Photograpoetry....

This is an image of mine, with a line from one of my favorite poems. The poem was written by Traci Brimhall, from Rookery. The poem is called The Light in the Basement. I highly recommend this book. I fell in love with her words from the night I saw her read them here in Racine. I was hooked. I have a plan of using lines from her poems and other pieces of literature that I like and create a series like this. I call it photograpoetry, but we shall see if that name sticks....

One summer trip to Little Pond Cabin

These are just a few images from a summer weekend trip up to Little Pond Cabin near Castle Rock Lake. There were some pretty interesting little towns, with some interesting people and antique stores.



Enjoy!!

Portraits

These two images were created to pay respect to the beauty of age.

Portraits... oh portraits.... I wish I were better at portraits. I think it is a talent that is rare. But when someone does have the talent, they really have something special. To work with people in a way that you can capture this magnificent moment between them and the camera, that is so real and energetic, and yet gives the viewer something to hold on to and remember about the portrait. That is magic. Also I believe there is this patience photographers need when working with other people. They also need to be great directors, and be able to fully express what they want from the sitter. That is part of the success of an amazing portrait photographer. I don't necessarily mean the studio type of portrait. I am more speaking of a Sally Mann, Diane Arbus, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Collier Schorr, Robert Bergman, Nan Goldin, Andrea Modica, and Alec Sloth (to name a few of my favorites) that are creating or have created these deep portraits of people. They have stories behind them, they are not just glamor shots. There is a concept.

I am not a good portrait taker. I believe I can take a mediocre portrait. However, I feel like I don't have that special knack to create the deep images that I spoke of. I had fun creating these images. I have taken a few more since then, but I will spare you the boredom of looking at those. :)


These images range from 2011 to 2012. I took some for school assignments, others I took because I was hired to do so. Thankfully, all of these people were great at working with me, and helping me create these great images.

My youngest niece in a fashion type of portrait.

My niece again... I was very very happy with her shoot. She was such an amazing listener! She had some great ideas we worked with, and she is just a natural little model.

Portraits from my band shoot.

Another portrait from my band shoot.

8th grade dance portraits.

Another 8th grade dance shot.

I had a good time taking these images. He looked so good with his suit and his date. This was a fun one.

2013 Art fair season

Booth shot from the Monument Square Art fair

 This summer I participated in 4 art fairs. One was the Monument Square art fair in Racine, one in Kenosha at the Friends of the Museums art fair, one in Richfield at Art at the Mill, and finally in Waukesha at the Waukesha Art Fest. It was a great mix of venues and fairs. The diversity and the differences opened my eyes more to the life of art fair artists. My favorite part was seeing what other people were creating. Like always I was so pleased to talk with so many people. I met fellow artist, and fellow art lovers.

The first four images are from the Monument Square Art Fair in Racine. It was my first one of the year. Being a two day fest was great. It didn't feel long, but it gave people options as to what day to come down and check it out. The weather was cold. Typical for Wisconsin in the beginning of June. There was some rain and you can see in the over cast sky and wet ground in some of the images. Overall, it was a good show.

This was the booth next to mine at Monument square. I loved the translucent quality to the fabrics and the tent wall. Plus the colors were vibrant and alive.

The next art fair on my summer list was the Kenosha Friends of the Museum art fair. This was a fun and busy one day show. I love the location. The weather was beautiful all day until it was time to pack up. Then the skies opened up and let the rain come down. I was done packing up and missed the storm by just a few minutes. :) 

I was very surprised at this show, because there were about 3 different people that remembered me and my work from last year at the Milwaukee Domes art fair, and also at the Monument Square fair!! Stuff like that means something to me. It shows me that people do remember my work, and it could be the start of a following, and that is what art fairs are about. 

Some of the crowd at the Kenosha show.

What a beautiful location for an art fair.....

Richfield Art at the Mill show. 

Second to last was the Richfield, Art at the Mill show. This was also a one day show. (I did smaller shows this year with more economical booth fees, since this is only my second year and I am still feeling this whole thing out.) It was funny because as I am driving up to Richfield, a place I have never been before, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, so as I am driving I get slightly lost. Ha... It was in a small town, and down some very bare, rural roads. Once I got there, I fell in love with the Historical Society park for which the fair was being held at. I loved that the set up was super easy and convenient. We were able to pull right up to the space, unload and set up. Some booths were in the wooded area, others were in the field. (see above image) My booth was right on the wood line facing the field. I also loved the different artists they had there. It was a nice eclectic group. Again I was able to meet and chat with other artists who had amazing work. The weather was chilly, or shall I say pretty damn cold. However, is one I might have to go back to and do again. 

Booth shot from Art at the Mill in Richfield, Wisconsin.

My last show was the Waukesha Art Fest. I do not have pictures of that show. However, I enjoyed it. Chuck Wickler, who was the organizer of the event was an extremely nice man who was willing to help out however he could. The attendance was up and bustling, until the thunderstorm rolled in....It was a slight set back but at least all my stuff survived and no one got hurt.

I look forward to what next art fair season brings. I am curious if this will be something I do every summer, or if this is a phase? As the year goes on I will see what shows I will try to do next year, and how to improve my set up. So we shall see what summer 2014 brings to the art fair season.


Thrive,

Katie Jean

Tis' the season....

Tis' the season... for art fairs!! As many people should know, summer months are when things in your town start to happen. Festivals pop up, carnivals, farmers markets, athletic events, and all sorts of out door activities. Well one activity that I always got excited for was the local art festivals and fairs. (Don't ask why some are called festivals and some are called fairs. Maybe I will find out this year..) If you are a reader or you peruse of this blog you might take notice to the beginning of its creation. I started this blog due to my first art fair ever, which took place last year at the Milwaukee Domes. I am happy to say that this year I have been accepted into 3 different art fairs thus far.

The first one of the season is going to be next weekend, June 1st and 2nd in fabulous downtown Racine. It is a two day fair with music, food, and activities for the kids. This will be my first home town show, so needless to say I am a little nervous about it. First times are always a nerve wracking thing. However, I believe I have everything I need ready to go. I have been working at my supplies list for a while, and this year I am happy to report that I have created some larger prints of a couple of my images. As well as, I have hand mated a few in some cool frames. I will post pictures of those later, but I was pretty damn happy with how they turned out.

So mark your calendars for the Monument Square Art Fair next weekend June 1st and 2nd. Hours are Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 10-4. I would love to chat with everyone who stops by, so do it!

Here is the link to the festival website- Monument Square Art Fest
Aaaannddd.... here is a link to my artist page for the fair- My page

Greeting cards I made with my images. They came out so amazingly beautiful!! Selling them at my art fairs this year.

Hand cutting my mats... I was proud of myself. :)

Application for a Kenosha art fair.