, and how to help myself work better, and more importantly, how to hold myself accountable and give myself credit for the work I have done. So I am trying something new.

Many writers (many that I know personally and adore) keep daily word counts, to hold themselves accountable, to write every day, and to keep working. It isn’t the end of the world when there is a day that no words are written, and the words that are written certainly don’t have to be the best, but they are there. They still count.

So, I’m trying my version of that. A daily word count, a daily photo count, and a count of anything else I have done that day. We’ll see where this leads! If nothing else, it gives me something to post here a bit more frequently, which also counts as writing ;)

Photos taken: 4 iPhone photos

Words written: 410

Book page layouts printed: 6

My workstation tonight:

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On cameras and lenses and working

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Last Thursday was amazing. I now actually have a grasp on what I am creating for this show, how everything will be placed, hung up, and displayed. It is an amazing feeling to have those plans and to know where this show is going and a bit about how it will look. I wish I could explain all that to you…I wish you could see what is in my mind right now…I think it will be cool!

Over the weekend I received the new camera and lens I had ordered. This is a switch! My new camera is not a Canon, a brand I have made photos with for 14 years. My new camera is a Sony.

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So why the switch? Essentially, I really like the technology Sony is offering and the price they are offering it at. Many friends of mine (ok, two in particular) keep saying that photography is changing. I believe them, and not just because of the fact they have taught college level photography for a long time but because it is true, to a point. Photography will always be about the images and what they tell no matter if the photo is made digitally, or with film or any combination thereof. But there is a huge technology aspect that is changing it. In the digital world, the brands that have made cameras the longest are not necessarily the strongest anymore. It is a different ball game. It will be interesting to see where this all goes, and I hope to talk about it a bit more here in the future. In the mean time, back to this little camera. One other reason that made me switch is that Sony is paired with Carl Zeiss and has a series of Carl Zeiss lenses. Those of you who know me and know my work know that I have made photos with a Hasselblad for a long time now (12 years to be exact) and Carl Zeiss is known for making Hasselblad’s lenses. They are amazing, top notch….they make awesome glass period. I trust these lenses. They aren’t cheap, and I honestly don’t know that I will afford more than one main one for quite awhile, but I do know they will be worth the money I pay for them, without searching through forums and reviews online. And that is what pushed me over the edge to get this.

Now, due to unfortunately cold weather, and my Mr. FN being sick, I haven’t made it out to play with this camera much. But, I did make it out at dusk last night for a short walk to see what I could do. It will take some getting used to! But I am especially happy with this one.

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Now I’m off to write and create and do all the things I need to be doing today. Today I am printing out a preliminary set of pages for another set of books to be displayed with this show. This set of pages will help me figure out how to make the letterpress work that will go with them possible. I will also hopefully start working on a set of new, tiny images, and the letterpress layers that may go with them.

Until next time!

Caution: brain working

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It is another studio day here today, and my brain has been working at high speed since early this morning. The ideas are coming together for my upcoming show at MCBA, and I am trying to run with it while they are there!

*head down, back to work*

For now, one more instant photo from last weekend’s drive:

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Another studio day and new attitudes

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Yes, I have another studio day today, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. After realizing that my upcoming show carries a bit more pressure with it (good pressure really!), I need to focus this new found nervous energy and get started! I honestly planned a much longer blog post for today, but never mind. That will have to wait! On to my studio!

First though, a bit about the weekend:

Friday during a short photo walk I found that my Sx-70 was on the fritz. Not knowing if it was just a few bad film packs, or the camera itself, I took out my little Sx70 One Step box cam for the weekend to test the film packs again. I headed out with Mr. FN to North Branch to find new jeans at the outlet mall, and a few deserted country roads to drive on. There were many stops for photo opportunities! Happily, all of the film packs worked, and upon arriving home and fiddling with my beloved folding Sx-70 a bit more, it started working. In fact, it now works better than it has since before I dropped it in Hawai’i! Amazing!

sx70 1 step007One of the many photos from our drive. I love being out in the middle of no where, out side of the city, and seeing these power lines run through the landscape and disappear into the distance. I can’t explain it, but I love this. I have a few more photos like this, but they will be posted later.

Also, ‘List it Tuesday’ is back! Check out Artsyville’s blog and participate! My list will be up later this week – promise :)

And if you have found my little blog from Lynn’s wonderful post, welcome! I am excited that I helped inspire her to try a 365 project! You can find me on Flickr as well – I’m Jes Lee Photos. And my latest 365 project is on Flickr as well right here!

And with that, I am off! Until next time!