winter cooking

Cooking in winter is not as inspiring to me as cooking in spring or summer, since of course the vegetable selection is not as great. Still, a warm meal in winter is important, especially with all of the snow we've been having lately!

natural/unnatural

Excited to be a part of The Fuse Factory's Natural/Unnatural exhibit in February! I just found out yesterday.

the mysterious apple

Last week, I purchased a bag of apples. One apple had a bad spot on it, and rather than throwing it in the trash (fyi, I'm going to build a compost bin this spring!), I tossed it out my back door for some reason. I wondered if a nearby animal might enjoy it.

The next day, when I went outside, the apple wasn't gone, but it had moved to this spot on the fence. Pretty strange! It stayed that way for about three days before disappearing. Any thoughts?

behold the puffy coat

Since the Ohio winter first set in (which to me, if I had to name the exact moment, was when I saw the first snowflake, in early November, but true Ohioans would certainly beg to differ; in fact, most of them continue to tell me that "real" winter is not even here yet!) I have been so adverse to the cold. I joke about my Southern blood being too thin (it is, it is) and about my wardrobe consisting almost entirely of short-sleeved t-shirts and t-shirt-weight cardigans (it does, it does--I pulled out my heaviest clothing back after that first snowflake sighting), but behind all of the joking, truly there is a very cold girl. While I'm still learning to deal with the cold (rule #1--behold the puffy coat!), one thing I have realized is that slowing down and staying inside helps a lot. I am learning not to feel guilty for not being busy enough! And I've realized just how many things--leisurely things, if you will, not busy things--I can work on while I'm bundled up by my trusty space heater. I'm thinking cooking, crafting, doodling, reading, organizing (when spring finally comes, hello, I will not be inside doing spring cleaning!), etc. I'm learning to use this cold for my personal benefit.

new work, pt 1

6"x6", silver gelatin prints, 2010.

My next few posts are going to be about new work I've done since beginning grad school. I've been holding out on sharing it, but I feel now is a good time to start.

These first three are from a class I took last quarter called Alternative Camera Systems. We explored the use of plastic cameras and pinhole cameras. These images are from my final project, a documentary on roadside farm markets in central Ohio. The series (as of now) includes 12 images total, so I'll post more soon. I'm going to be continuing the project, but I'm not sure if I'll keep using a Holga to shoot them.

I've always been a 35 mm kind of girl, but using the Holga opened my eyes to medium format. It sounds silly to say, as if I didn't already know how much better medium format would be. I did, but I was adverse to the change. It costs more to shoot medium format and I don't own a medium format camera (besides the Holga). I've been convinced and now I'm in the market for something more substantial. I've been doing my research and I have a few cameras in mind (my budget will afford me something vintage--yes, let's use that charming adjective--maybe when I'm rich and famous I'll get an automatic Hassy) so before long I'm hoping you'll be reading an entry here about my new camera.

p.s. That first image is available as my swap print this week at my project Swap with Me 2011. Somebody be the first swapper! I'm ready to get this project off the ground.

happy new year

Happy New Year! For New Year's day, I had magic risotto, Tofurky, roasted vegetables, and peanut butter cookies.

Tomorrow, back to school! I'll have a brand new class to teach (same material, different students) and new courses of my own.

Here's to 2011!