Studio

CharLee Cherie - 2021.

After months of work I am so terribly happy to actually have a studio space to work out of. I’m even happier when I say something like “Hey, do I know anyone with a ball gag?” and several people reach out to humor some strange ideas floating around in my head.

This was the first time I’ve really been able to use my space to its fullest and even though I had a few kinks (ha) I think I was able to troubleshoot them on the fly pretty well.

CharLee was wonderful as always, and aside from my laptop being on its last legs and it taking me longer to get these out into the world, I can’t wait to keep creating more content in this new space.

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Abby Div - 2019.

I’m honestly not sure how Abby found me. But I do know we have been trying to work together for at least a year now by my count. After several instances of being in the same place at the same time I’m happy that we finally made plans to work together.

Abby and I captured so many great images in our short time together, far too many to share all of them in this post. Maybe a little down the line after these have time to marinate a little bit more I’ll share a few more.

Until then, give these a look:

If you can’t get enough of Abby, or want to book her yourself, make sure you visit her website. And of course because I’m not ashamed to share projects I am fond of, you can also see Abby (and so many others) in Nikola Tamindzic’s book Fucking New York.

The Artist's Way - Week 5

Day 28:
Finally getting around to printing some of my Germany photos. I forgot how good it feels to print. I just can’t believe what I’m getting out of these files.

I just want to give them all away as gifts.

Week 5 Goals:

Morning Pages x7
Artist Date x1
Virtue Trap Quiz
Forbidden Joys Exercise
Complete as many additional Exercises as possible.

Day 28 (Continued):
I just finished the readings for this week, and spent some time getting things pre-typed and ready for my answers below. This week is gonna be good…I have a feeling shit is about to get real.

Virtue Trap Quiz:

  1. The biggest lack in my life is romance

  2. The greatest joy in my life is photography

  3. My largest time commitment is working at my day job

  4. As I play more, I work about the same

  5. I feel guilty that I am

  6. I worry that I will never be able to pay back my debts.

  7. If my dreams come true, my family will hopefully support me in my decisions

  8. I sabotage myself so people will find me useful.

  9. If I let myself feel it, I’m angry that I can’t allow myself to just do what I love

  10. One reason I get so sad sometimes is I don’t allow myself to do what I want to do because I am afraid of spending the money on “unimportant” things.

“Does your life serve you or only others? Are you self destructive?”
— Julia Cameron - The Artist's Way

Forbidden Joys Exercise

“List ten things you love and would love to do but are not allowed to do.”
— Julia Cameron - The Artist's Way

  1. Travel More

  2. Spend more time with Family without having to drive 4 hours

  3. Drive fast

  4. Spend money without feeling guilty

  5. Buy toys from my childhood

  6. Waste time playing video games

  7. Spend a bunch of money on tacky Halloween things

  8. Go Trick or Treat-ing

  9. Spend a ton of money in a real arcade

  10. Spend more time at Conventions.

Wish list, an Exercise

“As quickly as you can finish the following phrases”
— Julia Cameron - The Artist's Way

  1. I wish I had access to a studio space

  2. I wish I was out of debt completely

  3. I wish I was working for myself

  4. I wish I could be happy in my own skin

  5. I wish people would take me seriously as an artist

  6. I wish I never sold my Mustang after college

  7. I wish I had a house I could call mine

  8. I wish I didn’t have to worry about money all the time

  9. I wish I wasn’t so jealous of my other artist friends

  10. I wish more people compensated me for my time and efforts

  11. I wish my day job paid me double what I make now

  12. I wish I didn’t have to work so hard all the time

  13. I wish I didn’t spend a lot of my free time alone

  14. I wish I wasn’t tired all the time

  15. I wish I could travel when I want without having to worry about costs

  16. I wish I had partied more in college

  17. I wish I had more close friends

  18. I wish I didn’t have to hear about politics all the damn time

  19. I most especially wish that I could make a good, honest, living with my art.

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If I were twenty and had money…

List 5 Adventures:

  1. I would have studied abroad

  2. I would have partied more

  3. I would have bought equipment outside of my skill range and shot the hell out of it.

  4. I wouldn’t have student loans now

  5. I probably would be working for myself right now.

Day 31:
The last few days have been a little down. I mean, Tuesday was pretty cool because when all was said and done I got a new flash and some accessories, but today I’ve just felt off.

The Hurricane must be throwing off the pressure in my head.

And it doesn’t really help much that my exercises that I completed today depress the hell out of me.

