opening reception

Here are more of Steve Wilson's fabulous shots from the opening at the Bohemian Gallery this past Friday night. Tomorrow I'll post his installation shots.

a good team

My opening last night was a great success! Thanks to all of you who attended. You made me feel as though the work was worthwhile, and you made me feel special as a photographer and a person.

Steve Wilson took lots of wonderful pictures, many of which I will share over the coming days. This is one of the best: my team!

On the left is Jane Aspinwall, who curated the show and wrote the introduction for the catalogue. On the right is Paul Churchill, installer extraordinaire. I can't thank them enough for making my work look so good last night.

Much more to come. For now, I'm headed to Kentucky for Mother's Day. Cheers!

steve

This world lost a smart, vibrant, caring, funny man this past Monday. Here is the article about our friend, Steve.

‘SoDo Mojo’ ad writer was devoted to baseball, sons

Advertising executive Steven Cunetta came up with one of the most memorable Mariners ad slogans of the 2000s — “SoDo Mojo.” He died Monday of cancer.

By Jim Brunner

Seattle Times staff reporter

COPACINO+FUJIKADO

Steven Cunetta came up with one of the most memorable Mariners ad slogans of the 2000s — “SoDo Mojo.”

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As a boy growing up in Brooklyn, Steven Cunetta obsessed about baseball as a fan of the New York Mets.

So decades later, when the Seattle ad agency he worked for landed the Seattle Mariners account, Mr. Cunetta was happy to put his enthusiasm for the game to work.

As an account manager for Copacino+Fujikado, Mr. Cunetta came up with one of the most memorable Mariners ad slogans of the 2000s — “SoDo Mojo” — and collaborated on many of the team’s other ad campaigns over the years.

Mr. Cunetta died Monday after a yearlong battle with angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He was 55.

“While a lot of Mariners fans didn’t know Steve, they probably knew his work through the Mariners commercials,” said Kevin Martinez, the Mariners vice president for marketing.

The team plans to honor Mr. Cunetta with a moment of silence before Friday’s game at Safeco Field.

Mr. Cunetta is also being remembered for his devotion to Seattle PONY Baseball, coaching hundreds of kids in the youth league over the decades. The organization recently named its Bronco Championship trophy in his honor.

“He did it for the love of the game,” said Tim Crocker, another longtime volunteer with the league. “We used to say ‘Cunetta’s forgotten more about baseball than we’ve ever known.’ But that was wrong. He never forgot anything about baseball.”

Born in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1958, Mr. Cunetta grew up in a three-story walk-up apartment alongside three generations of his Italian-American family.

His father and grandfather were carpenters, and Mr. Cunetta attended Yale University with the help of a carpenters-union scholarship. At Yale, he studied psychology and sang with an a capella men’s choir called The Baker’s Dozen.

After graduation, Mr. Cunetta sold Bibles door to door, then took a sales job with Procter & Gamble before getting into the advertising business in New York.

He moved to Seattle in 1989 and worked for the ad firm McCann Erickson. He joined Copacino+Fujikado at its inception in 1998 and worked on the firm’s Mariners’ marketing campaigns.

Jim Copacino, the firm’s co-founder, said Mr. Cunetta “had this wonderful crackling energy,” a self-deprecating sense of humor and retained the fast-talking New York accent of his youth.

Living first in Capitol Hill and then in North Seattle, Mr. Cunetta was a devoted father of two sons.

“He put my brother and I first. That’s not just something he said but something he did,” said son Michael Cunetta, of Seattle. “He was at all the track meets, volunteering at school, coaching the baseball games.”

In addition to his son Michael Cunetta, Mr. Cunetta is survived by son Nicholas Cunetta, of Seattle, and brother and sister-in-law Michael and Maryann Cunetta, of New York.

A memorial is planned for May 18 in New York and plans are being made for a Seattle memorial at Safeco Field.

installing

One hundred photographs and 9 pastels. That's a lot of work! Paul Churchill got everything on the walls (and looking fantastic) in just one day. This man is amazing.

