Canada: Part Two

I'm calling it her "Glam Session", but it was really a hmmm...what should we do? How bout we roll through a few thrift stores, slap on some lashes and see what happens kind of shoot. The best kind.

We started in her studio. Which when I think about it, was very surreal. I think I've probably written about this before, but I'm going to again. I found Kal's art, before I ever knew anything about her. It was like 6 years ago. We'd just moved, and I was feeling isolated, lonely, homesick. I'd just had a baby, hadn't made friends, wasn't working. So I had lots of time to surf the web. Somehow I stumbled on her Love Life site, and completely fell in love with her work. I think it's because I have a crush on graphic design. And the way she paints feels very graphic to me, in terms of how she crops things and incorporates words with her images. Her WORDS are like an extra dose of magic sprinkled into everything. So I was really taken by her art way before I even knew what a blog was. It was later, maybe two or three years, that I happened onto her blog and found out that the person behind the art was just as amazing. And really, how could you write like that if you weren't? 

So here are a couple we took in her studio.

 And we took these I think before she even knew about her new Wings Gallery Show...how cool is that?

Lashes make the world go round.

I swear, there is never a time that I feel more at home than when I'm playing dress up. Which totally doesn't make sense because I could live in sweats. And I think it's such a chore to even blow dry my hair. But when it comes to shoots like this, I morph straight into a 12 year old. Pink? Yes please.

This one is for my mom because she loves Norman. She calls him "the Frenchy", which goes perfect with his Glam Shot. Go Norman, work it. 

We tried to get one of Norman in my camera bag, but it wasn't quite happening. Next time.

Then we hit the streets. I swear, you Winnipeg photographers are so lucky. There is SUCH great shooting in that city. My camera would be on permanent overload.

There are two new loves that I took away from The Peg:

CANNED CHARDONNAY. Can I get a what what? Perfect for pedicures.

And ETHIPIAN FOOD. It was my first time, and now I'm hooked. I mean what is better than eating dinner with your hands? Anyone know of a place in San Antonio?

Part Three tomorrow: The Kostenchuck Fam

See you then! :)

Canada: Part One

There's so much to say about everything...Winnipeg, Oregon...why I decided to cut the trip short. How excited I am about the new business. How long my work days have had to be in order to make stuff happen. There's so much, I'm not sure where to start.  

I'd originally booked my ticket for this whirlwind trip. I had this idea that I wanted to put together some sort of online publication about artists and designers and photographers. At the time it all sounded fun and great. I'd lined up a bunch of really amazing people to interview and photograph. But by the time the trip had arrived, my life was swallowed up by BAGS, and new websites, and the major learning curve that is associated with doing stuff that you've never done. Consequently, my little artsy project had been shoved into the backseat of my priority list.

And that left me in Winnipeg: "Knock knock!" "Who's there?" "Oh, just a random girl from Texas without a purpose". 

So the view from my hotel room which should have made me feel excited about a new adventure, really just made me feel small and embarrassed.

And then this really sweet package was delivered to my room. I'd been so wrapped up in what was going on inside my head. It hadn't even occurred to me that someone might be glad to have me there. 

There were all kinds of Canadian treats inside...even Faux Smarties! I realized that when you're feeling vulnerable, a little welcome goes a long way. Thank you Kal. :)

And we ended up having such a great time. Kal took me all over her adorable neighborhood, which made me a little bit homesick for Sebastopol and the days when we could walk to everything. The bakery, the post office, the pub, the movies. Winnipeg just like that... a really sweet city with so much character. 

We didn't know what to do with our lunch at first. It was tuna fish, surrounded by rice, wrapped up in seaweed. Sounds weird, but it was so good. And I know my mom will read this and make it today, since she pretty much keeps Nori in stock as a staple. I wish I was more like that. I'm lucky to have bread or milk, let alone seaweed in the cabinets.

Kal organized this amazing spa appointment. She wouldn't admit this, but if you ever suspected that she is a total celebrity in Winnipeg, you would be CORRECT. One of the girls that worked in the salon reads her blog (really, who doesn't) and they stayed open just for us (her). I was also lucky enough to meet her super sweet friend Tammy, who came along with us. My only regret was that I was SO TIRED that day. We had just finished doing Kal's shoot, which meant that we'd started drinking wine around...oh maybe noon. I really have no idea but it was too early for my non-day-drinking self. Even in Mexico when people are sipping margaritas all day. If I do that, I want to be in bed by 5. Of course the pedicures didn't help. So it was all I could do to string together a full sentence at dinner.  

