Pearls

Pearls

We know it's time for James to leave for work when we hear the sprinklers go on. And every morning when he leaves, I see the droplets of water on the plants outside glistening silvery in the early morning light. (He starts work early.) They look a little bit like pearls, don't you think?

Have a peaceful Thursday

 

"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself." - Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Just a few little pictures to hopefully set you at peace for your day.

Who knew that photography could feel terrifyingly revealing?

I have a secret.

It's been a long time since I've had the urge to go out with my camera. A long time. Sure, this blog is full of pictures, but those are taken with my phone and somehow don't count in my mind as pursuing photography. I've felt a fair amount of guilt over this lack of interest in taking pictures the way I used to. I've taken my camera out with me because I felt I ought to - after all, I saved up to buy a DSLR, I spent 4 years at college (overseas, no less) to make my photography dreams a reality, I've spent time and money entering exhibitions or putting my own together, printing images, framing, and now...that love has just been...gone.

I've wondered, too many times to count, if I ever had any talent to begin with, or if the decent pictures I've done have been just beginners luck. (Really, who among us hasn't had those kinds of thoughts?) I guess I've just been in a rut with no idea how to get out. What inspired me during college (weekend journeys to the English countryside) is no longer possible (geographically speaking), and I don't have the luxury of just being able to take off on a trip (work and responsibilities really put a kink in that one). So I guess I've been searching for new inspiration.

At long last, I felt the call yesterday to grab my camera and just go. I forced all those little voices saying "not good enough" into a corner and resolved to ignore them. My whole entire goal for today was go get up early and head out to Peters Canyon with my camera and tripod and walk and walk and take pictures - not even a lot of pictures, just a handful. If most of them are awful, who cares, just take them anyway, and hopefully there will be ONE that is sort of okay. ONE that I can be happy with.

I came back with 4 that I like. I don't know if they're any good or not, but it's a start. And it seems like maybe a new style might be trying to emerge, perhaps influenced by all those pictures snapped with my camera these last couple of years.

Ladybug

Stream

Twig

Bridge

Maybe, if you're an artist or seeking your creative path, some of this rings true with you. Maybe not. This is all just terrifying revealing.

By the way, a two-hour walk looking at trees, leaves and streams can definitely cure what ails you! 

Look What I Found at the Orange County Fair!

The Road Through Bodie, photograph by Jennifer Geisert - that's me!

I entered the Orange County Fair again this year, and I won a second place for my photograph "The Road Through Bodie"! Yeeeeaaahhh!!!!

Bodie is a really amazing ghost town in northern California that's now a state park kept in "arrested decay." I first visited it when I was about 13 or 14, and the landscape has always stayed with me. When I started using the TTV photography technique, I thought it would be perfectly suited to capture images of Bodie, and I had the opportunity to do just that last October. (My family is great for putting up with my photo-obsessiveness!) What I love about the viewfinder images is that current images are made to look old - there's just something about the twist of perception that I'm really drawn to.

So, if you're in Orange County, check out the visual arts section at the OC Fair! There are some really fabulous photographs, and you might just find something you can't live without. And, if you get the chance, visit Bodie and see how great it is for yourself!

Come See This Show!

Opens this Saturday! Don't miss it!

I have a slightly shameless plug to make: come to this show on Saturday night to support some really talented local artists!! And, come to this show on Saturday to support ME, because it's a show I and my co-workers have spent lots of hours working on for the last couple of months, AND I also happen to be one of the artists included in it!!

Over 130 pieces of art were submitted and our juror, Mary Aslin, accepted close to 80 for exhibition. (She did not know that I had submitted something, she was un-biased.) We now have the gigantic task of arranging and hanging the show before Saturday. Wish us luck.

Here's what you need to know...

Viewpoints Orange County All Media

at Chemers Gallery

17300 17th St, Ste. G, Tustin CA

Opening Reception April 27, 5:30 - 8:00p

Show continues through May 11

See you Saturday!

Artwork, aka Please Don't Steal My Car

I'm usually really bad at letting people know that I have artwork on view while the show is still going on, but hey, I'm slightly better than normal this evening. SO! If you're in southern California, go see the Orange County Fair and find my artwork! It's on until August 12th, so you still have a little time to check this out:



The Writer



Lighter Than Air - I won an honorable mention!