Paul gets an assist from gallery owner, Mike

I made this little stop-action video of Paul hanging the most complicated wall.

schlepping and arranging

Today Eddie and I delivered the last of five carloads of photographs and pastels to the Bohemian. Living in a condo, we are lucky to have some good storage space and plenty of those nifty hotel carts for transporting stuff from the storage space to the car.

Once we delivered the last few pieces, Jane (curator) and Paul (installer) got busy laying out the show. After about two hours, they had it all figured out. They are very good at what they do. Each also has a lot of patience and a good sense of humor.

On Monday, Paul will begin hanging everything. It's kind of amazing to see so much of my work in one place. At last count, there are 100 photographs and 9 pastels.

Yikes!

lenscratch

I'm happy to say that I am featured on Lenscratch today!!

a doggie and her human

I got a nice break from working on my show this past weekend when Maddie, a gorgeous rescued German Shepherd brought her human Jan to my studio for a portrait session.

Maddie was fabulously cooperative and easy going, and so was Jan. We had a great time together! I hope Maddie's regal qualities shine through and that it's easy to see just how much love there is between her and her proud mama.

catalogue!

As I get closer to the opening of my show, things are really starting to come together. I'm so excited about the catalogue! It is will go to the printer this week, so I'll soon have one in hand.

Gail Lozoff (dear pal, business-woman extraordinaire, artist, cyclist, foodie, extremely good person) took on the task of designing both the invitation and the catalogue for me. We'd never worked together on a project before, and it was really fun to do! Our friendship survived, and I think it even became stronger. Gail is the ultimate professional at everything she does. She's also cool as a cucumber during times of stress, and trust me, we had some challenging moments during this process.

Here is what Gail created:

A 32 page staple-bound four color book that measures 8 1/2" x 8 1/2". There are 50 reproductions of both color and black/white images, with my writing running throughout. The introduction is written by Jane Aspinwall, Associate Curator of Photography at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The front and back covers are vellum, transparent enough to reveal the text on the following page. Gail used my handwriting throughout the book, from the cover and title page to the spreads featuring each body of work. She selected a lovely palette of colors for these handwritten words. And she made sure, and then sure again, that everything looked just perfect.

The catalogue tells the story of my work really well. I couldn't be happier with it!

It will be available for a suggested donation of $10. Part of that money will help cover the printing expense; part of it will go to Change the Truth. The catalogues will be sitting on a table at my opening at the Bohemian Gallery in Overland Park, Kansas (and available throughout the duration of the show). I'd also be happy to mail them to any of you who can't make it to the show.

The title of my show "Can You See Me Now?" may seem somewhat enigmatic. I believe the meaning will be revealed (and the meaning is open to your own interpretation!) as you make your way through the catalogue.

I'll feel really honored if you get a copy.

a teaser

I'd like to keep some of my most recent work a secret until the show opens, but I can't resist sharing at least one brand new piece here on the blog. You may recall that I traveled to central Kansas recently to update two of twins portraits. I was really pleased with both, but especially this one of Derrick and Dustin (2005/2013).

invitation to my show

Invitations were put in the mail this week! I couldn't be more excited about the artwork for this and the catalogue, both of which were created by my dear friend, Gail. Here is what it looks like, front and back.

smile!

breaking news: ctt team 7 leaders announced!!

I am thrilled to share this great news: Jeff Mildner and Jennifer Smith will be the leaders of Change the Truth's Team 7 trip to Uganda this December!

This will be the couple's third trip to St. Mary Kevin Orphanage. 

When they're not traveling to SMK and other exotic places, here's what they do:

Jeff works for a business solutions company in Lenexa, Kansas. He is a former social studies teacher, coach, and school district IT director. Jennifer is in her 18th year of teaching (and was recently named Blue Valley School District "Teacher of the Year"). She currently teaches 8th graders American history. Jenn and Jeff are avid sports fans cheering on the Kansas City Royals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jeff has completed several marathons (including a 100K - yes you read that right...100!) just yesterday. Jennifer enjoys reading and cooking. They will celebrate their 17th wedding anniversary in December.

