Earth Hour

The passage of time is a fairly freaky thing, I've got to admit! So here we are, getting ready to promote Earth Hour again... unbelievable.

March 27th is the day, 8:30pm. The Studio will be dark. My home will be dark. My dear friend Joe's house will be dark. Join us. Make a statement. Love our planet.

Climate change is happening all around us and its pace is accelerating. From melting glaciers to increasingly intense weather patterns, climate change is already impacting life on Earth.

On Saturday, March 27, 2010, at 8:30 p.m. local time, The Studio by the Sea will be taking part in what promises to be an amazing and inspiring event in the fight against climate change: Earth Hour. Sponsored by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Earth Hour asks individuals, businesses, government leaders and others to turn out all non-essential lighting for one hour as a bold statement of collective concern about climate change.

Earth Hour is the largest event of its kind in the world. In 2009, nearly one billion people from 4,100 cities in 87 countries turned out their lights, as well as international landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower and Great Pyramids, and the city skylines of Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Tel Aviv.

We’d like to encourage you to join us in this important effort. Participation is free and easy:

1. Sign up at EarthHour.org
Show your support, find out what Earth Hour events are happening near you and get tips on organizing fun events in your community.
2. Spread the Word
Invite your friends and family to join the movement, become a fan on Facebook and post a link to EarthHour.org on your profile page.
3. Turn off the Lights
Turn off your non-essential lighting at 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 27.
To get a better sense of the magnitude of the effort, please take a moment to watch WWF’s video about Earth Hour: www.myearthhour.org/news/media.

Our company has long believed in operating our business responsibly. In the weeks leading up to Earth Hour, we will take an even closer look at actions we can take throughout the organization to operate more efficiently, waste less and reduce our environmental footprint—not only in our own business, but throughout our supply chain.

Please join us as we turn out and take action!

Creative Collaborative

March 25th is my beautiful sisters birthday. It's also the Arts Foundation's annual Creative Collaborative conference. We've got a great day scheduled, panels with artists who are successfully running a business (I'm on that panel, feel quite good about that, I've got to admit!), achieving your goals of getting published, getting in a gallery, or booking a gig - whatever your medium, reaching the media (who doesn't need that), a panel with our local legislators, as well as some very cool success stories along the way... ending with awards and some really cool entertainment... and as at every Arts Foundation event, really good food!!
For more info. or to register, please visit the Art's Foundation for more info.

Hope to see you there!

vacation

Off for a couple of weeks - ah vacation... other people go skiing or lovely warm climes... me, we go to England... just as cold... wetter... damper... oh well!

So I wish you all love for Valentines (one of my three Valentines in the photo, Lucy, the one I won't be sharing the day with...), happy school vacation week, enjoy...

Year-end slideshows when I'm back...

(oh how I love Lucy! isn't she gorgeous? I think everyone should have beautiful portraits of their dogs!!)

3 already?

John is 3. Unbelievable.

Our session started a little rocky, he was adamant he did not want his photo taken this time, and wouldn't even enter my studio... but I did what you have to do when you're photographing children, I was patient & calm, sometimes alternating with silly & kooky, dancing, singing, all sorts of crazy things, and kept throwing out ideas until he decided it just might be fun to play with me for a while... and play we did, for ages, I couldn't go anywhere near my camera, which was okay, we were having fun. Eventually, I earned his trust, and we had this amazing session. I had such a hard time editing them, I loved them all!

This is my favorite. He is so beautiful. All boy. Just delightful.

First Things First

This year's exhibit by the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod is called First Things First, and it is fantastic... Over 55 established Cape artists are showing (okay, so it's true, I'm one of them) at the Cotuit Center for the Arts now through Feb. 6th. The gallery is open Mon. to Sat. from 10am to 5pm.

The art includes many mediums and styles, it is just really cool. And you shouldn't miss it. One of my faves is Sam Barber's dancers made from branches, paint & glitter, Sam is better known for his impressionist paintings, so it's a treat to see some of his other work... another is this fantastic multi media face that includes all sorts of things including rope & an old pair of pants!!! Then there's that metal mask type sculpture, with sort of dreadlocked hair from found items... all so very creative...

Adriana was asked at the opening which her favorite piece was, to which she replied, "the one of me..." Of course!!!

(photo by me of the beautiful exhibit...)

Aguadilla

oh Aguadilla, how I wish we were there... About 6 years ago my sister & her family and mine rented a villa in Rincon in Puerto Rico for a week... while 'villa' may have been stretching it, the trip was outstanding (except for my nephew's run in with a Man-o-war, but that's a story for another day...) The weather was divine, the setting perfect, and of course having a week with my sister and everyone was fantastic...

So Marla & I took the girls to this tiny beach in Aguadilla for the day (they had a treehouse made in an enormous Banyan tree in the park next to it - so cool...) Shortly after we arrived, Adriana (who was 3 at the time) came over to us with something in her hand, it turned out to be a piece of pottery washed smooth by the sea... Marla & I both being artists, started our search, and it turned out that it was literally take a scoop of sand, scoop out treasure in the form of 'cristal', or seaglass... We were giddy with excitement, 'oh darn, another perfect blue piece'... It was absurd how fantastic it was... of course we had a 3 & 6 year old, who didn't think it was as much fun as we did, so our quest ended much sooner than we'd like! We did what any true seaglass hunters would do, we talked our hubbies into the fact we had to go back, & so we did... Just the 2 of us, purely to collect seaglass! What a fun time we had then too, seaglass, Margaritas & my sister, too good!!

As soon as I got home (years ago now), I started this frame with some of the finds from both of the trips and got as far as gluing down the bottom layer & then put it aside... My art room runs a very fine line to looking like it should be condemned as I tend to save, well everything really, you just never know when you might need something! But New Year's day I decided to make a dent, and this partially created frame appeared... Decided it was time to finally finish the darn thing! so I did. The photo is of Adriana on our first trip in this great little outfit we got her there... there was this beautiful window light, and the kitchen was painted bright yellow, but the bedroom off it was that bright green... begging for a photo series... love photographing children in natural light... also love that chubby baby belly sticking out! Of course, she hated her belly button showing! She wore her outfit with these hysterical shoes, her squeaky shoes, only in Puerto Rico can you buy yellow plastic sandals with a tomato & other fruits with happy little smiling faces on them, that squeak!!!!

Think it is time for another seaglass hunting trip...

Happy New Year!

I wish you all peace for the coming year, and a year full of love & happiness...

So here's something you may not know about me... I'm a Jets fan, have been my whole life... when I was a kid, my step-father's company had season tickets (we're talking Shea stadium) 50 yard line 3 rows in - those were the days! Of course they always lost then too... we moved with them to the Meadowlands, but by then I was getting ready to leave home & my step-dad had a different job so those tickets were gone too, and the Jets, they just kept losing...

Well, anyone who's a Pats fan knows what it's like to be a Jets fan, except now you've had a decade of forgetting... yesterday's game gave me great hope for the future of the team I adore. At the end of the first half, the announcers were talking about how the Jets would be making the play-offs, and I have to admit, I still thought there was a lot of game left & it certainly wouldn't be the first time they blew it... & wished they'd stop being so confident... but then it was the 4th quarter, and there was still no score on the Bengals side... 37 to zip... woo hoo!

I don't even care what happens next week, rookie QB, rookie Coach, but I'm feeling good about next season!!! (Okay, I actually do care about next week too, it's just so great to have a positive feeling about the future of the team... maybe 30 years was long enough to wait for another great season... fingers crossed!)

J - E - T - S Jets! Jets! Jets!