I’m honored to be in a group art show at one of my favorite places in Portland—Powell’s Books. The show, entitled “Edges,” includes work from seven Portland artists working in a variety of mediums, from found object assemblage to collage to painting. The show will be up till the end of November. Check it out while you’re there loading up on holiday gifts. The four collages on the right are mine. Enjoy!
Jewelry photography is a vexing issue for people who want good images of their work for show applications and their website but aren’t ready to hire a professional. There are plenty of good tutorials such as this one also about using natural light, or this one with many jewelry photography tips, not necessarily using natural light.
I wanted to share my setup that uses inexpensive, accessible materials and natural light. In a future post, I’ll address some simple (sort of) retouching techniques for those who have access to Photoshop or similar, but for whom the idea of retouching images is intimidating. (Stay tuned.)
But first…
You’ll often hear that you must have professional photography, especially if you are applying to juried shows. That advice makes sense because it has to take into account the broad spectrum of applicants, which includes people who place their jewelry under a lamp with an incandescent bulb and submit a photo with harsh shadows and a yellowy cast.
But that isn’t you, right? There’s a whole swath of people in between that scenario and those hiring a pro who believe that a decent photo is within their reach if they just had the right set up.
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Aside from some hip and leg pain from standing for three solid days, my first big craft show was enough of a success that I’m not in the hole. After months of preparing, it was a pleasure to emerge from the studio and meet attendees and other artists. It was also a treat to wander some old stomping grounds of Baltimore, to see DC-area friends and even have some gnocchi in Little Italy.
The lead up
Sometimes I wonder why I didn’t give myself a year to explore this new venture. Instead, I applied to the show not thinking I’d get in. But I did get in, and there seemed to be plenty of time to prepare. Between my day job as a brand and communication designer, I was running around town picking up clips for lights, fabric for a backdrop, tissue to wrap purchases, then I’d go back into the studio to hammer, saw, solder, file and form jewelry. While I worked on jewelry, I worried I should focus on the display. While I fixated on the booth display, I worried that I didn’t have enough jewelry inventory. Unlike other jewelry artists, I don’t have a backlog of inventory.
During it all, I reminded myself there’s a first time for everything. By the time I got to Baltimore, it was a relief to stop thinking about it. There are not many do overs in life. In the case of shows, every new show is a do over. You just have to resist the temptation to reinvent the wheel for the next one.
Me? Not very hip or pop Read more
Portland is the city of roses, and so each June these flowers (and more) are celebrated via a number of activities, one of which is the Dragon Boat Race.
Portland artist Alea Bone created an art exhibition called “Fire on the Water” as a celebration of the dragon boat races. I’m honored to be one of the 75 invited artists to show a piece (a perk of being in the same art club). This art exhibition is an official Rose Festival event. You can get a sampling of the work on the Fire on the Water Facebook page.
This is my submission. I wanted to capture in an abstract way what I imagine dragon boat racing to feel like. This is acrylic and pencil on wood.
The opening reception is June 4 and the show will be up for one month.
Date: June 4 | Time: 5–8 pm | Location: Portland’5 Center for the Arts, 1111 SW Broadway, Hatfield Hall.
Update: I was happy to arrive to the opening reception and find that my painting sold. Thank you whoever you are!