sharing and community . . . . and a nice dose of dreaming

I'm very honored to be asked to take part in this year's Art Alfresco event sponsored by Viking Range and the Alluvian Hotel. From 5 PM until 8 Pm on Thursday, September 18 the streets of downtown Greenwood, Mississippi will be filled with music, laughter, and art. The event is all about celebrating the art of our region, and many of the businesses in Greenwood will be sponsoring local and regional artists. I'll be showing some new stuff at the Alluvian Hotel and would love for any and all of you to come by and visit. We've got a pretty hefty dinner reservation at Giardina's around 8:30 or 9:00, so if you're around for dinner, come join us! We should have plenty of room, and it's always fun to share a great night with lots of great people!


Hope to see you there!


~wj

continuing to learn . . . .

I spent a few days recently in Asheville, North Carolina with two of my great photographer friends, Corey McNabb and Amber Holritz at their most recent McWorkshop. I was only able to attend two days out of the five day event, but they were well worth it. You never stop learning, and my trip was a great example of that.

This week wasn't all about photography (though I learned so many great things that I can't wait to implement), it was about taking a step when you're a bit hesitant to do so, being active rather than passive, and making an effort to connect with others.

I laughed more in two days than I have in quite some time. I learned a lot about myself, my photography, and my friends. And made several new ones. Thanks for letting me hang out guys, I had a blast and learned more than you probably realize.

If any of you readers get a chance, go check out some of these great photographers that were at the workshop with me:

Jessica Campbell
Laurie Johnson
Jessica Powell
Jill Schwarzkopf
Mariah Smith
Chris Young
Maureen Swanson

And finally, a few images I created while I was there:


~wj

Connecting . . . . and reconnecting . . . .

It’s been an odd yet fascinating summer for me.

Over the last two months or so, I’ve connected with so many new people. Lots of new artist friends, many new clients, and even a few random people I’ve met on a couple of trips. And at the same time, I’ve reconnected with many old, wonderful friends that for some reason or another had drifted away a bit. No one’s fault really. It’s a part of life that happens all to easily if we don’t stay very focused on NOT letting it happen. In addition to all of this newness, many of my current relationships have been strengthened as well. We spend so many days side by side our “regular” groups that sometimes we just stop learning new things about them. So I’ve made it a point to work on that as well.

Connection.

I think we all feel it. Not necessarily in the same ways, but we feel it. Our paths are usually so vastly different, yet the destinations are often eerily similar. So this summer, for some reason, I seem to have a hyper realization of this connection.

I’ve seen areas where my own life begins to become disconnected. Things begin to unravel, and when they do, it happens very, very quickly. Work related stress creeps in. We worry about our children, our friends, our families and the well being of each of them (and rightfully so). We are envious at the accolades and achievements of another person in our circle. We are too worn out to complete the mundane necessities that everyday life requires to keep us plugging forward. We stop striving and begin maintaining. With little knowledge of what that maintenance requires.

This is where our connection with others – as well as ourselves – is so important. We need our friends and families to help pull us up when we start to slip. But we also need the connection with ourselves to recognize when things are not exactly the way we would like them to be. After all, we cannot begin to overcome an obstacle if we don’t recognize that obstacle in the first place.

We constantly stray from whatever our paths may be. Rarely do we do this intentionally, but it happens nonetheless. It is our connection to the world within us and around us that pulls us back on course. We need that connection in order to continue on our journeys.

I know that every single one of you who is reading this has some aspect of your lives that feels out of control. Even if things may be going well, there’s still at least one thing gnawing away at you that you just can’t seem to get a grip on – at least not in the way you’d prefer.

Here’s my suggestion.

Stop focusing on it. Shift your energy to visiting with old friends. See if you can make new ones. Reach out. Explore. Learn. Connect with the world around you. Then, turn inward, be brutally honest with yourself, and try doing at least one thing differently in your life.

You might just find that those areas spinning out of control come back into focus. Or, perhaps even better, that they just weren’t that important to begin with, and you let them spin away until they’re gone forever.

I hope you all find everything you are looking for, and that you recognize it when it's presented.


~wj

warner ~backyard exploration

Having trouble viewing the images above? Click HERE for an alternative html gallery.

It's been a few weeks, but I went to Clarksdale recently to create some images of Warner. We had a great time following him around the house, and then headed outside to let him explore even more. He was very curious and I got a nice little workout following him around, but it was well worth it.

I love the curiosity of children. When they enter that zone of genuine wide-eyed wonderment it is a beautiful thing to watch. And the images that come when you let a child just wander and explore the world around him tend to have so much truth in them. I really enjoyed my morning with Warner and I'm thrilled with the images we created. I hope you will be as well.

Take care, and never forget that your backyard is filled with more answers than you might think.


~wj

White Linen. --nola

All the galleries are open. The streets are packed. Good night for one
of my favorite cities.

~wj

------------------------

via iPhone