Monday, July 20, 2009
more pictures from new york
Central Park, The Met, Brooklyn, The Hi-Line again (thanks, Clare!) a lot of walking and dinner at Pastis (thanks, Ricky!)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
new york
Eddie and I are in the big apple for a wedding.
We started things off at crazy B&H Photo, where I became the proud owner of my very first point and shoot camera. We then spent the day walking the newly opened Hi-Line, poking around Chelsea, eating, people watching and walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. Then we had a fantastic dinner at Milos and saw the play "Ruined" at New York City Center. It was a great day, and I was having a blast playing with my super cool Canon Powershot G10.
We started things off at crazy B&H Photo, where I became the proud owner of my very first point and shoot camera. We then spent the day walking the newly opened Hi-Line, poking around Chelsea, eating, people watching and walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. Then we had a fantastic dinner at Milos and saw the play "Ruined" at New York City Center. It was a great day, and I was having a blast playing with my super cool Canon Powershot G10.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
portrait work
Beginning the middle of August, I will once again start taking appointments for commissioned portraits. I had taken a bit of a hiatus from that, but am ready to get back into the full swing of it…. on location or in my studio, color or black & white.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
assembling team 3
Sarah, member of Team 2Unbelievably, it is time to put the finishing touches on the formation of the Change the Truth team that will travel to Uganda this December. We will again be at the orphanage around Christmas time; our dates on the ground will be December 19th through the 29th. At this point there are five volunteers (including me) who have made their plane reservations and five more who are inching their way closer to doing so. Of the former group, three are returnees.
This is the last call for interested travelers. There is a possibility that of the five who are still considering their options, one or more may not go, and this will open up spaces. Please contact me as soon as possible if you'd like more information about becoming a member of Team 3!
Friday, July 10, 2009
sam dog
Sam, our 15 year old Bichon Frise, who is losing his hearing and his vision, usually gets very anxious when we pack suitcases in preparation for a trip... pacing, whining, nervousness, sad eyes, the whole bit. These days he absolutely has no idea what to make of all the packed boxes having to do with the impending garage sale. Sam isn't sure if we're coming or going. We're trying to give him a lot of extra love.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
a memory confirmed
I've told this story to friends and family before. But you know how memories sometimes get murky, and often the more you tell the story the more fictionalized it can become. Well, I found the proof that backs this one up. (One definite advantage of having a garage sale and therefore seeing years and years of your past stream in front of your face as you sift through stuff that has been boxed up for ages.)
My cool older brother was having a dance in our basement. This was pretty exciting, especially because my parents even hired a DJ. My brother must have been around 16; I was about eight. Before my bedtime, I managed to sneak onto the stairs to sit and watch the kids dance, but mostly to admire the good looking DJ, a guy named Nick Clooney. He was a news anchor in Lexington in the early 60's. He was probably the most famous person I had ever seen in real life. I was already into music then, and at one point I got myself from the basement stairs right up to the table where he was playing records and told him my favorite song was "You Talk Too Much" by Frankie Ford. Just before being shooed away by my brother and then told by my mom I had to go to bed, Nick Clooney fished inside his box of 45s and pulled out the very record about which I had spoken. Before I knew what had hit me, he signed it "To Gloria, Good luck always" and placed it in my little hand. I had a lot of trouble falling asleep that night.
Nick was from a famous family: Rosemary Clooney was his sister, and then he went on to have a son, George.
I identified with that song and still can sing all the words. Maybe it was because I talked so much more than my little sister did. But I also felt that if someone could record a hit song with the lines "You talk too much, you worry me to death, You talk too much, you even worry my pet" I could accomplish big things in life.
My cool older brother was having a dance in our basement. This was pretty exciting, especially because my parents even hired a DJ. My brother must have been around 16; I was about eight. Before my bedtime, I managed to sneak onto the stairs to sit and watch the kids dance, but mostly to admire the good looking DJ, a guy named Nick Clooney. He was a news anchor in Lexington in the early 60's. He was probably the most famous person I had ever seen in real life. I was already into music then, and at one point I got myself from the basement stairs right up to the table where he was playing records and told him my favorite song was "You Talk Too Much" by Frankie Ford. Just before being shooed away by my brother and then told by my mom I had to go to bed, Nick Clooney fished inside his box of 45s and pulled out the very record about which I had spoken. Before I knew what had hit me, he signed it "To Gloria, Good luck always" and placed it in my little hand. I had a lot of trouble falling asleep that night.
