photography, writing, handweaving
A friend of mine who works as a garden designer has just started her own line of handmade jewelry, Verdant Jewelry Design. I’ve been shooting her work for her website and publicity, which has been a great project for me. Jewelry is complicated to photograph! And this is beautiful stuff, with lots of detail and organic lines. Check out her store at Etsy!
I haven’t been spending much time on this site, so I decided to try a little springtime rearranging. Bigger photos, better layout (at least I think so). What do you think?
Shadows and Reflections II: A visual discourse between the effect of light in shadows and reflections
At Ida Culver House Broadview, 12505 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle 98133
You are cordially invited to the Gala Opening Reception Wednesday, March 21, 2012 from 4:30 to 6:30pm
Wine, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment will accompany the art. Complimentary parking provided.
Exhibiting Artists Include: Aaron Asis Deanne Belinoff Lori Bellamy Sharon Birzer Kamella Boulle Betty Bowes Laura Brodax Conrad Chavez Milton Clark Sarah Dalton Carina del Rosario Lori Duckstein Kim Farrell Karen Frank Joy Hagen Mary Hales Jacqueline Hall Jenna James Anastasia Kiryanova David Ko Melissa Koch Jim Kurihara Thane McCulloh Paul McKee Robert Letsinger Carol Milne Bill Montgomery Carol Montgomery Marion Norberg Stan Raucher Doug Rosenoff Liz Ruest Bruce Savadow Ann Elizabeth Scott John Smither Naomi Steele Jennifer Sumner Rob Tilley Jessamyn Tuttle
Artwork is on display through July 16, 2012
Please call (206) 204-5408 to RSVP by March 19th
I’ve been enjoying working with square photos lately. Not sure why, maybe it’s the bad influence of using Vignette on my phone? I particularly liked the square format on these two slightly abstract images of dried winter fennel stalks. Getting these shots was the result of walking into the garden on a cold day and telling myself that I couldn’t go back in until I’d made at least one interesting image.
I’ve put together a few calendars again this year, over on Qoop. One features photos, all taken this past year, of Skagit Valley landscapes, from volcanoes to tulips to views of the Sound. Another has images of the Peshastin Creek watershed in the upper Wenatchee Valley, which I think is one of the prettiest places on earth (I’m allowed to be biased, I grew up there). And the third is a selection of this year’s food photography from Food on the Brain. Your pick!
All calendars are wire-bound, 8 1/2 x 11″ pages, with sturdy paper and date boxes large enough to write in appointments.
Last week we had a couple of surprisingly beautiful days before the rain set in again, and I took advantage of the weather to drive out and about on the Skagit Flats. A low autumn fog had rolled in onto the farmlands, so I found myself a high perch on a ridge overlooking Edison and the San Juan Islands to take some shots, then drove around in the brilliant mist as the sun gradually burned through. Such a beautiful place.
A couple of weeks ago my husband and I drove down to California to visit family. I took a lot of pictures out of the window of a moving car, as so often seems to happen when we’re in a hurry, but I did get to wander the beach and wharf at Capitola, near Santa Cruz. I also spent some time playing with my new camera phone, and discovered that while it’s perfectly capable of taking crap pictures, it’s possible to get some quite good results. Here are some of my favorite shots from the trip – some from my Pentax, some from the phone.
This is the time of year when all the flowers in the garden are either blue or purple. Blue star creeper, forget-me-not, iris, centaurea, geranium, columbine…but there’s something about the blue of forget-me-not. Very cool and pure. I liked several of the close-up shots I took, but liked the feel of this one, where it seems as though the flowers are just blowing through the frame.
It has occurred to me that I should probably be posting here a bit more frequently. Part of the problem is that I haven’t been shooting as much as I would like, and how many pictures of my garden do you really want to see? (although I do like this centaurea shot)
I have a bunch of photos showing right now in Mount Vernon and Bellingham (check the Schedule page for details) and more shows coming up this summer, as well as the work I’ve been doing for Grow Northwest magazine. And I’m hoping to start building a small portrait portfolio soon – stay tuned, I’ll write more here as I figure out details!
In spite of endless rain and the occasional hailstorm, spring has finally come to the Skagit Valley. The daffodil fields came and went, and the tulips are in their full glory. Every once in a while the clouds part and the mountains remind us of their presence.
Jessamyn Tuttle