Yesterday, the website I created for Gaines Charter Township went live! The site is a quite an improvement from their previous pages. There is better access to forms, tax information, maps and a directory. Check out their interactive event calendar, news blog and more! www.gainestownship.org
Lake Bluff Audubon is located on 76 acres in Manistee Township, two miles north of Manistee. The grounds occupy 1/3 mile of bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. From Manistee travel north on US-31 to M-110. Turn left onto M-110 and continue north for about 1 mile. The Center is located on the left (west) side of the road at 2890 Lakeshore Road.
I am pleased to announce three pieces have been accepted into the festival 2008 Regional Art Exhibit!
The ratio of works selected to the overall volume of entries was close to 1:2. There were 841 submissions of artwork, with 377 pieces chosen to be in the festival 2008 regional arts exhibit. There are 210 artists represented (as some artist, like myself, had multiple entries accepted). See PDF list of accepted artists.
Please mark your calendar for the opening reception! It will be held on Friday, May 30th from 5:00 to 9:00 pm. Family and friends are welcome (and encouraged!). The reception and exhibit are held in will be held in the Old Federal Building (formerly the Grand Rapids Art Museum) at 155 N. Division. This is the same location it has been in since 1992.
Twenty-four awards will be given out to the artists worth in total value of over $4000. Additionally, seven sponsors have agreed thus far to at least an additional $4000 in Purchase Awards (meaning artwork will purchased by these sponsors for their own enjoyment). Keep your fingers crossed until reception time for me! In 2006, I received a Kent County Purchase Award.
The galleries will be open for public viewing following the opening on:
Here's another photo from Hocking Hills - this is the area known as Middle Falls in the Old Man's Cave park area. It was such a lovely spot I could have just stayed there all day.
Go ahead and click on the image below to enjoy this in a larger size:
Go ahead and click on the image above to see it in a larger size... 
My first coffee-table book, which exclusively uses the photos chosen for the Lemmen-Holten project, has been completed. You can see a PDF 15-page sneak peek - or even purchase your own copy in advance, if you'd like. I have versions both in hard and soft-cover.
I'm waiting to give a copy to the hospital board for review. Hopefully the book will be produced in larger quantities by June, if the concept of offering them to patients or for retail in the hospital gift store comes to fruition.
For now, the books are individual printed on-demand through an online fulfilment center. They do an excellent job, and the books ship promptly in protective packaging. A great gift idea!
| It's that time of year again! Time to look ahead to Festival of the Arts 2008 and request assistance from you wonderful folks out there to help run my art sales booth! Festival is the largest all-volunteer arts event in the nation! It's a three-day arts celebration, held the first full weekend in June in downtown Grand Rapids. The event encompasses almost all of downtown Grand Rapids with six performance stages; lots and lots of food booths offering ethnic delights of all kinds; singers, dancers, thespians, visual artists, and performers from all over West Michigan; more than 20,000 hard-working volunteers; and over half a million people in attendance. Visit the Festival website for more information Booth staff assist in packaging up products such as cards, prints and framed pieces, inventory management, writing receipts, answering simple questions or making those all-important delicious Festival food runs (not a bad gig!). If you think you can offer two to three hours of your time, I need help on the following dates and times: Art Tents on Calder Plaza - June 6, 7 & 8
 I also need help on Thursday, June 5th with our two boys so that my husband Russ can help me set up the booth area. Help with the boys is also needed after-hours on Sunday, June 8th so Russ can help me take down the booth and pack up. If you think you can offer a hand - you will have your parking paid for (if necessary) and a new hat to wear sporting a fresh new logo design! Please contact me via email or call 616.863.9139 if you think you can lend a hand. You'll have a fun afternoon of art, snacks and people-watching! |
A rare sighting of the actual photographer... who normally is behind the lens... not in front of it! This is the Upper Falls area of Old Man's Cave. What a perfectly wonderful place - I could have stayed there all day.
I purchased a new Bogen tripod and I'm very happy with it. My other one was a piece of junk. You HAVE to have a good tripod (not only for taking self-portraits!) but really - for every shot you take when possible.
I'd like to announce that I landed a First Place category win in an event called Shoot the Hills this past weekend at Hocking Hills State Park near Logan, Ohio!
Shoot the Hills is an annual photography weekend and competition in the Hocking Hills State Park. The highlight is a 24-hour photo contest. Photographers in three divisions (film, digital point and shoot, and digital SLR camera) compete in five categories in each division: abstract, flora, human interest, landscape and wildlife. Competitors can enter up to six images total in their choice of categories.
My image of a large magnolia tree in full blossom took first place in the digital SLR landscape category. There were approximately 185 photographers in the competition, and collectively we submitted over 1000 images across the categories. The level of skill and knowledge was very high, and seriously raised the bar to produce the best images possible. I'm so thrilled to have the image chosen from so many outstanding entries. Take a look at the winners!
The event was extremely fun (and yes - admittedly - a bit stressful!). Each morning I headed out about an hour and a half before sunrise, and stayed out until well past sunset. I also spent quite a few hours studying maps, contacting the Ohio DNR and chatting with local residents to find the best scenery. There was simply no time to rest! I was constantly on the lookout for great scenery and wildlife.
As it turned out, my winning image was "discovered" only an hour and a half before the end of the time period on Saturday! This beautiful scene caught my eye as I drove past a field someplace between Nelsonville and Zaleski, Ohio. I didn't know magnolia trees could be so large?
Click on the image below to see its detail:
... Almost gone! This will most likely be my last blog post before taking off for the Shoot the Hills event in Hocking Hills, Ohio. I am packing up the camera bags and heading out with much excitement.
The weather is supposed to be quite good and much warmer than here in Michigan - on Friday - about 75 degrees! I wasn't planning on packing shorts, but it looks as if I should. Oh, those white winter legs...eeek!
In addition to the much-anticipated 24-hour photo shoot event, there will be an 8x10 print competition for images taken at any point while visiting the area. The image below is one of my entries - a view from the end of Conkle's Hollow in the early morning, taken in 2006. There was an extreme amount of humidity in the August air and I caught a sunbeam between the cliff walls.
The winner of the print competition takes 1/2 of all the entry fees. I think I will be submitting 3 images. They are voted on by the public. Keep tabs here at the blog - I have one hour of wi-fi from my little cabin each night and I might be able to sneak in a post or two!
| eNewsletter Sign Up |
