Mornings are always good, but this one …
Is especially nice.
I woke up to find that my IPAD2 design was accepted for best designs. The case features a shot from my white daisies series of photographs.
Daisies
Happy Friday!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Warm Memories on a Cold Winter Day
We are finally having a touch of winter in Pennsylvania. There is not much snow to speak of, but the temperature and wind chill are certainly winterlike.
So, after 90 minutes of kick-butt cardio and some heavy lifting at the gym, some house cleaning and a little walk with the dogs, I hunkered down to go through old photographs. I do a sorting, of sorts, every so often, to determine what will stay in my hard drives and what gets moved to the never to be seen again files.
I found some old shots that I really love and have done nothing with, so far. I thought I would share some wintery scenes with you. The black and white photographs were made six years ago in the Shenandoah Heights area of the hard coal region, where I was born and raised.
Woodland Winter Walk
When I found them, I decided my Holga and I were going to be re-acquainted for some photo fun. The Holga is a cheap, plastic camera with an equally cheap plastic lens. Cheap, plastic, hmm… So, how can you make art with something like THAT? Oh, with your eyes, of course. It’s about “seeing.”
Beyond this, though, one who works with a Holga control has little control over the final outcome. The camera leaks light, vignettes, falls open. Whatever! I’ve made some of my most salable and award-winning prints with this a Holga. And, digital geek that I am, I still love using it.
Bedazzle
I invested in a Diana (a Holga by another name, really) lens for my digital camera. It works okay, but a Holga it is not. I’d rather spend the pennies for some black-and-white 120 film and borrow Jay’s electrical tape (to hold my Holga closed and prevent some light leaks) than put the newfangled Diana lens on my digital Canon.
Bedazzle is a photograph also made in my film days. I remember the day I made it. I was in Shenandoah Heights, slipping, siding and laughing my way through a morning of fun with the pups and my cameras.
This final scene was made two years ago this weekend. You remember THAT winter, right? We had two blizzards in two weeks. Besides having great times outdoors with Mother Nature and my cameras, what I remember most about that winter is that I ate a lot of whole wheat pancakes with zero guilt. I figured all the snow-shoeing and shoveling would allow me to splurge on those additional calories. Because, come on, a cold morning, you just don’t eat one pancake. You eat a plateful with a quarter pound of butter and half a gallon of real Pennsylvania maple syrup or Pennsylvania honey – or both.
Stay warm. Me? I think I’m praying for another blizzard.
It's Snowing by Christine Goldbeck
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Girls Who Wear Glasses ...
In winter, I need to push myself out of hibernation mode and into the usual-Christine-way-of-being. Short, sometimes sunless, days make me want to get in my PJs and snuggle down with books. Not that there is anything wrong with this, of course, but when it's cold and gray, I could do that 24/7. So, this winter, I am taking - AGAIN because I learn so much from Elaine Brady Smith - "Mixed Media Collage" at the Art Association of Harrisburg.
Forcing myself to get out usually boosts my creative energyand forcing myself to learn new things often leads me to new ways of thinking and doing my art. So, it is with my "Girls Who Wear Glasses" Series, the first of which is "Rose-Colored Glasses."
- Rose-Colored Glasses
I was driving home after this week's class when the idea hit me. The second collage I made, which is not quite ready for prime time, features a deer wearing a mask, which was a finishing touch on the piece inspired by a need for a certain color and a little red-wine. (Hey, it was 10:30 or so last Saturday night, so a glass of vino was appropriate).
I think the title for the collection comes from the early 20th Century American Writer Dorothy Parker, who said “Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.” Parker is among my favorite authors and I wish I would have known her. She is also responsible for witticisms such as “Time doth flit; oh shit" and “You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think.”
I could easily get myself sidetracked on a monologue about Dotty; however, I shall get back to the points I intended. (1) I am glad I force myself out of my comfort zone and (2) New ways of thinking and doing are good for us, all of us, not just so-called creative types, like me.
Keep your mind open to new ways of seeing, eh? It's healthy. And, please, keep your eyes open for more "Girls Who Wear Glasses."
Monday, January 16, 2012
What is YOUR dream for the world?
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| A quiet space to talk ... Do we do this anymore? |
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Shop and $AVE Local
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Monday, October 24, 2011
Juried into Philadelphia Sketch Club "PHOTOgraphy 2011"
The Philadelphia Sketch Club notified me this morning via email that two of my photographs have been juried into its upcoming show, “PHOTOgraphy 2011.”
First Light
The juror was Lori Waselchuk, a nationally-known documentary photographer and arts activist. Her photographs have appeared in magazines and newspapers worldwide, includingNewsweek, LIFE, and The New York Times. She is a recipient of the Aaron Siskind Foundation’s 2009 Individual Photographer Fellowship, the 2007 PhotoNOLA Review Prize and has earned numerous other awards.
The Philadelphia Sketch Club, formed in 1860, is America’s oldest continuously operating club for professional artists and their admirers. It is locatedat 235 S. Camac Street (between 12th and 13th, Locust and Spruce streets) in Center City, Philadelphia.
There will be a reception and awards ceremony for PHOTOgraphy 2011 on Sunday, Nov. 6 from 2 to 4 p.m.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Hiding out in the studio
Honestly, for as much as I like discussion and adventure, I am also perfectly happy hiding out, as I have been doing these last several days in my studio at Arts on Union.
Full Moon on the Creek
It’s a bit difficult to get around due to the historic flood that has ravagedMiddletown and much of the Susquehanna Valley. So, other than bicycle riding and walking, I have been in the studio, painting and preparing inventory for Gallery Walk and upcoming fall shows. “Full Moon on the Creek,” pictured here, is a darker piece, indeed, especially for me. It fits though, what with the sadness one cannot help but feel when one is witness to the aftermath of a fury unleashed by water.
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