S O L D
Thanks so much to the collector who purchased a 13×19 print of “One Fine Day”. 😊 [Click pic for Etsy site.]
Zombie Apocalypse
I’ve been reduced to tapping out my posts on my Android since my HP OMEN gaming laptop bit the dust. (Or at least the screen did.) Naturally, under the circumstances, I’ll be much more brief this time around. I marvel at the timing of everything that has happened lately! Due to the Coronavirus, and being shut down here in Indiana for the most part, Josh has chosen to stop working for now.
First of all, the governor of Kentucky (Josh worked just across the state line in Louisville, Ky), Andy Beshear, didn’t specify that hardwood flooring and/or construction work needed to fall under the umbrella of “vital to the cause” or “life sustaining” in order to remain “essential”. As a result, Josh and my son were still having to go in and work on clients’ hardwood floors cosmetically, meaning, simply staining the wood to match furniture, etc.
Meanwhile, people are legit dying out there by the bucket loads. After seeing the body count steadily rise from week to week, Josh was able to pursuade his boss that doing cosmetic floor work for the sake of aesthetic feely goods just didn’t quite equal to risking one’s life on the daily. Thankfully, his boss permitted them to self-demote from highly essential workers to glorified couch potatoes. Speaking of which:
Crazy timing interesting fact #2: As I mentioned, Josh just finished his job- again, for the next month or so, and I officially finished school yesterday. So, our vacations started within just 24 hours of one another! That’s epic stuff, man. For the record, one more time, I just wrapped up my Master’s degree in Psychology and Addiction Counseling. I’m finished with school forever and it feels incredible! Ten long years I’ve had my nose to the grindstone. I must admit, it feels really good to just…be done with it all. 😊
Anyway, I had just spent in the area of $2,200 for my new/used Mark II Canon full-frame camera+ Canon EF 24-70 2.8MML II ($900+) lens + 2 M42/vintage film lenses imported from Bulgaria, + Pro Lustre photo printing paper for sizes: 4×6, 5×7, 8×10, & 13×19 + all of the bubble mailers (for all 4 sizes) and its packaging, preparing to begin my photo/art business just as soon as I graduated, when the freaking zombie apocalypse hit. Go figure!
If it wasn’t so crappy it’d be hysterically funny. I mean, the timing though! And now, our economy is collapsing rapidly, daily, with more than 50% of the nation currently unemployed. The stock market crashed amidst the global pandemic and things are getting so super crazy outside. Regardless, even with Josh not working for awhile, we’re taken care of, thanks to my $ source. With the added EBT/SNAP benefits, that puts us in a pretty good position. I’m just grateful that we’ll be alright through all of this. So many people aren’t right now. We’re being given a 60 day extension on our Duke Energy, Spectrum, + Progressive Insurance bills, so again, I’m able to cover the rent (alone) and buy the food and Josh can take it easy for a change. I am one lucky woman to have such a great life partner! By the time our bill extension is up, he’ll be back at work and can help pick up the tab. We make a pretty great team. 💕
As much as I was hoping I’d be able to hold on to my new L series/Canon lens, I found out my son’s landlord is vying for D*** of the year by demanding $600 back rent, despite the fact that my son gave him rent $ only last week. How are you going to demand $600 back rent during a GLOBAL PANDEMIC?! What an asshole. So, I’m selling my 1 month old lens for $850 (willing to take $800) on Ebay so I can help my son during this time. My Dad was an incredibly generous man. He always did what he could in life to help me out, no matter what. That instilled in me a great desire to do that for my own kids. I will always be there for my kids.
Meyer-Optik Görlitz Orestor 135/2.8- film lens
17% juice left on my phone; I suppose I’ve said enough for now. After all, I merely wanted to pop in, update space, and report the end of my very, very long academic journey. I feel as if 1,000 stones have been lifted from my back! I am finally free to live my life as I want , on my own terms and on my own time.
