Yesterday I photographed Mark for his new company website. It was cold, really cold. But mark was a great sport about the temperature and I’m happy with the shots that we were able to get! 

Hello All!!

Just a reminder that this Sunday is another Headshots Day at the studio! WE are completely booked except for a spot or two in the morning, so sign up soon if you want to participate!

You must Pre-Register for this event! Here is a link to the order form: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sxSFQGQT2aOZugQ3ULXG7ChIrJfoyvehgu1eKYbwzAE/edit?hl=en&authkey=CJzswOkP

The Home Project: Part One

Please join me for my gallery talk tomorrow at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design as I discuss my in-progress project.

When: Thursday, March 24th at 1:00pm-2:00pm

Where: Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Perspectives Gallery (Second Floor, Photography Department)

273 E. Erie St. Milwaukee, WI 53202

About the Project:

The Home Project is an in-progress collaboration between myself and Jennifer Johung, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art History at the University of Wisconsin (www.johung.com). Johung is publishing a book entitled “Replacing Home’ which addresses the changing definition and experience of place.

When I stopped to think about a word as vernacular as home, I realized that it’s rich with meaning. I thought about what a home is, and what that word really means, and discovered that it was impossible to truly define. During conversations with others, the definition continued to change and expand, depending on whom I was speaking with. This is when I became interested in the concept of home as a subject matter.

I was inspired to express my thoughts on home through conceptual garments. The garments and the photographs can speak to the emotional and intangible ideas I have.

Johung is originally from California. This garment and series of photographs speak to a number of issues: feeling out of place, the contrast between West Coast garments and Midwest weather, the fragility and beauty of temporary locations, and being torn between two different homes.

I developed a way to print Johung’s book onto the tissue.  With the help of fashion designer Laddhavan Sutana (www.sutana.com), I designed and created a dress made out of Kleenex tissue. It seemed appropriate to have Johung wear her book, which is one of the reasons that brought her to Milwaukee and landed her a job at UWM. However, since the nature of academic careers can be unstable, I made the dress out of a material that appears beautiful, but is not sustainable.

I see this as a dyptch project, with the second half commencing in California. I have designed a knitwear piece that I will be producing with Sutana. The piece will reference the concept of a cacoon, which speaks to the comfort that we can feel in a home, and perhaps, the fear of change.

We are currently raising funds to bring the second half of this project to fruition. 

I’ve been working with Stag Barbershop owner, Jess Stern on photographs that feature her, her business, and also the products that she carries. One of the companies she works with is called Lock, Stock, and Barrel (http://www.groomingmen.com).

Recently InStyle Australia featured an article on Lock, Stock, and Barrel that incorporated one of our photographs! (Ours is the photo on the left)

Jess and I also traveled to Los Angeles and met Matt Ruggieri, owner of The Motley (http://www.themotley.com) which is an online store for men’s grooming products. He was really awesome to meet, and showed us some of the new products he’s carrying, which included some black soap from Japan. Jess gave him a haircut while we were there and I was pretty amazed at the transformation! 

Check out the book that showcases my photographs and Stag Barbershop:

http://www.blurb.com/books/2000796

Lastly, I will be showing on Gallery Night, April 15th at Stag Barbershop:

You must Pre-Register for this event! Here is a link to the order form: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sxSFQGQT2aOZugQ3ULXG7ChIrJfoyvehgu1eKYbwzAE/edit?hl=en&authkey=CJzswOkP