Blog Update | Self Portaits

I hope those of you who have been reading my blog haven't minded all of the design changes. I'm a bit schizophrenic when it comes to nailing down a specific design/color scheme and I'm still working out all of the bugs so to speak. I must say that I love how Blogger has made it easier to customize the backgrounds, layout, header images and text with it's "template designer" feature. I remember last year trying to code HTML so that my images would appear bigger and what a pain that was. Kudos to those who do that for a living - I certainly lack the patience for it!



Yesterday I played around with the camera a bit in an attempt to take a few self portraits for my website and blog (this was a lot harder than it looks). It's been forever since I've had a portrait taken and thought it was about time to take one of my own so that people might actually know what I look like. I don't know if that makes a difference or not, but I thought it might be fun. So after several failed attempts at a serious self portrait I just started to get silly (my cat was thrilled). I like the candid playfulness you get from a "photo booth" and being a fairly animated person I think this probably represents me better than a single serious shot - I don't take myself that seriously anyway. What do you think - is it important to know what your photographer looks like? Do you feel more connected to them?


Give me a shout and let me know what you think!

Dialect Design | Environmental Portraits

Last week I had the opportunity to photograph Jahan Nourbakhsh and Toby Witte of Dialect Design in their beautiful loft style studio in Noda. Jahan and Toby's designs are not only architecturally amazing and innovative but extremely functional as well. I love how they incorporate art throughout their designs in unexpected places. While I was there I picked up some cool ideas for my own DIY project that I've been working on. Thanks guys! 

You can see more of Toby and Jahan's work by visiting their website or stop by for "Dialect Night" one of their monthly art shows and introduce yourself. The salon features local artists every second Friday of the month. Hanging now is work by local artist Sharon Dowell.

Diana Arvanites | Portrait of an Artist

Meet the infinitely talented Diana Arvanites. I met Diana a few years ago and fell in love with her delicate and intriguing encaustic wax paintings. Her work is a delightful mix of watercolors, ink, acrylic and string hidden beneath alternate layers of wax and mixed medium. While I'm no art critic, I see Diana's paintings as a deconstruction of the human lifecycle using the layers of material to give depth and meaning to each individual piece. Together as a whole they function as a visual commentary on life, division and death at a cellular level. I think my favorite thing about Diana's work is that each time I see it I see something new beneath the layers (sounds like some people I know - lol!).

As a bonus she showed me some techniques. I'll post more when I finish my piece!