My dear sister, Anita,
we haven’t spoken in 8 years or so. I cannot understand how or why any person would choose to cut a blood sibling out of their life. I could never do that to you, nor would I. Life is so short, and it’s precious. It shouldn’t be squandered by hate or unforgiveness. My love for you is still so strong, that not even death could rip it away. Please know that I love you. I don’t know you now, and you don’t know me. I do know that I’m a completely different person than I was when we were last friends. I’m betting you are too. (That can only be a good thing in my book, on both our parts.) You and I were given a pretty rough lot in life. I think it’s fair to say that neither of us were raised properly or given the necessary tools to thrive in this world. In short, the cards were sorely stacked against us. I’m proud of us both for having been raised up in a patriarchal, misogynistic system that smote us at every turn, yet we both grew into strong, intelligent, and fiercely self-sufficient women. Here’s to you Sis; I’m proud of you. ❤
Five Months Later…
I can hardly believe it’s been five months since I’ve been away. Where has the time gone?!
I’d like to say that I’ve been off doing great and honourable things since graduating from college back in May, alas; I’ve merely caught up on 300 crime shows and have picked up a nasty sugar addiction. I’m talking- waxing 3 bags of bubble gum in 4 hours- no kidding. SHAMEFUL.
But let’s not focus on that. 😉
Today is Christmas, and Josh and I are pulling another all-nighter. He’s at his computer station, and I at mine. He’s gaming, and I’m working on editing some pics for my new Etsy shop. I’ve wanted to open an Etsy shop for almost ten years now. At first, I didn’t have enough inventory, and quite frankly, I wasn’t up to the standard of photography that I was utterly pleased with- not enough to sell my work. (But that was 10 years ago.) And then “school happened”. Now, more than 20,000 pics are held hostage on more than 5 disk drives. I could dig through the heap and salvage years of work, or, I could start all over and create a whole new body of work: I’ve chosen to do the latter.
It might seem crazy to want to start all over- especially having spent the last decade developing my personal style and techniques, but for me, my art does more than mark a time in my life. My pics/images tell stories. (You artists and photogs out there know what I mean.) I want the stories to reflect who I am at that time. I’m not the same person I was even five years ago. So, I want to start over. I feel like I’ve grown as a person and an artist, and so I want my pics to reflect that.
I’ve added a new TAB at the top of my page ^up there^- it’s my ETSY tab. Clicking on the pic there will go directly to my ETSY site where I’m offering my prints for sale. In the past, I wanted to sell prints for the generalized reason of “simply wanting to”. Now it’s a matter of being able to return to school or not. My school is withholding my transcript until I pay down the current balance, which is just under $1,300. I don’t have many options, and so I’ve decided to finally open my ETSY shop so that I can sell my work and pay down my school balance. I’m hoping to be able to do this by May of 2017 (4 months from now). That’s a pretty tall order, and once again, I’m racing against the clock. If I don’t do this now, I’ll have to take another 6 months to do it (which means I’d have to wait until January 2018 to return to school), but I really can’t afford to do that.
Once my transcript is released, I’ll be able to apply to Fort Hays University, where I’ll be working on my Master’s degree in Educational Psychology. A lot is riding on this! So, I have a heck of a motivator to get out and get some fresh shots 3 times per week. I’m aiming to add 300 pics or so to my ETSY collection over the next few months. In short, I’m going to be pretty busy. 😉
I’m looking forward to popping in to everyone’s place and seeing what you all have been up to. Sure have missed everyone and I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS! ♥
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Second Etsy shop: Early Perfection
The Green Fairy
So Josh and I finally decided to try Absynthe:
It’s a liquor that was banned for almost 100 years due to its psychoactive properties (which are brought on by the wormwood that it contains) and a curiously high percentage of alcohol by volume. In other words, it’s a rich man’s moonshine. You’re supposed to drizzle cold water over a sugar cube into 2 oz. of absynthe until there’s a 1:1 ratio of each. We’d never tried it before so we decided to test out a small bottle- lest we find ourselves running naked through the streets after giving it a whirl.
After the solutions are mixed, the lime green colour gives way to a milky white- opaque sort of greenish concoction that’s quite pretty. We really didn’t have enough to judge accurately, but after we’d both had 2 oz., we were pretty laid back. It didn’t make us feel tipsy at all in an alcohol-induced way- but we were strangely subdued. (Josh took the gorgeous pic above with the Lensbaby.)
I’ve been MIA from my blog for quite some time. I haven’t had much to say, but really, I’ve been on a serious sabbatical since graduating in May! And this will be a short entry due to my raging migraine at the moment. (Nothing to do with the absynthe. It’s hormonal.)
