PATTERNS AND TONES

"The Dolls Adventures in England"  I decided to change the ending in my first children's book "The Dolls Adventures in England"  since it seemed too sad to end on a note of disappointment and loss. So I hit upon the idea of surprise and unexpected elation instead. The premise of the story is that three dolls take a trip to England to surprise their friends: Mr. Brown, Mrs. Stone and Mr. Graves. Each time they try to visit and surprise each friend, they find that they are not at home. As soon as I printed a mock layout, I realized that the end must contain some levity and turning the surprise upon the dolls themselves seemed like a perfect way to conclude their adventures in England. For what child (or adult for that matter) would like to experience disappointment at their failed attempts at surprising their friends? As we will not be back to visit England until the Spring, I decided to photograph the final image here in Los Angeles. Luckily, there is an ...

It's that time of year, when the world falls in love all over again with the ornaments they have collected over the years. At least I do! Each box is opened to reveal an old friend that you haven't seen all year long. Besides my collection of ornaments, as you may know from reading my blog this year, I have a bit of an obsession with paper honeycomb centerpieces! And the Christmas themed centerpieces are really the apex of my collection. Santas, snowmen, angles and bells decorate my house in a mid-century mindset. Their delicate nature is what makes they even more special to me. They have weathered the test of Christmases past and continue to bring my family and guests enjoyment every year they come out to decorate our home. "Mr. Snowman" is one of those friends I look forward to seeing every year! One of my oldest honeycomb centerpieces, this gold top hat 14" snowman is so cheerful and festive, with his gold scarf and cane, and holding a sign wishing a...

SHADOWLAND Photographing shadows for the paper ballet was everything I was hoping it would be: elusive, fleeting, mysterious, transparent, a subconscious perspective. I started by thinking about what shadows I wanted my dancers to have and how their recognizable shapes would relate to and effect the relationships between their images, the background and when seen in a pair, to the other dancer. As I have been creating this series, I have continually been aware of and tried to create tension between the dancers while at the same time incorporating the graphic and natural elements of the sets. Now with this last layer, I am hoping to complete the narrative with these shadows. Although completely independent from both the dancer or the background, I wanted to create a third element that would connect the other two elements together subconsciously. To represent the unfocused awareness and inner knowledge of the dancers visually, I decided to employ shadow to represen...

Yes, it's that time of year when gift giving is in full swing and thoughtful purchases are made for those we love. In the spirit of the season, I thought I would offer my readers an opportunity to purchase archival prints in a limited edition from images I have posted this year. My Etsy store is now open for business! Each Giclée print is stamped and numbered in a limited edition of 25. I have also provided a selection of sizes to choose from. If there is an image that you are interested in that is not in my Etsy store, please don't hesitate to inquire. Printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth Fine Art paper, these museum quality prints are 100% cotton and are archival. Their light fastness has been tested and exceeds a 100 year longevity. "Ice Cream Snowmen"   I hope you have enjoyed reading and looking at Patterns and Tones this year. I look forward to providing you with more enjoyable, entertaining and visually intriguing imagery on a weekly bas...