monochromatic

dancing shoes - monica lacey 2013

See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here.  Tomorrow we launch into March's photo-a-day with Colour as our first theme!

congruence

find a little house in the country somewhere - monica lacey 2013

"But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?"-Albert Camus

Not much else to say - working with teenagers this week is wearing me out!  I don't know how Junior High teachers do it, I really don't.  See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here. Tomorrow is Monochromatic, our last day with guest photographer Lee Clarke.  For March, Minka Bartels will be joining us on our photo-a-day adventure.  

find

they didn't go south, they went to Vernon River - monica lacey 2013

This is the scene I find each morning and afternoon when I cross the Vernon River on my way to teach an ArtSmarts program in Belfast, PEI this week.  All the Canada Geese - every day they're there, in the little patch of open water, all day long.  See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here.

lose

it was all for him - monica lacey 2013

See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here.  Tomorrow our theme is Find.

woman

overlooking grafton street 2 - monica lacey 2013

See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here. Tomorrow the theme is Lose.

man

overlooking grafton street - monica lacey 2013

See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here. Tomorrow, Woman.

dragons

the cartographer's dreams - monica lacey 2013

You'll be drafting routes, and I'll be thinking about all the ways the middle of the night is like the edges of the known world....See Juliana's here & Lee's here. Tomorrow our theme is Man.

hurt

pain as a dark horse - monica lacey 2013

This is a photo of a transparent print I made from a negative that was made from another photo. So it's been through a lot. Which is kind of what it's like when you're hurt. It's hard to see through any other lens than pain when that's what you feel. And so many of us walk around in various types of pain and no one knows. 

After I finished teaching my art class to seniors today, one of the RCWs gave me a tour of the other floors of the home where I teach. There's a floor for younger people who need full-time care, and a locked Alzheimer's unit. It sure gave me some perspective, and a deep gratitude for the fact that, while I do feel pain of a few different sorts, it's really not that bad. There is always someone who is hurting more, and nothing takes your own pain away like helping to ease the pain of others.  There are a million ways to do that, and often it only takes a minute, and sometimes just a smile.

See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here.  Tomorrow our theme is Dragons.

bulb

bulb with bulb setting - monica lacey 2013

Today's image is a lightbulb photographed using, yes, you guessed it - the Bulb setting on my camera.  See Juliana's photo here & Lee's photo here.  Tomorrow our theme is Hurt.

juxtaposed

she spoke to the animals - monica lacey 2013

I've been thinking about the relationship between humans and animals all day. Usually there are some cat memes in my news feed every morning on facebook, and then I had to take my own cat to the vet at the Humane Society, and then I read an interview in The Sun with Rupert Sheldrake, a biologist who often talks about our connection with the natural world and with animals. See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here.  Tomorrow our theme is Bulb.

depth of field

nails from the old house - monica lacey 2013

I love shallow depth of field, the way it pulls your focus to a certain point and softens the surroundings.  See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here.  Tomorrow the theme is Juxtaposed.

scratchy

As tempting as it was to shoot all the little scratches my cat gives me when I tease him (I can't resist!), I thought I'd go another way with this one.  See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here.  Tomorrow we get technical with Depth of Field.

defence - monica lacey 2013

pinpoint

where are you now- monica lacey 2013

Like when you have a feeling that has another context than now, and you try to identify what other time you felt that way, where you were, what the weather was like, who you were with, what you wore, what you saw and heard...

This is a photo of a photo - a cyanotype on canvas that I printed of a digital shot I took in Florence years ago.  See Juliana's photo here and Lee's here.  Tomorrow is Scratchy.

self-portrait

Here we are again at self-portraits.  Let me first share with you how I feel when I start a self-portrait shoot:

here we go again - monica lacey 2013

I don't have the easiest time with it. There are a lot of 'outtakes.' But eventually I get into the swing of things & it can be quite fun.

self-portrait, february - monica lacey 2013

self-portrait with lights - monica lacey 2013

And then I feel like this by the end:

me & coyote - monica lacey 2013

See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here.  Tomorrow's theme is Pinpoint.

love

There were a few options I tossed around for shooting today's hefty theme of Love. However, tonight after my husband and I watched the riveting and visually awesome movie adaptation of Yann Martel's exceptional novel, Life of Pi, the choice became clear. I recommend reading the book and seeing the film. If you're not familiar, it's largely about the love/connection/communication between man and beast. Having had pets my whole life, I've often thought that the love an animal has for you, when it does love you, is the deepest & truest love of all. They can see right through to your soul, and accept you and forgive you all with one little nuzzle.

dev & johnny - monica lacey 2013

See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here.  Tomorrow we have Self-Portraits!

getting ready

there's nothing like a tailored shirt - monica lacey 2013

Not too much to say about this one other than that I'm thankful for my gorgeous patient husband who never complains when I ask him to model for photo shoots, which, if you haven't noticed already, happens frequently. See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here. Tomorrow, for the occasion of course, is Love.  

knots

how to tie a knot - monica lacey 2013

I am actually quite gifted at untangling knots.  Not so much at tying them (see how I resisted punning there?), but I've always wanted to learn some of the really fancy ship knots...it's just knot on the priority list right now (resistance to puns is clearly futile). See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here.  Tomorrow the theme is Getting Ready.

