You Look So Familiar

They walked into my studio yesterday and there was this light surrounding them. A familiarity, as if I needed to know something more, as if a story needed to be told. I almost asked them if they wanted to hang out sometime, but stopped just short, thinking how it might be a little weird since we had only just met. Then they appeared again, in my living room, as my husband started up an AppleTV slideshow of my Flickr stream set to his Pandora stream. I wasn't really paying attention, since I've seen the images many times, but I happened to glance up and see the image below, and it was too serendipitous to ignore. When I originally photographed the image last year, all I saw was a generous smile and a perfect moment, but now for it to appear again just after seeing them in my studio- I had to say something.


I have this general rule in my life: twice is coincidence, thrice is significance. So, maybe this blog post will mean something to someone, maybe it won't, but I feel better knowing I put it out there.

Worth Waiting For

"There's a good reason why I waited so long," she said with a smile.

Featured on Boston Channel 5 Chronicle!

Tonight at 7:30pm, The Boston Channel 5 Chronicle is doing a feature on local Art Colonies and I'm very proud to say that Western Ave Studios will be featured as part of the program! I was out running on assignment most of the day they were filming, so you won't see me personally anywhere in the program, but you will get a taste of the wonderful artist community I work in every day!! It's just another great reason why you should come and visit my studio! ;-)

Clicking the image below will take you to the video preview of the program:

Fashion Show Fundraiser | The Revolving Museum | Lowell, MA

One of my favorite art organizations in Lowell is The Revolving Museum, which provides opportunities for local high school students to engage in art projects that further their creativity, confidence, and skills to work collaboratively and independently in a dynamic and diverse working environment.  They recently relocated to the Western Ave Studios (right above my studio) in order to preserve the funding for their programming and improve the creative working space for the students.  To celebrate their grand re-opening in the new space, the students put on a FABULOUS Fashion Show Fundraiser!  I was so glad that I was able to attend and help support the museum and its future at Western Ave!  Of course I had to take some photos while I was there- click play to watch the music video below (for total awesomeness, pump up the volume!!)



For a look behind the scenes at The Revolving Museum's new working space at Western Ave >>CLICK HERE<< !

Alexander Family Lifestyle Portraits

I love it when I get a family who lets me capture them as they are. I find that if I let the children lead the way, I can create a really revealing look into the life of a family and the dynamics of their personalities as they play out in their interactions together. I also feel like family portraits are a great way to spend an afternoon together - it's one of the few times when it's really truly about just making time for each other, and I feel so honored when I'm the one who gets to capture that event.



My time with the Alexander family started off with just the kids- exploring the back yard and learning what they loved about this place they called home.



















It was really fun to see how the dynamic changed when the parents came out to play. While a lot of parents feel slightly embarrassed when kids start to "act out" - I love it because it really reflects a child's personality. Years from now, when the kids have kids, there will be photos to remind them of what they were like. ;-)















We always have to get at least ONE standard portrait of the family.



These two are my favorites... probably because of my love of trees. ;-)





And this image was the family favorite- I'm just dying to see how the 20"x30" canvas looks on their walls!!