Terraform I, 2010

This study in transformative otherworldly geography is a new fine art photograph of mine that I'm working on together with a series of similar images. The abstract closely resembles what you would see if you were a space alien hovering above a planet to be explored for the purpose of colonization.

"I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems."

~~ Fireflies lyrics, Owl City
by Songwriter Adam Young

Winter Birdhouse on Exhibit at BAYarts Annual Juried Show

First posted this photo with its painterly look in early January to gauge viewer reaction ... Spurred on by the encouraging comments of many blog friends, I decided to enter it in the BAYarts Annual Juried Show with its theme "I Am There: Works that address the issue of place." The place here being a birdhouse both nostalgic and expectant at the Rocky River Nature Center in North Olmsted, Ohio during a snowstorm.

Interesting tidbit to keep in mind about following your heart when you create, and creating what you love. Artists were allowed to submit two works to this show. So I submitted this winter scene out of sentimentality for my favorite season, as befitting a self-proclaimed Queen of Narnia. And then I submitted another piece which was a more modern abstract that I hoped would impress the gallery. Funny thing ... BAYarts chose the one I love and rejected the one I thought they might like.

The art show runs from March 12 through April 3, 2010. Opening reception is March 12 from 7 - 9 pm. Normally I would post a link to the gallery, however the website is undergoing renovation as far as I know. So instead I'll post the address:

BAYarts
28795 Lake Road
Bay Village, Ohio 44140

Volcanic Onion Rings, Lottery, and Life in a Japanese Restaurant

Okay, now this actually happened early in March five years ago. Going through my archives brought back memories, which led to a new piece of art as well, as you will see. Went to a Japanese restaurant and ordered a delicious filet mignon steak grilled up on the hibachi. Was amazed to see the chef create a volcano of onion rings, complete with smoke and flames rising with a steaming sizzle upwards across the restaurant.

The heat from the rising fire was so intense I thought my camera would melt. It sort of jumped around in my hands trying to focus on the light.

A wisp of hibachi smoke in jade green curled its way through the air, rich with the smell of delicious cooking. While this photo was taken years ago, I just came up with this particular rendering of it days ago. In reality, the atmosphere was smoky gray.

Now when you have hibachi cooking in a Japanese restaurant, they like to seat large groups at each table. Singles like me they simply add to an already-formed group of people.

The unknown man next to me was friendly so we struck up a conversation. Never would have guessed, but he was a lottery winner ... of quite a large sum of money. Told me he'd been in a lottery pool of nine people at work and had split the money. Out of the nine, only one had retired from his job to live off his winnings. The other eight kept the normal rhythm of their day jobs and quietly continued going about their regular daily lives.

It might have been that everyone seated around the hibachi grill with me was a lottery winner or somehow connected except for me. That said, the fiery feast with flames leaping up was what attracted the most attention on the surface, and everyone liked it that way. To merely enjoy the simple things of life.

Blue Bridge by JR Sell

J.R. Sell is the artist who masterfully painted the image above called "Blue Bridge." He had seen my photo of the Hemlock Creek Bridge and I was happy to give him permission to transform the snowy winter scene into a brand new work of art in a different medium. He has the finished painting on sale at his Etsy store, and is also offering prints of the Blue Bridge. You are invited to visit J.R. Sell's shop at the following link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/jrsell

J.R. Sell also has a blog over at http://www.jrsell.com/blog/ ...
feel free to take a look at all his fine artwork.

The Blue Bridge is just fabulous. I was comparing it with my original photo and the secondary painterly version I came up with in Photoshop. I just love J.R. Sell's version with its tints and spaciousness, and the way he was able to see beneath the surface of the snow to the rocks below. Having been there in the springtime and seen those rocks in person, I know he did an amazing job of getting them how they look. The true sense of the waterfall really comes through too.

For comparison, here's the original Hemlock Creek Bridge photo:

I've really appreciated having the opportunity to work together with J.R. Sell and hope to do so again someday in the future.

Memories in Bronze

One of my earliest images of the Dreamkeeper Pond at Mapleside Farms in Brunswick, Ohio. This mirror of many moods reflects the nostaglic passage of time fleetingly on its icy surface even as a transformative thaw sets in. Change comes to the larger world too as snow melts along Dreamkeeper's banks and twilight dips its brush down to add a bold stroke of light to well-hidden hints of shadowy trees silhouetted within the pond.

They say March comes in like a lion. So today I will bronze what winter remains, to keep as a treasure.