Published Photos

My good friend, Frank Lee, is being featured in this months issue of Banjo Newsletter. On top of that being really cool for him, he asked me to take the picture. The funny thing? I thought this would be a good chance to use a REAL FILM camera again. Then I thought, no, I can do really cool things with my digital camera. So, Frank shows up and hands me his iPhone. Hahaha. So there you go, my first published pictures and they were taken with an iPhone. What is a photographer to do?

Frank also mentioned Jeff Delfield, a banjo maker from Bryson City. Very cool. Thanks, Frank for giving credit where it's due.

Don't forget to check out Frank and his endeavors with The Freight Hoppers who will be playing on October 20th in Bryson City at the Nantahala Brewing Company. They will be playing with fiddler, Hiedi Clare formerly of Reeltime Travelers.

down on the farm

Aj and I have been playing shows in my home state of Georgia the last several weekends. It has given me an opportunity to have expenses paid trips to see family. This past weekend we played in Rutledge and stayed in Madison, down on the farm.

The Ekstrom's welcomed us into their lives and home. We ate farm fresh meats and eggs, toured the farm, played music, shared stories and created art together. It was a wonderful visit. I am sure I took hundreds of photos. Here are some of my favorites for you to enjoy.

  

 Here's a little video of Aj making a friend.

 Before

After

Haha. Should have thrown out a warning for the vegetarians with those last photos. Obviously, the beef in the pan was from a previous slaughter. These new guys will be fattened up in a loving environment until February of next year. This is not a factory farm. These animals are treated and fed well. The kill is fast, they will not suffer.

 This is either Pork or Chop at the water barrel. They both look alike.

Feedin' time!

Lene with Fancy

 This little piggy is different than her two sty mates. The others are domestic, this gal is wild. She won't get as big as the ones bred for food, but I'm sure she'll taste just as good!

 Another shot of Aj's buddy. Some of these goats are for milk, some for meat. I can't remember who's who.

A beautiful ending to a day on the farm!

art from the heart

I didn't want to get out of bed today. August 19 is Mama's birthday and without her here I just didn't want the day to happen. But the world was still spinning and I had things to do.

Today was the opening day of an art exhibit at the Swain County Center for the Arts. I entered three paintings without really thinking about the date of the artist's reception. After church, I cried on Aj. "Why had I entered these paintings?", I asked him. I cried about how pretentious artists can be. Would anyone see through my sloppy colors and actually feel the emotion that put the paint there? I prayed, "If just one person could be reached by my painting, just one, then I would be happy." But could someone who doesn't know me and my story see the truth behind the hand scribbled lettering?

Today, I sold that painting. Even though the director of the exhibit didn't like me taking it off the wall, it went home with that one person today. It was someone I didn't know. Someone who didn't know my story. Someone who felt the heartache too. Thank you, Cathleen. Thank you not only for supporting the arts, but for allowing me to share my story with you. Now you are a part of my story and I yours. These are the connections that make life worth living.

"words from a tormented songwriter"
acrylic on canvas
sold

Portraits Not Porn

Wanted to share a few shots I took of my friend, Devin. A girlie afternoon out, we had coffee and took some pictures. She wanted some decent pictures of herself and didn't want to end up with some over-anxious, creepy dude behind the camera. Enjoy!

 These were taken on the front porch of my house. 
The green dress was given to me by my mother's best friend, Chelle. 
It was hand-tailored in Singapore in the 60's for one of Chelle's great-aunts.

This is a fun shot. It was taken in front of a mural 

painted by me and artists, Jeff Marley and Matt Heisler.

This picture wasn't the best quality, but it was one of my favorites. 

It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland or a princess in some hidden garden. 

Devin has good princess-in-a-hidden-garden hair. 

Bookie had to come see what we were up to.

Thanks to Devin for letting me make our fun afternoon a public event.

 I really enjoy photography, but even more I enjoy seeing my friends feel good about themselves!!

New Chalk Signage at Humanité

Today was beautiful day but I was feeling a little low. Being at work and needing to cheer myself up I decide to revamp our chalkboards. I found the idea for the open sign online. Everything is free-handed. Doing this gave me an awesome idea. I was thinking I could start doing chalkboard art for local businesses. I would come with the skills and lots of colored chalk. I have done this a time or two for Jeff and Pam Pulley at Mountain Perks Café here in Bryson City. Their menu boards are dry-erase, I think I bartered my handy work for a lunch or two.

 

the open signs

a wall of small chalk reminders

 www.shophumanite.com

So today's initial mood has been lightened and everyone seems to love the signs. Already had a ton of compliments! If you like the chalk stuff here's a past post of chalk-filled fun: Wisdom in Chalk.

If you know someone who needs their chalkboard menus transformed, tell 'em ya know somebody that knows somebody.

♥liz