Nick was from a famous family: Rosemary Clooney was his sister, and then he went on to have a son, George.
I identified with that song and still can sing all the words. Maybe it was because I talked so much more than my little sister did. But I also felt that if someone could record a hit song with the lines "You talk too much, you worry me to death, You talk too much, you even worry my pet" I could accomplish big things in life.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
old letters, etc.
Going through boxes of old papers and memorabilia (in preparation for our garage sale) means coming across things I haven’t seen or even thought about for a long while. This has included a couple of boxes that hearken back to the Baker Gallery years (1981 – 1992.) Today I waded through lots of old cancelled checks, inventory sheets and invoices. I think the most fun was stumbling upon correspondence with various artists and photographers. (That, and the interaction I had with collectors and photo enthusiasts was the best part of the whole gig.)
My exhibition of Jerry Uelsmann photographs was one of the most enjoyable shows I did. Uelsmann was a cheerful, unassuming and delightful artist with whom to work. He sent me letters on the back of work prints. This was one of his notes, on the backside of a beautiful. but not quite up to par, silver print.
I've already written about my reverence for Helen Leviit. I put together an exhibition that included her, Cartier-Bresson and Walker Evans - one of my all-time favorite shows. Of the three, Helen was the only one with whom I corresponded directly (Evans was no longer alive and Cartier-Bresson had a rep.). Helen was totally accessible and very dear to me. This is a postcard I received from her at some point after the show had come down.
One of the sweetest photographers with whom I dealt directly was Aaron Siskind. From the start, he reminded me of my dad.
This is a good example of how low the prices were in the early to mid 80's for photographs by well known photographers. Winogrand's work was available then for what now seems like a song. It was a great time to be collecting photographs! This work now, if even available, is several thousand dollars per piece.
The biggest jump in price perhaps (of the work I carried) has been the group of Arbus prints that I showed in the early 80's. Clients from back in the day often ask me, "Why didn't you, I, we buy the whole show?!" My response is, "It's all relative. $600 or $700 seemed like a lot of money for a photograph back then." Some of us were lucky and did buy them. They cost, of course, tens of thousands of dollars now... if you can even get your hands on one. Here is the inventory sheet for the show I did.
The two Annie Leibovitz shows I did really put me on the map in Kansas City. For the first show, in 1985, I brought her to town to do a book signing at the opening reception. That weekend was a blast! This photo of Annie was taken in front of the gallery by photographer John Trotter. I has completely forgotten about this gift from him until I bumped up against it in the box of Baker Gallery goodies I explored in my basement today!
My exhibition of Jerry Uelsmann photographs was one of the most enjoyable shows I did. Uelsmann was a cheerful, unassuming and delightful artist with whom to work. He sent me letters on the back of work prints. This was one of his notes, on the backside of a beautiful. but not quite up to par, silver print.
I've already written about my reverence for Helen Leviit. I put together an exhibition that included her, Cartier-Bresson and Walker Evans - one of my all-time favorite shows. Of the three, Helen was the only one with whom I corresponded directly (Evans was no longer alive and Cartier-Bresson had a rep.). Helen was totally accessible and very dear to me. This is a postcard I received from her at some point after the show had come down.
One of the sweetest photographers with whom I dealt directly was Aaron Siskind. From the start, he reminded me of my dad.
This is a good example of how low the prices were in the early to mid 80's for photographs by well known photographers. Winogrand's work was available then for what now seems like a song. It was a great time to be collecting photographs! This work now, if even available, is several thousand dollars per piece.
The biggest jump in price perhaps (of the work I carried) has been the group of Arbus prints that I showed in the early 80's. Clients from back in the day often ask me, "Why didn't you, I, we buy the whole show?!" My response is, "It's all relative. $600 or $700 seemed like a lot of money for a photograph back then." Some of us were lucky and did buy them. They cost, of course, tens of thousands of dollars now... if you can even get your hands on one. Here is the inventory sheet for the show I did.