Not only have these two humanitarians traveled to SMK twice already, they are actively involved in practically everything CTT does. They are the volunteers behind the successful silent auctions we've had at our past two annual fundraisers. They have spoken about CTT at their church, they have rounded up laptops galore for the SMK computer lab and they even sponsor one of our secondary school students. These two are committed to the children at the orphanage in very big ways. CTT is lucky to call Jenn and Jeff "friends."

I have no doubt they will make outstanding trip leaders. Between Jenn's expert organizational skills and Jeff's laid back demeanor, they will bring excitement, energy, fun, structure and compassion to the table and will share it with everyone on the team and everyone at St. Mary Kevin's.

So, if you've been thinking about joining Team 7, there are now two more excellent reasons to do so. Let me know if you'd like additional information. The team is now forming - you won't want to miss this incredible opportunity.

I asked Jenn and Jeff to write a quick introduction to share here. If you followed Team 4's journey, you already know a few things about these two wonderful people.

"We first learned about Change The Truth when Gloria visited our church in Olathe. Having traveled to South Africa and Lesotho, we were interested in an organization that was committed to building relationships and providing educational support for children.  As members of Team 4 in 2010, we led computer classes and education around HIV-AIDS, drugs and alcohol, and healthy relationships. More importantly, we began building relationships with the children. We returned to Saint Mary Kevin in July 2012 and participated in the school day observing classes, organizing the library, and even teaching a few lessons. We traveled to several secondary schools to see CTT sponsored students and tour their dormitories, classrooms and college campuses.

The children of Saint Mary Kevin have imprinted our hearts as the red soil of Uganda marks our shoes and clothes. We are honored to lead Team 7 and can’t wait to see our friends in Kajjansi again. Tubagala nyo! (We love you!)"

a mom's musings

Max and friends in Boston

As a mom, I've had my share of worries about - and for - my kids over these last 32 years. The early worries were things I felt I could do something about. "Take my hand when we walk across the street, please." "Don't talk to strangers." "Don't climb that high!!"

As they got older, I felt less in control, but I felt I still had some. They drove. They were passengers in cars being driven by other teenagers. They stayed out late. They were exposed to drugs and alcohol and lots of questionable behaviors. My pleas made me feel better, but my kids were busy doing their adolescent job of breaking out and establishing their own identities. "You have a curfew for a reason." "Just call me if you can't drive home; I won't ask any questions." "Don't even think about that idea for spring break!"

Neither of my children live in Kansas City now. Like any other mom would, though, I continue to worry about - and for - them. Sometimes, not often, I express my concerns and fears, but I feel both of them have grown up to be good decision-makers. So the "loss of control" over them feels OK.

Today I sit at home worrying about my son in a way I have never worried about him before. He lives in Boston.

At this moment I have absolutely no control. None. I feel fairly useless as Max's mom today.

I know he'll be fine. But, trust me, my nerves are frayed. How I wish I could simply say: "That boy in the white cap is not nice. Just don't pay any attention to him, and he'll leave you alone and go away."

hope

I spent some time in Hope, Kansas this past Sunday. 

Hope. It just seems like something we're all holding onto now.

martin

This is Martin, age 8. He died in the Boston bombing yesterday. He was at the finish line with his family, waiting for his dad to cross. His mother and little sister were seriously injured. 

His message resonates powerfully today. 

Nicholas Kristof picked this up and shared it on Facebook, and now I am sharing it with you.

what can there possibly be in central kansas?

That was the question posed by my brother when I told him where I'd been road tripping this past weekend. He lives in California. Day trips and weekend trips for him are rather incredible, I suppose, given his proximity to profoundly beautiful landscapes and the ocean. But I don't think central Kansas is too shabby! And one would be hard pressed to meet nicer people along the way.