artwork – Page 2

Working for the weekend

May 5, 2014 by Jes

Yes, I worked almost the entire weekend away. But, it is pretty nice to be spending time working on artwork work and photography jobs instead of something completely unrelated.

I started Friday slowly working my way through a massive list of things that need to be done in time for the art festivals this month. I didn’t get everything done, but I made a dent in my list!

I completed five more print runs on my latest book project.

I got two blank journals stitched together.

One is completely finished and on its way this morning to the home of the Craftstravaganza organizers, to see if it can get a spot on the morning news tomorrow! I’m hoping to finish a few more of these to be able to sell at Craftstravaganza and Art-a-Whirl. The photo on the cover is an instant photo using my new Instant Lab from the Impossible Project!

I had a lovely family photo shoot on Sunday…so I really didn’t spend the entire weekend in my studio in the basement!

I also managed to get six rolls of film developed on Friday. I started scanning them in over the weekend. Not quite done with that, but I’m getting there! These are all from my film 365 project.

Today will include a little road trip to drop off artwork, and hopefully more printing and festival prep work. Of course working all weekend has earned me a huge headache today…but hopefully that won’t hang around too long.

Just listed in the Etsy shops:

Listed in our pottery Etsy shop: Pink and purple variegated bowl by dadandkiddo.

Listed another one of my handmade books in my Etsy shop: Spring handmade book by jesleephotos.

Happy Monday!

~Peace~

Summer

April 11, 2013 by Jes

An intriguing title for a blog post, especially if like me you live in Minnesota. We won’t talk about it beyond that, except to say that my title does have a reason. More on that in a bit.

Today was one more day in the ‘make all the things’ weekend! I felt quite distracted today though, and feel like I didn’t get as much done as I could have, even though I still accomplished a lot. Tomorrow is a new day, however, and even though I do have to work part of the day, I will still have a lot of time to devote to my artwork. We’ll see what that brings.

I did start work on my second triptych box!

I’m excited with where this box is going. It will be quite different from the first, though it will have the same form.

The most important thing to me today is the fact that I finally feel like I am pulling these pieces together into one show with one theme. I know it is easy for me to see the connections between the pieces, but not always that easy for someone else to see. I think I finally know how they will all be presented this time, and that I think will tie everything together quite nicely.

Part of my distraction today was caused by The Princess, who seemed a bit upset by the storm and needed help making a place to burrow. I helped her come up with this little set up, and she seemed to settle down.

She keeps life interesting around here.

I had a hard time getting started on a poem today. I finally ended up sort-of using a prompt from Hazel and Wren’s blog to write about a fireplace. My poem is about a bon fire instead of a fireplace, but it was a good prompt to use. It made me think about great summer nights spent with my cousins outside by the pool.

Summer

goldenrod flames reach towards
the oak and pine trees that stand
a tall guard around us
just far enough back
to not get burned.

sparks swirl up
joining a clear navy blue sky
full of as many tiny stars
as you can see from the city.

the smell of chlorine
burned marshmallow sugar
wine coolers
root beer
wet dog
and watermelon
mix together.

a little further out
the flicker of citronella
tiki torches spot the dark
stone path with light
the glow of the pool lights
casting a neon blue green beyond that.

we swim until we feel
like we will never ever be dry again
eat toasted marshmallows and s’mores
until we could explode
then eat a giant watermelon between us.

damp and sticky i bike home after
knowing we’ll do this all over again soon.

On cameras and lenses and working

January 17, 2013 by Jes

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.

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.

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!

Jes Lee