day 29: marks

marks and making them making marks - monica lacey 2014

day 28: a message

for your health - monica lacey 2014

once again, four days

On Friday I had a crew come over to my studio to shoot an episode of NEXT TV, a web series that gives teens/youth a glimpse into what it's like to do different jobs.  So they came over to see what it was like to work as an artist.  I had a lot of fun, the theme of that day, and so did Caitlin, the host.  Here she is with the painting she did while 'on the job':

caitlin with her painting - monica lacey 2014

Saturday's theme was stone - the two larger ones are actually pottery, made to look like stone with terra sigillata:

stones for the finding - monica lacey 2014

the next day's theme was Keys:

parent & child - monica lacey 2014

And finally today, Colour, glorious Colour :

roses 1 - monica lacey 2014

roses 2 - monica lacey 2014

solitude

a place to think beside the ocean - monica lacey 2014

Today's photo is actually a detail shot of a new piece I'm working on - the image of the person on the rocks is from an old PEI postcard from the 70s.

sinking

drowning in a glass of water - monica lacey 2014

When you're self-employed, especially self-employed doing something you love, it is tricky to complain about your work - or your boss - without doing some damage to your self-esteem/feeling like a jerk for complaining about something awesome.  However, sometimes we all need to complain about our jobs, regardless of what they are.  Just like, if you have a paper cut and the guy next to you has a gunshot wound, it doesn't mean your paper cut doesn't hurt. Most of the time I really love what I do. Today though, I took a business webinar with CARFAC, and I've been reflecting a bit on my own business practices. So, I have a few complaints:

My %&*# boss never gives me set hours, I'm always on call!  I never get a true day off because my boss always wants me to be thinking about work.  I never know when I'm going to get paid, and when I do, I have to donate that money right back to the business! Even on vacations I'm working. And my boss wants everything to be amazing - for everything I make to be great.  So unfair.

That's my rant for the day :)  Thank goodness for my fellow artists out there who remind me why I do this and inspire me like mad - just discovering/finding fuel from Adam Magyar, check him out.

four days

the past four days themes:  collection. found. soft/focus. gold. in that order :)

dead things to draw - monica lacey 2014

a stranger's vacation - monica lacey 2014

gloves for iceland - monica lacey 2014

mica - monica lacey 2014

view from below

buddha of the yard - monica lacey 2014

maple grove - monica lacey 2014

a couple taken in my yard today - I think my concrete buddha is happy to be out from under all the snow!

triptych

the red dress - monica lacey 2014

These I actually shot yesterday, but I thought they'd make a neat triptych, so here they are!  Plus it was rainy & grey today so motivation to go out shooting was low.

self-portrait in the january thaw

We had the most gorgeous [unseasonable] weather today, so I had some fun & shot outside :)

self-portrait in the january thaw - monica lacey 2014

testing the waters - monica lacey 2014

blur

twice - monica lacey 2014

door. blue. winter.

Well I like to get a little lazy on the weekends, so here are my photos from the last 3 days:  day 11 - door; day 12 - blue; day 13 (today) - winter.

no entry - monica lacey 2014

This shot above is taken at Row 142, which, in addition to serving the best coffee in town AND the best pizza in town, has a gorgeous row of antique doors on one of their walls.

through the river through the trees - monica lacey 2014

For Blue I shot through a blue glass bottle and got a shot of my neighbour's window and my fence.

for their shadows in the sun - monica lacey 2014

Ironic that today's theme was Winter as it was like Spring here in Charlottetown today - sunny & lovely & warm, so I shot the shadow of a winter tree.  

lens flare in the studio

studio light - monica lacey 2014

follow the leader

follow the leader - monica lacey 2014

Today's image is of a matryoshka doll my mother gave me when I was very little - it's precious to me and I've taken it with me everywhere I've moved.  I haven't had it open in years!

tracks

ski tracks - monica lacey 2014

edges

edge of red - monica lacey 2014

broken edge - monica lacey 2014

tree (s)

winter trees - monica lacey 2014

Well it's been pretty nasty weather in PEI lately, so shooting outdoors hasn't been a fun option.  Today there was just freezing rain though, so I nipped out for a shot of the maple grove in my backyard.  If you want some real winter photo drama, check these images out!

timing

from the watchmaker's pocket - monica lacey 2014

light & lines

here is yesterday's photo - light - that I didn't get posted at the time:

saturday light - monica lacey 2014

and here is today's photo on the theme of lines - it's an image of an older fabric art piece of mine:

thread lines - monica lacey 2014

I went a little soft-focus with both of these, something I'm experimenting with a bit - inspired lately by the work of Norwegian photographer Øyvind Hjelmen.  If you look up his site, check out the Elsewhere series.

black & white

Today's theme, B&W, drew me to shoot my amaryllis plant, which I've been so enamoured with since it bloomed just before Christmas.  Shooting something so vibrantly coloured in black & white is a great exercise in learning to see more deeply your subject - and that's one of the reasons I do this photo-a-day project:  it's great practice for shooting, but it's also great practice for seeing.

amaryllis 1 - monica lacey 2014

amaryllis 2 - monica lacey 2014

quiet

a light left on - monica lacey 2013

Well, it's January again, so time for another photo-a-day project.  Happy new year :)