Jes Lee

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Memory of trees

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There are times when photos can take you down a strange rabbit hole of thoughts. Leading through music to video games* to books.

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(These images were taken with my Hasselblad 501c/m camera using the Polaroid back and expired Polaroid Sepia peel apart film)

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(This image was taken with my Hasselblad 501c/m camera using Kodak Ektar 100 C41 film.

All of these images were taken at the Tamarack Nature Center in White Bear Lake, MN. You can also see them on Flickr.

This wasn’t at all the blog post I had planned for tonight, but through all of my distracted thinking, this is what happened. Really, I think I am on to something here, potentially good. 

*For many who won’t get all of those connections – the title ‘Memory of trees’ randomly came to me when I was sizing these images for the web, and it reminded me of one of my favorite anime series ‘Haibane Renmei’, and the title of one of the songs in it’s soundtrack ‘Refrain of Memory’. Going down the rabbit hole of YouTube videos just a bit, I found out that the composer, Ko Otani, who also composed music for a video game called Shadow of the Colossus which looks to be gorgeously animated as well.

Until next time,

~Peace~

This little blog of mine…..

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I have a new plan for this little blog, as well as new plan for my website.

First: there is a new design coming for my website. Yes, the redesign has started, and you will notice a few things (specifically the background) look a lot different than they did a couple of months ago. But there is more work to be done both with the pages you see and what goes on behind the scenes. I’m hoping that all of these changes will be coming to you in less than a month…but I am relying on a pretty great webmaster to help me with these changes, and he needs some time.

Second, as of January 2012, I will be closing my online photo shops…Etsy and BigCartel temporarily. I am not sure how long this will last. The reality is, I sell 100% more at the art festivals and other places I display my artwork than I do online. I’m not complaining about that! I just can’t justify the fees of keeping an online shop open, when the shop itself is not covering any portion of those fees. So, I’ll be running little promotions through the month of December (follow me on Twitter if you are interested!) and then will be taking my shop offline in January. Hopefully, I will find a more affordable solution soon, and will be able to have an online shop again, but in the mean time, this is what needs to happen.

Third, I have never been a big one for New Year’s resolutions, but I do actually have a few for this year, and a few of them affect you, my dear readers! The plan is to implement them immediately, but I’m giving myself a little leeway, and saying they are resolutions for the new year.

Resolution #1: Try some different film developers! Seriously, in all of my years as a darkroom girl, I have used D-76 and Ilfosol 3. I know I’m missing out on many great developers! I just need to spend the money on them and try! So this year, I shall, and the results will be posted…

…which leads to….

Resolution #2: I will post more here! I’m going to try to post daily, but I realize there will be times when that doesn’t happen. But I’m going to try! There will be more personal posts, yes, but there will also be many more art posts in general….about things that come through my Twitter feed, things I hear from other artists, things I am applying for, things I am day-dreaming about, etc. 

Resolution #3: to do a 365 project. Really. I have tried at least 3 times now, and haven’t made it more than a few months. My friend Cate on the other hand has a knack for keeping them going. In fact, I think she has one that has been on going for 3 years now! I’m going to make it 1 year. This, I will start on December 22nd. (That date will be explained later for those of you who might not know it’s significance.) It will be a cell phone 365 – nothing against film at all. I just realize I need to relax my own rules and give myself a little easier start on this one. 

So, that’s it. Just me deciding to take charge of my site, be a little more vocal here, and get back to expiramenting. I think 2012 will be a great year….I think 2011 will end well too.

Until next time,

~Peace~

Yes, I am up late again….

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….but it has been a good day. A good weekend really. Friday was packed full and exhausting, but still a decent day. Saturday was full of teaching and working another art festival, but it was also full of conversations with a lot of amazing, fun people which always inspires me.

Today, I received an email from one of my photo class students…a class I admit I wasn’t exactly thrilled to teach this month. Tho student emailed to say thanks for the class and to show me two photos she took over the weekend…they were awesome! She was enjoying her camera and what she had learned to do with it, and I am thrilled for her, and grateful for her email, and humbled. This job and this class really isn’t so bad. Yes, it will have its difficulties, and the students I won’t always connect with, but it also has moments like this, and this is awesome. I hope there can be more like this.

After falling asleep on the couch three times on Saturday and finally going to bed early and then sleeping for 10 hours (!) I finally had a day of feeling better and much more like a functioning human being. I had a great, relaxing day with my husband cleaning out closets and doing a bit of shopping. Monday is a new day an a new week and will be filled with photo processing, friends, and a re-check appointment with my immunologist. We’ll see what new plans she has for me this time around.

Until next time,
~Peace~

Journals

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I have had a journal for as long as I can remember. Some have been fancier than others. My favorite has been a traditional leather bound journal, the pages stitched onto raised cords. I am working on making myself a new journal like that, as well as making one for my husband. It is by no means a quick process. There are many steps, and many periods of “I have to wait for this part to dry before I can work on the next part”. I am enjoying it though. It has been awhile since I have sewn a book (my Spring book was an adhesive drum leaf binding) and I realized that I really missed it.

Last night I finished sewing the two book blocks. Here are a few photos of the process:

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choosing marbled paper

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putting cords on my sewing frame

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getting ready to sew the book block

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Finished sewing! I can take the book block off of the sewing cradle so I can work on attaching the cover.

 

Until next time,

~Peace~

 

The last post about Art Attack

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The last day of Art Attack was great! I was visited by a few more great friends and spent another day chatting with great artists! I love what I do, and I love the community of artists and art supporters we have here.

I really appreciate the support I get from my friends and family – to those that stopped to visit and see what I have been working on, thank you so much!

And one last little squee-worthy part of the weekend, I traded artwork for an awesome painting from Berry Holz and for a gorgeous pair of earring from Karin Jacobson.

On to the next project/show/week/thingy.

 

~Peace~

Art Attack!

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I am having such a fun weekend here!
It has been great to chat with new people about my artwork, visit with a few friends, and hang out with Karin and Berry. I have laughed so much!