From Sasquatch to Spider Monkey

You might remember this post when Maurice got his annual summer haircut last year. Well, that time is upon us again, and I am here to share a few photos that I grabbed during the grooming.

This is what we started out with:

Some think he looks like a bison. Some would say bear. Others are boring and guess poodle or sheepdog. I think he looks like a sasquatch, and Andy thinks he looks like a gorilla. In any case, he's a big hairy beast, and gets entirely too hot in the summertime with this coat.

Let the shaving begin!



This was perhaps the most freakish moment of the haircut. Normally we start with the body and finish with the head, but we thought we'd try it the other way around this time. The result was that it looked like he was wearing a fur coat (don't tell PETA, they might throw paint on him!). See for yourself:

^^^I know it looks like he's screaming in this photo... but he's just yawning :-)


And finally, the finished look:


Maurice is already much happier, and when we went for a 2 mile walk he was peppy and ready for anything. We'll shave him a couple more times over the course of the summer, but it won't be nearly as drastic as the first annual haircut to kick off summer.

Finally, Some Holga Love!

It's just after midnight, and upon returning home I checked my blog subscriptions to find that my holga work at Artomatic finally got some love! I checked out Mid Atlantic Art News, where Lenny has been compiling a lot of the area artists' top 10 Artomatic picks (my list will be coming once I get to check out ALL of the art there), and the newest list is by JS Adams... and I'm on it!

It feels great to be chosen as a top 10, especially when there are over 400 artist participating. JS, you made my day (whichever day you count just after midnight as)!!!

Three Generations - Holga Style

I've been testing some new methods of making Holga images, and so today took photos of the family during a get together to try some of these applications. Inadvertently, I found a Holga camera that I hadn't used since last summer because my photographer friend Hassel, who is down in Georgia, sent me a modified Holga around that time that I began using immediately upon receiving it. But there was still film inside the older Holga that I had forgotten about! So I finished off the roll and developed it, and found a photo of my father that I took last July!

So now I have three generations of my family in one batch - My father, Andy, and Maurice. (No laughing, Maurice IS my baby!!!)

And I know these aren't the multi-layered Holga images you have come to expect from me... but don't worry, I will be doing more of those again very soon. Like I said, this is all building toward something (can you feel the suspense? I can...).

Artomatic - Opening Friday 4/13!

Tomorrow begins Artomatic 2007! This is so exciting!
Come see my Holga work at Artomatic... I'm in Room #6A55, and I will be there tomorrow for the opening. So if you are around, stop by and introduce yourself.
:-)

Here are the specs:

ARTOMATIC 2007
April 13–May 20, 2007
2121 Crystal Drive, Arlington, Va.
Metro stop: Crystal City
Free admission. Donations accepted

HOURS
Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday: Noon–10 p.m.
Thursday: Noon–11 p.m.
Friday, Saturday: Noon–1 a.m.
Closed Mondays

Artomatic, the Washington, D.C., area’s eclectic, engaging — and occasionally even eye-popping — arts extravaganza is back this spring and promises to be more of a draw than ever before.

Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic is the region’s one-of-a-kind multimedia art featuring more than 600 regional artists and performers. The free five-week event, to be held April 13–May 20, will feature nearly 90,000 square feet of paintings, sculptures, photography and other creative work.

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And here are some photos of the installation. I will post more photos from later on over the course of Artomatic as they happen!

My space featuring my Holga project:



Sean Hennessey and Angela Kleis in Sean's space. His room is awesome, and he does faux finishing like what you see on the pillar there for his living. Very cool!



Angela Kleis during installation. She had collapsed at this point, and like the good friend that I am, I took her photo and then asked if she was okay (in that order!). She's fine, and her space looks great too!



Jesse Cohen, founder of ArtDC.org, gets a little crazy during the last evening of installation, and Jack Whitsitt looks on:



Alexandra Silverthorne, who is located across the hall from me, is hard at work hanging her photos. She does great documentary street photography (that's what she's hanging here, I believe):



Sean Hennessey and Rania Hassan, who are my next door Artomatic neighbors, look at photos they've taken during installation:



I'm having a blast hanging out with all my DC art buddies and meeting new people or the people who I only know from online. Did I mention how excited I was that Artomatic is finally here?

Celebrity Look Alikes

I spent the holiday with my family in Pennsylvania. It was nice to see them all again, but there's just one bit of information that I find puzzling beyond anything else. Family members told both Andy and me that we bore a strong resemblance to celebrities who have been in the news recently. Who do I look like, I know I hear someone out there asking...

First up: Me. I am the spitting image of.............. Anna Nicole Smith! That's right. I know some of you knew I looked familiar, but just couldn't quite put your finger on it. I pulled up a photo Andy took of me over the weekend, and am putting it along side one of ANS so you can compare:




Maybe it's the blonde hair. Could be the blue eyes. Makeup... yeah, I can see it. The chest... sure, that HAS to be it. I wonder if Anna Nicole wore Canadian socks? No matter, the similarities should be obvious regardless. Yup, my celebrity twin for sure.
:-)

Next up: Andy. Andy's celebrity look alike is so obvious I'm surprised I didn't think of it until now. If you saw him on the street, Andy would most likely be mistaken for........... Britney Spears. In fact, my cousin Kelly was calling Andy "Britney" by the end of the weekend. Duh. Again, an image of Andy from the weekend, along with his twin Britney:




Andy shaved his own head around Thanksgiving. He's mad that Britney stole his idea, but is a little flattered at the same time. Anyway, you can see where there is a resemblance, no?

So there you have it. We will sign autographs, but with whose name? Ah, that is the question...

Give Me A Hand

Okay, so that was corny. But there are only so many ways to introduce my latest Holga images... so if you can do any better, by all means, leave me some new suggestions for titles for these posts!

On a related note, Artomatic opens in less than two weeks, and I will have a wall with my Holga work on it. I will post more info when the date nears, and it will be really fun, so you should make it a point to come and check out all the artwork (especially mine!).