 The photograph is in the Non-Traditional Color prints section, and the fabric collage is in the Professional Graphics (??) section. (I give two "??" because the thought of me doing anything graphics related is somewhat rediculous.) Lighter Than Air was at the Scenes of Tustin exhibition at Chemers Gallery earlier in the year. You'd think I really knew how to quilt, wouldn't you?

In other news, I kitted my car out with a MasterLock (same thing as The Club, except not bright red). My neighbor's car got broken into last night, and since the only thing of value in my car is my car itself, I'd rather it not be stollen, thank you very much. I'll probably forget I've gotten one, get in my car tomorrow to go to work, and go "OMG, what the hell?? Oh yeah..." Seriously though....please don't steal my car.

The Fruits of my Labors

Remember this?

Work in Progress

It turned into this:


Lighter Than Air, fabric, thread & paint

It's my rendition of our local Marine Corps Air Station LTA Base in Tustin, done for the "Scenes of Tustin" exhibition at Chemers Gallery. I used a vintage photograph as my starting point for this one, although it makes for a much better story if I tell people I chartered a helicopter and hung out the side with my camera to get the ariel shot...There are these two huge wooden blimp hangers there, and I've always loved them, so when this exhibition came around again (it's an annual show with the Tustin Art League), I decided to just do it and see what happened. It's a big departure from my usual artwork, which is photography, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out or if anyone would even like it, but surprisingly, people did! I'd like to do another one of something else once the inspiration strikes. I basically took an old photo, drew it bigger, made a pattern out of it, and hand-stitched a lot of fabric onto a stretched and painted piece of fabric.
Also, I went to Peters Canyon and wandered around with James and my camera and took this photo:

Boundary, digital photograph

This is much more typical of me as an artist. I like to photograph things that look a little lonely, for some reason. I like this fencepost, although I did overhear one person say "Well, I certainly wouldn't hang this in my living room!" but who cares. You can't please everyone!


Show Layout

 *Unfortunetelly I am waaaay behind the 8-ball and "Scenes of Tustin" is already finished. Hopefully next year I'll be a bit more organized in my personal life. I do think that any organizational skills I have are put to use at work and then I have nothing left by the time I get home.  




Catching Up

Remember way back when, when I told you I had some news about the OC Fair? Well, I was bad and never followed that one up. I'm only human.

So even though it seems like the fair is loooong gone, and you've no chance to see it in person*, here's my news:

The Greenhouse, copyright Jennifer Geisert

My photo won a blue ribbon! Hooray!!
Judging this year must have been tremendously difficult. Over 4,000 photographs were entered, and only about 900 or so were selected for exhibition. Of those 900 photos they were split into Amateur and Professional, and from there they were split even further into classes and categories. Among this years judges were Jeff Alu, assistant director at the Orance County Center for Contemporary Art, Susan Spiritus of the Susan Spiritus Gallery of Fine Art Photography, and several professional photographers and educators.

I'm particularly fond of the piece I entered as it shows my friend Eleanor's back garden in London. Obviously it makes me think of the evening I took the picture this past May, when I stayed with her for a few days and we ate our dinner outside in the sunset, but it also reminds me of all the times I've spent with her. We'd get together most Sundays for coffee and cakes at our favorite local place, Cafe Mozart (sadly it's no longer there), and sometimes we'd take her dog Ruggles for walks on Hampstead Heath and end up at the Bull and Last pub. We've had BBQs in her garden and celebrated Guy Fawkes day with bonfires and fireworks with friends and family.

Amazing how just one image can stir so many memories, isn't it?

*Even though you can't see this anywhere in person at the moment, you can see it on my website. Hope you enjoy!

For the Love of Peculiar

Ever since my first high school photography class, I've had a fascination with pictures and what they mean. As a (semi) practicing artist today, I'm interested in making things look like something they're not, or making something out of several things that are kind of unexpected. It's probably why I'm drawn to TTV photography, because it means I can take a modern picture and make it look like it's not modern.


The Collection, copyright Jennifer Geisert

Another thing I've had an interest in is collecting vintage photographs. These are memories that no one remembers anymore, taken completely out of context. The faces and period dress make me wonder what was happening in the frame, and who the people were. 

My Grandfather, Italy

I've always wondered what would happen if we assigned new memories to these photographs, what sort of meaning we could give them. The possibilities are absolutely endless. So when I was in the bookstore the other day and found Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I was intrigued. When I flipped through and found the text peppered with strange, haunting photographs, I was hooked.


