Aaron and Nora got married yesterday and it was the absolute perfect day. Completely laid back and fun. Their reception was at the Children’s Museum (which has a carousel… SWOON). We had full access to the lego exhibit and giant dinosaur outside. The hardest part was deciding which option to go with! More to come!
Second Photographer: Janet McKnight
It was First Friday last night. So, thanks to all of you that came, wanted to come, or ended up just staying home because you knew the parking lot at the Harrison Center was going to give you a panic attack.
True to form, we finished putting up all the photos for the show approximately 4 minutes before it started. We had like 3 minutes to spare which was good, because then I got to put on some deodorant in an effort to deal with the broken air conditioner situation – and thank God that was fixed with 4 minutes to spare too. So, everything, as usual, came together seamlessly and we had an incredible turnout. I was showing photos from Ethiopia and got to have a lot of great conversations about how absurd it is to have the honor to photograph incredible people with incredible stories and incredible faces. I was so thrilled to sell some of the work and be able to donate a portion of the profit back to clean water initiatives.
And all the worlds started blend together. My good friends Biak and Sui (who I met a year ago and have been a huge part of the www.indyrefugee.com project) came and spent the evening with us at the studio. I called them and told them I was showing photos from Ethiopia, and like good friends/family do – they asked for the address and put it into their GPS and drove the 25 minutes into the intimidating downtown to hang out with us. We had an awesome time.
Also, there was a group having a yard-sale right outside of my studio – and instead of things costing money, you had to do a dance or tell a joke in order to get whatever you wanted. I found the most amazing gold frame and they made me spin around in circles 20 times… it was hilarious and well worth it.
With all the commotion and my occasional lack of responsibility, I didn’t get any photos. Sometimes it’s nice to not have the 5 lb camera appendage attached to my hand – and just wonder around and chat. I was just happy to be surrounded by such incredible people AND have the air conditioning working.
Because I don’t have any photos from last night, I’m just going to post this fun poster. I wish I knew where it came from so I could give proper credit, but unfortunately I don’t. If you know, you gotta tell me. I’m not into thievery. So, let it be known, I did NOT make this, but I love it. It’s from the file “things that are awesome.” How fitting.
This is what’s been going on. And it’s going to be good.
I met Mary last summer while she was watering the grass outside of Redeemer Presbyterian. I was in the market for some models for my Senior Pix project. It didn’t take long for me to realize that not only was Mary an incredible person, but she has a fiercely loving and progressive personality. As the head of hospitality at her church, she has mastered the art of making people feel welcomed and at home.
I got to do a photo shoot with her and it was an absolute blast. She loved every minute of it. She told me that she googled the phrase “Southern Comfort” and didn’t undersand why photos of rappers kept coming up.
Since we met, we’ve spent a lot of time together talking about life and mainly she just teaches me really incredibly life lessons. One day she even told me “You don’t need to be like everyone else, you don’t WANT to be like everyone else, so just get over your fears.”
A few weeks ago I went over for brunch and didn’t end up leaving until 6pm. As we talked she showed me every piece of her real silver flatware and taught me what all the pieces were used for (you know I have no idea) and showed me her fine china collection and explained what each piece was and where it came from. We decided to hit up some antique shops and look at absolutely everything. As I was looking at different pieces of art, she told me, “Make sure that you tell me what you see that’s beautiful so I can appreciate it too.”
As promised, I told her that I wanted to do a few photos of her at her house – photos that didn’t involve electric guitars, spray paint, and ski masks. Pictured here is Mary with her dog Zeke – in her living room.
In the days of carefree early twentyhood, I had time aplenty. With that time, I painted a lot and also did a lot of bead dazzling (photos to come). This was one of my first paintings that I put my heart into. I did all of it sans paint brushes. I later gave this to one of my absolute BFF’s, Jordan.
Enjoying pop tunes and shutter dragging.
Mark your calendars for this Wednesday. The lovely and smart folks over at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU are putting on this event. I’ll be there hanging some art that the IndyRefugee team has put together and a slew of other fabulous people and organizations will be there. For more info, click here. Hope to see you all out!