I feel like I should be in a different place than I am now. Money seems to come up a lot. To be honest I feel like I have some issues surrounding it. Also I know that next week that topic comes up so lets see what next week brings.

But for now, I have some time.

I just need to keep prepping for this weekend’s shoot. I hope I can channel some of this frustration into good art.

Ten ways I am mean to myself are…

“Just as making the positive explicit helps allow it into our lives, making the negative explicit helps us to exorcise it”
— Julia Cameron - The Artist's Way

  1. I dwell on past decisions

  2. I let people talk down to me without speaking up for myself

  3. I talk down to myself

  4. I say mean things to myself in the mirror

  5. I push myself too hard when I need to go easy

  6. I eat my feelings

  7. I question many of my life choices

  8. I don’t exercise enough

  9. I don’t let things go if I say or do something stupid

  10. I think I do a lot of stupid things

Ten items I would like to own but don’t are…

  1. An All-Access Creative Live subscription

  2. A studio space

  3. A new laptop

  4. A secondary full frame camera + Lenses

  5. A fully restored classic car

  6. A house/home/living space

  7. More lighting modifiers

  8. A cat…or maybe ALL of the cats

  9. A nice suit that fits me perfectly

  10. An arcade machine

Oh man could I easily list more than just 10…

Oh man could I easily list more than just 10…

And if by random happenstance you want to buy something for me from my Amazon wish list. I won’t stop you. You can access it here: http://a.co/5DxeOT5

Day 32:
Something is happening.

I have an idea. I don’t know if it’s going to work…but I’m going to try it.

I have an idea. I don’t know if it’s going to work…but I’m going to try it.

Protip: The worst someone can say is “No”.

Protip: The worst someone can say is “No”.

Check In

How many days this week did you do your morning pages? Are you starting to like them–At all? How was the experience for you? I completed all of my morning pages this week. So far I’m not having too much trouble completing the pages. I’m still not sure its working the way that it should be, I mean I am getting some insight into some of my issues, but I don’t think it’s going as well as it is “supposed” to be going.

On the plus side I feel like I’m handling stressers better, and for the most part I feel better day to day. So that’s a plus side I guess.

Did you do your artist date this week? Have you had the experience of hearing answers during the leisure time? What did you do for your date? How did it feel? Have you taken an artist date yet that really felt adventurous? I guess I did my date? I took a trip to Ikea for batteries. I always like walking around Ikea. I find it both inspiring and incredibly frustrating. I want my crazy awesome living room/office/studio apartment. I really don’t need a large living space. A studio is a different story.

I don’t think I am hearing any answers to any of the questions I’m asking. Which makes me wonder if I’m asking the right ones.

I haven’t really done anything “adventurous” yet. I’m not sure what I could do that makes me feel that way. I’m not even sure if I’m taking the right dates. I tend to just keep doing things that allow me to take a break from the day to day and allow my thoughts to keep moving.

Did you experience any synchronicity this week? What was it? Try inaugurating a conversation on synchronicity with your friends. I was browsing Twitter on Friday night and came across a Tweet from the official TAW page that was on the topic of Week 5…AS I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF WEEK 5! That was pretty neat. I’ll share it below:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artistswaycre8/2018/10/12/finding-water-week-5-autonomy

Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery? Describe them. By the end of tomorrow when this goes live I can say…I shot something! Last year I missed my Halloween series, so I made sure that this year something got shot. I’m also in the planning phases for something else that hopefully will be super exciting. This will be the first time I’ve used my camera to take a portrait since before DragonCon. And hopefully I can keep making progress to keep making new work between now and the end of the year.

Ecto Proxy – EPK Photos (Part 1 Studio).

Back in November, I had the chance to shoot a round of EPK (Electronic Press Kit) photos for Finite Automata. If you don't recognize that name just take a look at the last few blog posts and refresh yourself.  At the time, there were just two members, but since at point a third has been added. This entry is not about that band, but instead another great project by the name of Ecto Proxy. 

Damian, Coco, Cody, and I entered into talks to provide some shots for their press kit a few weeks back. We thought through a multi-part concept, for a few different setups. Since Damian will be leaving for a tour at the end of the month, we made sure to snatch up any time we could and work out some time to get at least a few photos taken. 

The photos themselves as they are, stand on their own, but I am excited to see what these turn into as Damian and Cody both are experienced and talented graphic designers. Once I see the final images as they will be presented I may update this post (or possibly give them a shout out of their own). But until then, be sure to check out Ecto Proxy (Facebook/Soundcloud) and give them a like. Big things are coming soon out of these three. 

 

 

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