Written by Ransom Riggs

The author, Ransom Riggs, has taken this collection of found images and made them into a fantastical story. Some of the images are a little creepy and make me think of Diane Arbus (one of my favorites), and some of the images are fairly pedestrian but have taken on a creepy feeling because of the text. It's an interesting book, and as an "art project," I loved it. Not so much for the plot, more for the concept. However, I think that the next time I read it I'll get more into the story itself and less into the whole "It's a book with vintage creepy photography, this guy is the best!" Can't wait to see what else he's going to do.
Anyway, I've been inspired to add to my collection of vintage pics. Here are some of my finds:

So many posibilities...the artist in me is excited!

What are they deep-frying this year?

Baby Chickens

It's that time of year again, when Costa Mesa begins to smell of BBQ and weird deep-fried food, when carnival rides and funhouses are errected seemingly overnight, when we start to dream of cotton candy and Alaskan pig races and baby chickens and pies that are just right. You guessed it, it's time for the Orange County Fair!



Strange Dancing Animals

I've always loved the fair. When I was younger I loved going to look at the animals raised by the local 4H programs (okay, I still love doing that) and seeing what sorts of weird stuff people collected (still love doing that too). When I got to be a little older, like a teenager, I used to go with my friends to play carnival games and ride the rides. (Some boys always thought it was HILARIOUS to rock the cart of the Ferris wheel. NOT funny.) Now as a "grown up," I love to look at the artwork that local ametur and professional artists submit. I've even joined in the fun and submitted works myself!


The Greenhouse, copyright Jennifer Geisert

 This year my entry into the photography section is another TTV picture. It's the lovely greenhouse in Eleanor's back garden in north London with the late afternoon sun shining over the pond. Don't you just want to sit and rest here awhile?

I also entered these photos into the fair, but they weren't accepted. Oh well, there's always next year and other photo exhibitions!

Country Walk, copyright Jennifer Geisert

Stately, copyright Jennifer Geisert

What do you like about your local county fair? 

Commissions: The Good

Doing work on commission is fun, but I always get really nervous. Most of the time it's a gift I'm asked to work on, so I worry about what the person who asked me to make something with think, and then I also worry about what the person receiving the gift will think. But, I have to remember that I'm my own worst critic, as I'm sure many of you out there are.

A guy I work with asked me to make a necklace for his wife for her birthday. I know his wife a little, but I needed some serious help to figure out what to make. She's not particularly religious, but loves religious symbolism. Perfect! I'm not Catholic, but I have a thing for Catholic imagery, and as a result have a number of photographs of churches, prayer candles, and the Madonna in my stash. I started with this photograph, taken in a tiny church in Venice:

Venice, Italy

Then I started agonizing over what the backside of the necklace should look like. I finally decided to use a blue silk fabric that related to the blue of the Virgin Mary's robe, with a little bit of lace and a butterfly cut-out. According to my Dictionary of Symbols (picked up who-knows-where, but it sure comes in handy), butterflies are "an emblem of the soul and of unconscious attraction towards the light."

Lace

Sides

Hoping to not find out that she hates the color blue (this necklace is fairly blue-tastic), I boxed it up and took it to work.

Front

Back

Thankfully, she loved it and put it on right away. That's what I love about creating a custom jewelry piece for someone.

Check out my other necklaces at thepigandpepper.etsy.com!

Playing Catch-Up

I've been bad. I haven't posted in quite awhile.

Here's what you missed:

Etsy Samples

1. Samples from the CCCOE Team arrived - YAY! It was like Christmas in my mailbox.

Silver Lining - Sold!

2. I had two photos in a local exhibition and am so thrilled to say that one of them sold and the other was accepted into the Orange County Fair!

Sketchbook Project - Study

3. I signed up to participate in The Sketchbook Project and have been a lean, mean, creating machine ever since.

Mawi

4. My family was faced with the difficult decision to let go of our cat, Mawi. We lost a little light in the world, and I've been finding it quite difficult to come to terms with.

5. I've been re-discovering my love for yoga.

LA Arboretum

6. I finally discovered what the LA Arboretum is all about. If you don't know yet, go. Now.

San Francisco

7. My husband and I are about to leave on a much-needed 3 day trip to San Francisco. I can't get the thought of all that yummy food and artwork out of my head.

I'll try to be better from now on...