water

water is life - monica lacey 2013

In honour of the day's theme, some of my favorite waters I've known, only one of them drinkable, but all of them medicinal in some way:  

1. the slightly sweet well water out of the tap at my mother's house

2. the many glorious beaches of PEI, but especially Brackley and Rice Point, my top 2

3. the ultra-salty & buoyant turquoise water of the west coast of Sardegna, near Bosa

4. the hot springs of Iceland, New Mexico, Tuscany, and British Columbia

5. the refreshing waters of Grand Lake, New Brunswick

6. the magnificent Fundy coast of Nova Scotia, near Parrsboro

7. the crazy-cold & wild Pacific at Long Beach, Tofino, BC

8. the endless & haunting Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island, Georgia

9. the magical lake at a hostel I used to work at in Georgia

10. the Florida Everglades

It's a precious resource & we are so lucky to have clean water to drink, cook with, bathe in - don't take it for granted! Check out some great tips for conserving water here and here.  See Juliana's photo here & Lee's photo here.  Tomorrow is Knots.

admission, nook, play

admit to nothing - monica lacey 2013

Well I'm happy to report that I had a great & relaxing weekend in Halifax and my back is feeling much better indeed. Having a dear friend who is a magnificent healer is such a gift! The title of this first shot is actually true - they are tickets I grabbed just for the shoot and will never admit anyone to anything.

nesting - monica lacey 2013

This shot was taken during an epic living room rearrangement of the friends' house where I was staying - that's what happens when there's a snow day!  Popcorn & furniture rearranging, creating new nooks :)

johnny the cat, at play - monica lacey 2013

And for today's Play theme, my beloved cat of course, full of playful energy as usual. You can see Lee's photo here & Juliana's photo here. Tomorrow's theme is Water.

breakage

the boy's book of rainy-day doings - monica lacey 2013

I love books.  Since I learned to read at about the age of 3, I have happily devoured the written word in the form of books, short stories, dictionaries, blurbs on the side of shampoo bottles, etc.  If I see words, I read them.  I grew up in a house filled with books, I've learned to bind them, repair them, and care for them.  I love them as objects.  However, when I get a new book, the first thing I still do is break its spine.  See Juliana's photo here & Lee's photo here.  

I'll be in Halifax for a couple of days getting my sore back tended to - I'll be shooting there, but I won't be posting my Friday & Saturday shots until Sunday when I get back to my computer.  So I'll see you on Sunday with a hat trick of Admission, Nook, and Play :)

texture

found seathing - monica lacey 2013

I'm always picking up random things whose textures and colours inspire me.  Here is some seaweed from PEI's north shore that I coated in wax so it wouldn't rot.  I would've liked to do some more shooting on this theme today, but I'm dealing with some low back pain/sciatica (soon to be fixed by my amazing massage therapist friend), and if you've ever had to deal with that, you know that it's hard to concentrate on anything but your back pain. See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here. Tomorrow we do Breakage.

distance

how it feels when you miss your friend - monica lacey 2013

When one of your very best friends lives on a different island than your island, on the opposite side of one of the largest countries in the world, the distances can feel enormous. Collaborating on a daily project certainly helps to shrink that distance somewhat...but when are we finally going to have teleportation? Augh!  Stupid giant country. See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here. Tomorrow is Texture, one of my favorite things :)

scales

rudiments of music - monica lacey 2013

If you ever went through music school, or the Royal Conservatory music program, as I did, you'll recognize this vexing book - The elementary rudiments of music. I remember wanting to set it on fire.  Although today when I opened it, it seemed full of very useful information. Go figure, times change. But still, the mere thought of sitting down to practice my scales makes me irate. And yes, I'm a bit addicted to rounded corners lately. See Juliana's photo here & Lee's photo here. 

time

midnight snack - monica lacey 2013

So often we only know time exists at all because of the evidence left by its passing.  In this case it was delicious :)  The gorgeous pottery is by Jessica Hutchinson  of Hutchinson Pottery here in PEI.  See Juliana's photo here & Lee's here.  Tomorrow is Scales.

consequence

the artist's teeth - monica lacey 2013

Consequence is often a tough pill to swallow.  In my case, this photo depicts the consequences of not caring properly for my teeth as a teenager.  Huge cavities in several molars & all four of my wisdom teeth meant the teeth required extraction.  I'm alright with it now, but it likely could have been prevented, as many consequences can be.  I insisted on keeping them though (I mean, they're my teeth), and the first one to be pulled, seen in the center, I covered in gold leaf and dragon's blood resin.

See Lee's photo here & Juliana's here.  Tomorrow the theme is Time.

triune

February started off with a beautiful, brisk, sunny day full of inspiration for me.  I loved the theme today; I found I wanted to shoot groupings of three objects all day long!  This shot is in honour of Lee joining us as guest photographer for the month - in the summer, Lee is a hardworking farmer, and he & his partner produce some of the best food around.  You may have seen their sprouts in a previous post.  Check out their farm here.

mix and add sunlight - monica lacey 2013

This was another favorite from the day's shoot - I couldn't resist, and it's a direct correlation to the one above :)

use wisely - monica lacey 2013

See Lee's photo here and Juliana's here.  Tomorrow is Consequence.