Hello World!
These crazy times (pandemic, turbulence, stress) have given me the opportunity to work on my business – hello new website – plus the abyss of email lists, social media marketing, etc. It’s also given me the space reflect on and appreciating all of the people who’ve hired me and worked with me over the years. All of my contacts and everyone looking at my business enable me to live and make money as an artist – to have a career I love. I’ve been wanting to share more of myself with my people, reach out more, spread more joy and art and happiness.
To say that my life has shifted dramatically in the last months and years seems a little cliché in this time of wild upheaval, but it is still absolutely true. In the last year I have moved out of my apartment of 14 years, bought and built out the delightful, dainty boat that is now my home, and fallen in love all over again with a new kind of portraiture. And now, here I am staring into the terrifying abyss of marketing and self-promotion in the age of social media, preparing to jump in feet first.
About five years ago I hit an artistic energy wall. Like most art, photography can deliver a real emotional beating if you’re not properly braced for its demands, and I was, frankly, getting pummeled. I had my roots buried deep in my lofty little apartment in Fremont, but my head and heart were restless and unsettled, caught in the boom and bust tide of the life of a professional artist. The sort of work that provided the most financial stability and success lacked the creative spirit that made me love and pursue photography. I let my dream rest for a while, found work in less turbulent fields, danced a lot, and allowed life to grow me into a person with a stronger foundation.Then, Covid-19 hit Washington hard, and I, like so many, found myself without an income and with seemingly endless time on my hands. Sitting on the dock one morning, watching my house rock gently in the smooth dark water, I asked myself, what would I do if I could do anything at all, and I found my answer was still, enthusiastically, “photography!”I’ve begun narrowing the focus of my work, surrendering to the things I’m most passionate about, and creating a new style that synthesizes my love of human connection and my personal flavor of artistry. I think of this new portraiture as building a dream rather than just capturing a face: my clients and I build idea boards, create tailor made sets, and pull wardrobe pieces intended to capture the soul of the project, whether that’s the client’s new business and branding, the essence of a story or article, or my client’s fanciful image of themself. I’m hoping to complete enough of these projects per month to keep my forward momentum going and to support my boat (haha) financially. Stay Tuned, stay safe, stay sane, and please stay in touch.
Yours, Jennifer
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