OK, so it was only a half-second flash, but if you watched yesterday’s Nightline broadcast about online humor you might have glimpsed my “sprouts” photo flying by amidst some other featured Etsy/Regretsy folks.

My friend Sarah gave me the old rocking horse, which was gathering dust in my guest bedroom until Sunday’s shoot. When I met up with this model for the first time, I knew she’d be perfect for this. Her long, dark hair totally inspired me. It’s amazing I’ve been able to find anyone to model for me at all, when I’m known for saying things like “You have awesome creepy-photo-shoot hair!” over coffee. During our first meeting. Because, you know, social skills really aren’t one of my strong points, apparently.

Thankfully, the lovely woman who modeled for this shoot was so easy to work with and practically knew what I wanted before I had a chance to voice my thoughts–always a good sign. She’s a natural.

It’s been a while since I’ve thought about working in black and white, but the stark contrasts in this series made it a perfect fit. Huge thanks to my new model friend for braving the humidity and the creepy toy overload. I’ll be posting more in the upcoming days, both here and at Flickr!

It’s been a bit quiet around here. I’ve been working on a new website for Calobee Doodles and that’s taken up much of my limited free time and concentration. Before Ellie, I could sit down and crank out a layout like this in a day, but now I have to do everything in 15-minute spurts. Ellie has much more important business to attend to, like singing infinite rounds of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and ensuring that every square inch of our living room floor is covered with Duplos at all times.

There had been little progress on the photography front until Saturday, when I met up with an interested modeling volunteer. The hardest part is finding people to pose for me, especially this time of year when the university has cleared out. But now we have a shoot tentatively scheduled for next Sunday, so I’m poring over my notes and trying to decide where to begin.

I think I’m going to try to go back to doing one shoot per month. When I originally set that goal a couple years ago, I produced a lot of work and felt really good about it, and it gave me plenty of time to prep for each shoot and still keep up with the rest of my crazy life.

And on that note, it’s back to the Duplo minefield!

I am just now getting around to listing some of the new photos from last month in the Sixhours shop. I’ll be adding a few more sizes and variations in the coming days. Of course, you’re always welcome to convo me if you’d like a specific size!

And in Calobee Doodles news, I have a 16×20 poster of numbers & fruits that needs a home. It’s an extra from a shipping mix-up. It’s all boxed and ready to go, and I’ll even ship it for free! Head over to the shop to purchase if you’re interested.

It was a busy weekend! We spent a good part of Sunday in Ellsworth, eating lunch at Jordan’s and stopping to browse at the Big Chicken Barn. The Barn is my absolute favorite place to look for photo props and supplies… it’s full of old stuff, odd and ends, rusted tools, gadgets, gizmos, cameras, and vintage Pyrex–oh, how I love thee, vintage Pyrex. As if that wasn’t good enough, the entire upstairs is filled with used books, so I never have a problem getting Tim to come with me.

I always leave the place feeling inspired, and I rarely go away empty handed. This time I picked up a drawer full of old glass bottles… I’m obsessed with them lately. There are so many different shapes and sizes and colors.  I have a few ideas for a photo shoot involving these things. I have a lot of ideas for photo shoots, just not many people to model for me. I really need to start a search again, but I’m feeling shy. I need to get over it so I can get to work!

Overall, we had an excellent weekend with Miss Ellie, too. I know every parent says this, but I have it on good authority that my kid is the best kid ever. She was dragging me around the store at top speed (is there any other speed for a toddler?) and cackling like a mad scientist the entire time. It’s amazing how much energy she has! It’s draining sometimes, but also incredibly fun. I honestly didn’t think having a kid would be this cool. Rewarding, yes. Fulfilling, sure. But I didn’t expect to have this much fun chasing around an 18-month-old.

It helps that I’m starting to feel more like my old self–comfortable as a mom, but also as an individual with creative goals. For a while the two seemed mutually exclusive; there was just no time in the day to do everything, and obviously Ellie takes priority, so a lot of my projects were done in short spurts or put on the back-burner. Over the last six months it’s gotten easier to juggle work, Ellie, Tim, and creative projects. Ellie still needs lots of love and attention, but she’ll also play alone for longer stretches now. Tim and I are pretty good about judging when the other needs a break; he’s especially great about taking Ellie on “daddy/daughter” grocery shopping trips so I can have an hour to myself here or there. And we’ve made a point of scheduling more date nights, to remind ourselves that we’re not just parents–we’re still a couple, too. It’s a balancing act and I won’t go so far as to say I have it down, but I’ve definitely noticed an improvement!

