Getting it all together. I went to an opening at Mass Art yesterday In Situ where I saw Deb's work and some other interesting pieces. The room by Nick Dong was beautiful covered in tiles and getting to sit in the space and experience by myself was wonderful. Before that I saw Martin Creed's work at the Mills Gallery. The work definitely challenged my thinking; walking into a gallery space with blank walls and the lights going on and off just as the title suggests.
Working on my papers and getting through some books so lots of ideas flooding through my mind. Still shooting and printing experimenting with combinations and sequences. Finally got some work loaded onto flickr so there is now a link to that on my blog.

Experimenting with pairs and series today in the studio. I have been using a large plastic white board to attach my cut up contact sheets to have a space to view images together off my table. This seems to be working and gives me a place to look and come back to about the work I want to separate or put together. While I continue to think and look at maps in my studio and then to this white board of images it gives me a sense of navigation through my work. Going back to navigating through my life and also ideas of exploration as I visually document what I see daily.
Today I was again questioning how some pieces are coming together, I am working to push beyond simply the aesthetic and make connections to myself and place. Also thinking about the contrast in images from city to nature. This idea of visiting nature was something Oliver brought up in one of my critiques during the residency. On the weekends it could be considered this idea of visiting nature to hike and rock climb.... Is it still visiting when it's part of life?

I have been thinking a lot about maps and exploration and looking at maps. I just received some large maps from USGS which I plan on photographing up close. I am still working with visually mapping my life and printing individual images as well as series of images. I want to experiment with putting pieces of the maps next to my imagery. They are images from where I live now and grew up in CT. I have been scanning other maps from an old atlas and manipulating those in photoshop. I feeling in a better place about my work and that it has some sort of direction now. Just got some more new books from the library and a book with an essay Laura recommended reading.

Got out this weekend and did more shooting which was great. Went rock climbing today which was some much needed exercise and break from everything. It's nice to do some travelling around the Boston and MA area while I continue to think about mapping and mapping my life visually. I have continued to photograph parts of my day and travels on the weekend I'm excited about where this work is going and look forward to more exploration.
Thinking about other ways to show this project/work maybe in a book or fold it like a map. That might be to literal right now so instead I'm concentrating more on just the prints and what images may go together or be printed separately.
I have been working on scanning new work and playing with my contact sheets to make connections between my images. I have also scanned in multiple maps I am working with manipulating them and how they will work with images of my own.

I'm excited about new work and the ideas I'm working with around mapping. Spent the evening watching more of Art 21 Season 2, I had watched Season 1 a couple weeks ago. I have enjoyed both listening and watching other artists create and discuss their work. Seeing them thinking and questioning is helpful in my own work and questioning of myself. Headed to the library tomorrow to get some new books for research, then more shooting.
While driving home tonight I kept thinking about this mapping project I am working on and the differences I can push with this work. An everyday sense of place and travel and what is my own personal place. This space that I now call home. I plan to cut up the contact sheets I printed today of last weeks shooting to begin exploring how this new work will come together and translate. Excitement around this new flow of energy and where mapping can possibly take my work. Exploring different types of maps can those fit in with the visual images?
While I photograph the landscape I am also photographing myself within my own space and spaces I travel in.
I had taken some books out by Seamus Heaney as a suggestion from Deb, to find words to help influence my imagery. I may revisit his work I am interested on still considering how phrases and words can influence the space or memory of what I am photographing.

lots of shooting

After another late night at work on Thursday I am finally done with late night work events and can focus in on some much needed work in the studio. I have had some new thoughts running through my head while working a lot more on much needed shooting. Thinking about the idea of mapping and how that pertains to my own life and sense of place. I hope to push some of my current ideas further by photographing not only myself but imagery I come in contact with on a daily basis almost a mapping of life. Beginning this Saturday with my apartment and starting to photograph my space and myself within my own personal space. I then moved out of my apartment and rode my bike through part of the route I drive to school, slowing down both my looking and ability to photograph. I am excited about this new shooting and where ideas of mapping can take my work and thoughts. Looking forward to spend some more time shooting in my apartment and exploring other ways to map that space. I have been thinking about a visual document of my life and how mapping where I am and where I go is important to me. While still thinking about landscape and the ordinary I have been photographing before I started on this project of mapping. I am excited about researching more ideas of maps after viewing the show To Fly: Contemporary Aerial Photography at BUAG this weekend which showed a selection of artists work dealing with imagery of landscapes scene aerially. This was exciting to view the images were beautiful and got me thinking more about my own mapping and how will it work? Looking forward to exploring these ideas literal and visual how do maps influence my sense of place and map of my own life? This week I plan to order some topographic maps of Boston and research more on mapping the MA area where I currently find my sense of place. After growing up in two homes this feeling I continue to have to find my own place in this world.
I was able to get out of Boston up to NH for part of the long weekend which was a much needed break from all the stresses, and good to get outdoors and do some hiking and climbing. While I continued to photograph more and think about ideas of mapping and photographing myself within the landscape.
Working on reading tonight and into the studio tomorrow. Looking forward to finishing the book from Laura and tracking down an essay recommendation from her. I need to get through some books I've had from the library and make another research trip this week to AIB library.

work

Well I need to be working more in the studio and shooting. I met with Laura today and spoke with Deb last week both were helpful. I have been in a limbo asking a lot of questions and not finding answers, it's time to get back to the work. I continue to think about place and my sense of place where am I in this world. I plan to put myself more into my imagery work on exercises and explore maps or mapping in. Where do I travel what are the images I see on my way to work how can I further push the images I have been creating?
My life and the changes that have occurred over the past year and half keep coming into my thoughts and they are starting to translate into my work. I struggle with too much of a literal representation but I need to explore some of these ideas before I know if they will work.
A balance is necessary and I need to be putting even more emphasis to my shooting and work right now. I finally feel like the balance I need between teaching and grad school are happening. I'm excited for the challenges and well as this unknown that I am currently in this state of questioning in my work is exciting to me.