I pictured my extended vacation (before graduating) and I saw myself doing a lot of lounging around, catching up on Netflix and just being a glorified beach bum (sans the beach + a dirty river instead). In fact, I’ve done very little of that. I’ve already opened up my first Etsy shop- selling anything and everything that Josh and I make art-wise. He makes clay African heads which are totally badass and also some pretty freaking awesome computer chip earrings and necklaces made from old motherboards. I’m so impressed with his creativity. 🙂 We’ve worked super hard on opening the shop, gathering inventory, and working on our packaging/branding. I won’t announce it here- not yet- because we’re not where I want it to be yet. We’ve only got 15 items listed, so we’re not quite ready to roll out a grand opening. Soon! Also, we’re working on our 2nd shop, which will be nothing like the first one. The first one is a catch-all for anything that strikes our fancy, but the 2nd one is deliberate and focused. So, we’ll be announcing both shops at once in the next few months. And, as much as I hate FB- with every drop in my body (and haven’t been there in 6 years)- I’ve decided to rejoin so that I can do my necessary PR and networking for our shops. Without social media, any business is dead in the water, and you have to PR the shit out of something if you want it to sell- it’s just that simple.
So- in several months, we’ll be linking our two shops here, and also on Facebook and Twitter and all of that good stuff. It won’t be a “fan” account at FB, it’ll be my own name and personal account, but it will double as a PR machine for new pieces we add here and there.
We’re pretty excited about this new direction we’re taking. I knew I wouldn’t be able to freaking lay around doing nothing! That doesn’t really exist in my world.
More on everything later. I currently have a rabid (invisible) critter gnawing at my head and the only thing that’ll help at this stage is to fall blissfully into unconsiousness. So, be well all. I miss everyone. x
National Geographic for Free
I was raised on Nat. Geo.’s as a child. I bounced back and forth between my mom and dad’s house since I was 11 years old. My mom’s house was a bit on the sterile side- no TV- but she always had stacks of Nat. Geo’s. I used to love combing through them and studying the pics: the lighting, composition, angles, perspectives, subject matter and so on. I have no doubt that years of doing that has carved a sharper eye into me and probably is the sole reason I’m a photographer today.
When browsing their website just now (because I have a 10 page experimental psychology report to revise- due by midnight- and what better time to explore the National Geographic website, right?) I came upon their archive section. I discovered that they’re offering FREE digital National Geographics through years 2005-2014. All of the pics, features and other articles are all included. It’s the complete magazine, just virtually presented. Who could pass up free National Geographics? I used to have a subscription but that stopped several years ago, so I’m elated that I’ll be able to catch up on the most recent ones.
If you want to check them out, you can here: Nat. Geo. Archives
I’m currently reading about Sugar from the December 2014 issue. It’s incredible to know that the average American consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar per day. That’s insane!
I have 3 weeks of school left and I know that when I’m finished and take my two year hiatus, I’ll be starving for education. I’m like a human sponge and I research everything. (Heroin junkies, prisons, the Illuminati and old film studios are of particular interest to me.) After I’m out of school, Nat. Geo. will be a good source to please my eye aesthetically, while simultaneously replenishing my thirsty mind.
Currently in my schooling, I’m at 2 A’s and 2 B’s. I’ve been slagging lately. If I really fought for it, I could end up with 3 A’s and 1 B and make the Dean’s list at my 3rd college. (That is sooooo tempting. Alas, I’m a beat puppy at this point and too tired to fight for it.)
So, I’ll end up with 2 A’s and 2 B’s. All I can think about is photography and it’s semi-obsessive. I’m probably going to open up an Etsy shop and sell my prints so that they’re affordable. The going rate for an 8×10 (from most photographers and artists) is $30. Most of my (large) prints are sold for $160+ at Redbubble, but I want to give the average consumer a chance to purchase my work without breaking the bank! So, I’ll start working on that once I finish up with school. I won’t be offering any previous work for sale, because every few years my style changes, and so I want to create an entirely new body of work. It’s part of a healing process as well. As an artist, it’s healthy to wipe the slate clean and start anew.
So I’m off to read National Geographic get started on my psychology report.
Great day all!
My daughter Heidi’s cat, Numa/Helios 44-2 film lens/Canon Rebel XSI/natural lighting
m o n o c h r o m e j u n k i e † 