I already mentioned it briefly, but if you’ve happened to pick up a copy of the infamous Regretsy book lately, you might find a certain photograph of mine. In fact, you don’t even need to open the book… they used the same photo on the back cover (something I didn’t notice until I’d already had the book for several weeks–I’m about as sharp as a spoon.)

Side note: I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the little thrill of seeing one of my photos in print while browsing the book store. I’m always tempted to take the book in question up to the counter and buy it, even when I already own a copy. I’m a dork!

I haven’t made a big deal about this mostly because the Etsy community seems heavily divided on the Regretsy issue. Some argue that it’s demeaning to artists and craftspeople, while others think it’s all in good fun. Personally, I can understand why some people who’ve been featured on the blog are offended–unlike with the book, they didn’t ask to be written about or poked fun at. As someone who tends to look at her work with a sense of irony, I know my stuff can be weird and I don’t mind people playing on that. It’s interesting that the photo they chose for the book is also my most popular print; the “weird aesthetic” appeals to more people than you’d think.

However, a good portion of my customers at my other shop are Etsy business owners, and I was a little nervous about alienating them. Would they think less of me for being part of the Regretsy project? But then I reminded myself that I’m catering to different audiences with my illustration and photography. There might be some overlap, but the chance of losing all my customers for this one publication is slim.

More importantly, I have to be me. The person who doodles cutesy, happy, fluffy little girls is also a person who giggles at dead baby jokes, even though they’re in poor taste. What can I say? I have a dark sense of humor, but it’s that sense of humor that allows me to create my art. I can’t ignore that for the sake of making a few extra bucks.

I’ve had this idea in my head ever since I found this old sewing machine at Goodwill over two years ago. I love the way this photo came out, and there are a handful of others in the series. I’ll probably re-shoot a few of them because the angles weren’t quite right.

These days I’m much less hesitant to try the same ideas over (and over) again… sometimes I feel like I’m “stuck” on the same themes, but I find it’s better to work through them than try to ignore them or force myself to do something I’m not as excited about, even if it means some repetition (this applies to the rest of my life as well–thanks to therapy for all those helpful insights!)

I have yet another shoot scheduled this weekend (because if I’m going to jump back in, I might as well do it with both feet, no?) this time with my dear friend Hannah, whom I haven’t seen in ages.  It will be so great to work with her again! Now I just need to figure out what we’re going to do… my thoughts are all scattery this week.

I’ve attempted this shot several times over the last few years, but I’ve never been able to get it to my complete satisfaction until now… the bird cage is fantastic, but it doesn’t photograph easily. The lighting has to be just so or else you get distracting shadows, but I think I finally got it with this shoot. Yay!

The dress Lyndsy is wearing was a Goodwill find, and it’s easily my favorite costume dress to date. The vintage color is lovely, as is the lace detailing and the little buttons up the front. It fits Lyndsy perfectly, so I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot more of it in the upcoming months!

It feels so good to check the “photography” box under Categories for this post. I haven’t done a shoot–a real photo shoot, with a model and a costumes and props–since well before Ellie was born. I think my last one was with Danielle, right before I found out I was pregnant, and that was over two years ago. And to be honest, it’s been much longer since I felt truly excited and inspired about photography (aside from the kiddo’s photos, of course).

So last week I was very surprised when I felt that familiar itch. Before I knew it, I was combing through my supply closet (I’d forgotten I have so much stuff!) in search of props and dresses, tossing ideas around. My friend Lyndsy offered to model for me, so we set up a shoot at the last minute and headed to the back yard to brave the blackflies.

And oh, the blackflies. I didn’t get to set up nearly as many shots as I’d planned because those vicious, bloodsucking beasts were swarming. I did take about 200 photos before I admitted to myself that we were both going to be eaten alive or carried off into the wild blue yonder if we didn’t pack up. I had the foresight to plan the shoot in the evening so we’d catch some of that glorious end-of-day light, but that also meant I was rushing to beat the sunset. Lyndsy was exceptionally patient about laying in the itchy grass and waiting for me to get just the right shot. And did I mention the blackflies? I actually found one in my nose after we were done. Ew.

I am very pleased with the results, especially considering how I’m out of practice and how little time we had to work. It felt just like old times, and it got me excited about doing more shoots this summer. I’ll be posting more from last night’s shoot here and at Flickr.