from the sketchbook

I've been writing in this sketch-book on and off for a couple of years. It's not filled, but I thought I'd share a little with you.

fake writing

this looks like a plan for the year. I think it was early 2006

Tiffany eating pizza

There was a month were I became obsessed with the Westfield River valley. I don't know if I have any pictures from trips there, but i took a couple of notes

Cadbury

Kristin and Paul were talking about making a large table for their studio. I drew up this plan for the table

the dimensions. the table never appeared

I have no idea who Misha is. The second page looks like a card rack and a shopping cart

again, who?

Tiffany again

This is a design for a glass tube that could connect two fish tanks so that our fish could move from one space to the other

super market

i bought a new memory card for my camera. i feel like i can work in photoshop with the larger file-size
we also stopped at the supermarket for a pre-made pizza. I invested in some stain removing supplies

I had a very difficult day today. I stopped in Shelburne this morning to meet Tom. It went well, we talked about teaching photo, working in photo and self-promotion. Some of the things he said about the different marketplaces for photography made some real sense to me. I took pictures afterwards when I was waiting for my ride to show up. I wished that I could have stayed there all day and seen my friends.
I love being home on rainy days. Let me sit for an hour or two to watch a puddle grow.
I only see family now, my grandmother, my mother and sometimes my sister and family. I miss my friends.
In class the other day we talked about cliche photographs that appear in intro to photography over and over again. I said that the foot-shot is one and how interesting it might be to pursue a well-worn cliche until you find something interesting.
Sometimes the world in my mind is so close to the world around me,
And sometimes the world in my mind is so close I can't see the world around,
And then my throat closes tight
and the walls come up
and I'm left standing in the rain.

life and death

I drove from Shelburne to Greenfield the other day through Colrain.
Center of Colrain
At work I found a dead baby bird. I brought it home and am trying to decide how to strip it of the flesh. I may explore the gruesome options in another post.
This evening we went out to eat at the pasta place in Amherst. Tiffany itches her eyes.
and sipped lemonaid

image making

I took two days off teaching photo at ASR so I could teach photo at Insight. The kids were awesome and made incredible pictures.
On Friday Ellen taught with me.
The heavens opening up!
Tiffany found some cyanotype paper, we spent Saturday cleaning the house and making contact prints of old 4x5 negs. Sara, Mat and baby Is.
Got to get a hold on this series. Mats, frames, and maybe a show or something.

bits and things

This is my trashy car floor
Tiffany rocking out in my sneaks
I bought a basketball.
Jay had a 4th/going away party. Here's Christopher at the party and some lady.
Christopher again
Shadowy Tiffany
Shadow man talking to Colleen
We helped my mom take down a wall in the basement to make room for a new oil tank. It kind of looks like it was an old shipping container.
Mining for dusty boards in the cellar.
Salad reward

toe day

On Sunday I fell and sprained my thumb. I was smart: I iced it, talked to the nurse, filled out the correct forms at work, etc. But then, Monday evening I noticed that my pinkie toe on my right side was also sore. I soaked it, but then kind of forgot about it and went to work. This morning I woke at four in the morning with a throbbing toe. So, today I called into work and tried the RICE first aid technique: rest, ice, compression, elevation.

The Culprit:
I started getting bored pretty early.

But at least I had a chance to pay bills and get a hold of debt. Here's my home office.
Our bedroom is looking pretty nice these days.
Okay, here I am making an effort to rest and ice and elevate.
This is my best "Rear Window" impression. The look on my face is because I'm using the Pentax 67 with a Tiltall tripod, a sure recipe for frustration.
Frustrated enough to pack up for a trip to the bank, of course just as I'm ready to go it starts to rain.
and pour
But it was just a cloud-burst. Time to get up!
During the day sirens scream down Main Street every half hour or so. Frightening. Here is one.
I went out for pizza
I looked out the window at Roberto's and saw my bike contrasting nice with this truck.
then this...
now Tiffany is back and I can ask her to do things for me. Yeah!