146: First Day at Phoenix!

Today is a big day. Last week I quit my job, and today I started working part-time as the mosaicist for Phoenix Handcraft, the company my husband and I started just over a year ago. As of today, our family is entirely self-employed. Hoo boy.

 

After organizing my studio that has been deserted and unused since last summer, I began researching material to use on my current project, a kitchen backsplash. I noticed this window next door to one of my stops in search of the perfect tesserae for this project.

 

I spent most of the afternoon working on the layout.

At the end of the day, I took a break and wandered out into the metal studio. This is my husband's newest tool, a flypress. He calls it Smooshy.

122: Working in the Garden

 

   

I spent a few hours working in the garden today. The hottest part of the day, to be exact. I planned to get out there this morning, but first one thing came up, then another, and before I knew it, it was 1:30. Once I finished, I started planning out dinner in my head, then realized I had yet to take a Blue photo today. I felt proud of the work I had accomplished, I was wearing a blue towel around my neck to help keep me cool; a self-portrait seemed only natural. I'm finding myself ironically drawn to self-portraits lately. My natural tendency is to shy away from this genre, which heightens the challenge for me. 

104: Playing Games

74: A Few Milestones

It's always something of a relief when I come up with something for the project early in the day.

I took this shot, then suddenly realized I was running extremely late. So it was a  huge, pleasant surprise at the end of the day to discover it was not a bad shot! I think we can call this my first official Year in Blue self-portrait.

Finally got a chance to revisit these chairs. Much happier with the results. I'm working on fostering patience as a photographer. Many moments are ephemeral and you only get one chance to capture them. That is one of the primary lessons for me in photographing my children. But many other scenes, such as these chairs, last longer. If I don't get it on the first try, I can try again. If I don't like the lighting, I can come back another time. If my schedule is hectic, it will still be there tomorrow.

These flags are hanging at the Lamplighter Roasting Company. I was hoping to find some info online, but there's not much about the coffee roasters beyond one old article. I realized I was feeling more comfortable owning myself as a photographer out in the world when I parked my car at a funny angle (because there were no true available spots), walked right up to the coffee shop, and positioned myself near a couple enjoying their morning coffee at an outdoor table to take this photo. A few weeks ago, I would have been too intimidated by the idea that somebody, anybody might be watching me and wondering what I was doing to even stop the car. The image would have stayed with me, the photograph captured in my imagination, regret poisoning my mood and my self-confidence. I set out to learn some lessons about photography and myself, but I'll admit I expected it to take more time. What a very satisfying experience this has been, and I still have most of the year to go!

52: Flea Market

I stopped by a neglected old shopping center not too far from my house today, thinking it might make for an interesting photo shoot. To my surprise, it looks like the Great Big Flea Market is closed for business. They had only been in this location a short while, in the sort of location that goes empty for long stretches. I always meant to check it out and now it seems I've lost my chance.

You can see in the window reflection the empty parking lot and Family Dollar, one of the three other businesses in this shopping center. The other spots go to one of the inexplicably numerous crab and fish shops on the east end of town, and the Sportsman's Bar and Grille, which I later discovered is biker friendly and serves surprisingly large portions.

I'm still a little unsure about the situation here. This doesn't have the look of a decidedly closed business, and the flea market's website certainly has an "open for business" tone. But the lack of signage that I swear was up  within the last few weeks certainly suggests they closed up shop. Which is disappointing for an area of town that has been in need of an economic recovery  long before the current downturn in the national economy. 

49: Through the Looking Glass

A little voyeurism.

I have heard one opinion that including a bit of a person, who happens to be me, is too much and unnecessary, that the idea of voyeurism is clearly expressed without it. What do you think?

My son spent part of the afternoon drawing, coloring, and cutting out grass and handprint flowers, then taping them to the wall (with my help) to create a mural of sorts. Here it is reflected in a framed print of Albrecht Durer's Knight, Death and the Devil. I like the contrast of the bright colors and tools of creation at the table with the gloom and dark monochrome of the print.