The two Annie Leibovitz shows I did really put me on the map in Kansas City. For the first show, in 1985, I brought her to town to do a book signing at the opening reception. That weekend was a blast! This photo of Annie was taken in front of the gallery by photographer John Trotter. I has completely forgotten about this gift from him until I bumped up against it in the box of Baker Gallery goodies I explored in my basement today!
Monday, July 06, 2009
doing the garage sale thing
Over the years we have collected a lot of stuff. Abbie’s father’s day gift to Eddie was a week of fierce clutter-control culminating in a major garage sale. Sifting through the things we have gathered over all these years is mind-boggling. Also fun. Today we found our old 45’s! If you live in the KC area, come by the Feinstein’s on Saturday. There will be quite the array of goodies: cookie jars, saddles, furniture, tons of books, old cameras, printers, a basketball goal and lots more. Oh yes, and a groovy collection of old music.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
antiques
Now it’s time to show you the inspiration for the plate project I undertook at the orphanage. As I already explained, making a plate was an annual affair for the two kids growing up in the Feinstein household.
Getting Max (Jeffrey the first five years) to sit still long enough to make a plate drawing was always a challenge. He had better things to do - like eating dirt, trying to flush various found objects down the toilet, banging on various found objects with his drumsticks, wreaking havoc on our dog… that kind of thing. Abbie, on the other hand, would sit for long periods of time considering her small masterpiece. She was the kind of kid who stayed with a project until she completed it and moved onto something else. Suffice it to say, there are more “Abbie plates” than “Max plates” stacked in the cupboard.
Regardless, they are some of my favorite possessions. They bring back great memories of my kids at different stages in their young lives.
Getting Max (Jeffrey the first five years) to sit still long enough to make a plate drawing was always a challenge. He had better things to do - like eating dirt, trying to flush various found objects down the toilet, banging on various found objects with his drumsticks, wreaking havoc on our dog… that kind of thing. Abbie, on the other hand, would sit for long periods of time considering her small masterpiece. She was the kind of kid who stayed with a project until she completed it and moved onto something else. Suffice it to say, there are more “Abbie plates” than “Max plates” stacked in the cupboard.
Regardless, they are some of my favorite possessions. They bring back great memories of my kids at different stages in their young lives.
Friday, July 03, 2009
more plates
These plates by Isabella, Sam, Amanda, Catherine, Godfrey and Brian are among my favorites.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
circling back to change the truth
Ooh, sorry. Couldn't resist.
When I went to the orphanage in December, I carried along several Make-It Plate kits so that the kids could make drawings that would later be transferred to melamine plates. These plates are the coolest. I have a whole set made by my own children. Once a year I made them do a plate drawing. I love eating my lunch on a plate made by Abbie when she was six and then dinner on one made by Max when he was thirteen... you get the delicious picture.
The children at St. Mary Kevin's loved the challenge of drawing within a circle. Some really took to it, including Willy, Brian, Nicky, Ivan and Annet. Their plates were among the best sellers at our Friendraiser/Fundraiser earlier this month. I figured I should share them here on the blog so that my readers can see how beautiful they are. If anyone would like to purchase one, two, a complete set for six or more (!) please contact me. They are $20.00 apiece.
I can't wait to return this December with plates in hand for all the artists who participated in this project. They will go nuts! Maybe even run around in circles...
When I went to the orphanage in December, I carried along several Make-It Plate kits so that the kids could make drawings that would later be transferred to melamine plates. These plates are the coolest. I have a whole set made by my own children. Once a year I made them do a plate drawing. I love eating my lunch on a plate made by Abbie when she was six and then dinner on one made by Max when he was thirteen... you get the delicious picture.
The children at St. Mary Kevin's loved the challenge of drawing within a circle. Some really took to it, including Willy, Brian, Nicky, Ivan and Annet. Their plates were among the best sellers at our Friendraiser/Fundraiser earlier this month. I figured I should share them here on the blog so that my readers can see how beautiful they are. If anyone would like to purchase one, two, a complete set for six or more (!) please contact me. They are $20.00 apiece.
I can't wait to return this December with plates in hand for all the artists who participated in this project. They will go nuts! Maybe even run around in circles...
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