Here's what it looked like from her side of the camera. She wrote what might have been the sweetest thing that anyone's ever said about me as a photographer. I feel like if I live up to even half of that, then I was a success at this work.

And there's so much more, no way I could post it all today. So here is a little tease for tomorrow when I post Kal's Studio Tour, and Glam Session (you know I had to bring a little bit of Texas?!), and yes I did get her to agree to HOT PINK lipstick! Stay tuned.  :)

Austin...under the category of "stuff I meant to blog" :)

So my Mom and Bill (Nana and Papa) were coming from Oregon to celebrate my birthday. The kids had been sitting in the living room like anxious birds in a window sill. When they finally drove up, the house erupted with happiness. Only to top itself again when we realized my SISTER was standing there too! Her mother in law (sweet Bebe) had flown her out as a surprise. It felt like magic...as if someone had plucked her out of California and beamed her to my doorstep.

Then moments later, we were around the dinner table, discussing plane rides and wiping macaroni and cheese off the floor. The contrast made me realize again that life is mostly made up of what's ordinary. When you're in vacation mode, there's an inclination to feel like every second must be infused with something amazing. I want to tell you and show you and hear you and see everything about you NOW. Hurry and find the punctuation marks before you have to leave. But mountain tops are a relatively small part of the whole mountain. And when you realize that even vacations are made up of traffic and grocery store runs, you end up having more fun. So that's what I tried to do during their visit...just be present so even the ordinary minutes wouldn't be wasted. 

Like this one of my mom teaching Chance how to make chow fun. Any Hawaiians in the house? :)

Papa is forever pulling pennies out of ears. He's magical that way. And he taught the kids how to do a trick with a dollar that I still can't figure out.

happy birthday to me.  :)

So every night in Austin a million trillion bats fly out of this bridge right at sunset. The tour guide gave us all kinds of interesting info about them. Of course, now all I remember is that they're females. Yep. They kick out all the boy bats. But I don't know why. I wouldn't be a great tour guide.

Here are the peeps waiting...

My little thinker. I think he was looking for turtles. 

My gorgeous (completely flashed out) sister on the boat.

 It really was spectacular. Bet it's fun around halloween time, too.

K. Time to tackle the to-do list. I'm leaving for Winnipeg tomorrow to meet my favorite artist and her cute family for a photo shoot, and wine, and pedicures, and for just general fun. And I know I say this every time and then get too busy. But I'm going to try to blog the whole trip. 

See you in Canada, eh?  :)

Around the corner.

It's always easier to talk about things in retrospect, isn't it? We like to summarize events later, after time has had a chance to diminish the intensity of emotion. Not knowing is hard. But as Jen said, "to not know is our truest state". A friend called me last week with the news that someone I knew as a child had suddenly passed away at 40. My memory of her was from a time when life seemed endless. Now she's abruptly gone. There have also been significant events in my own life that have highlighted the brevity of time for me. And it overcomes me with the dichotomy of wanting to do everything-all-at-once-now-now-now. And the sense that nothing-really-matters-that-much-so-let-it-Be. Be. Be. And while it's strange to feel like I need to simultaneously grab on, and let go, I think this is what it means to do what you can, then surrender to the result.

With all these realizations, have also come hard questions like, "what really moves and inspires me?". With regard to my work, the answer is easy: people who have managed to design their lives in a way that incorporates passion, art, activism, and purpose. So I'm setting out to photograph and interview a few fascinating women. They are women who I find amazing not only for what they've done, but for who they are, as complex and multi-faceted. I don't know what will come of it. I don't have the cleaned-up retrospect version of an end result. And I'm also totally okay with that.

To make life sweeter, my amazing, unconditionally supportive husband is completely behind me on this crazy adventure. He's actually the one who's been prompting me to go for it. So I feel gratitude, and also the intoxicating sense that sometimes life is more fun when you can't see around the corner.  

Where I will be in October: 

Winnipeg, Canada (woot! back atchya!)

Eugene, OR

Orange County, CA

San Francisco, CA

Sacramento, CA

My time is really limited in every spot, but there might be room for a photo session or two. If you're interested, please email me at admin@relishportraitstudio.com.

:)  Peace

p.s. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might remember this painting. They are dandelions that Jason mistook for sunflowers. It holds special meaning for me as a reminder that we all don't see things the same way. And that it's also completely OKAY. 

Cancun

My point and shoot broke right before the trip, so these are all from Cobbonisia (otherwise know as DD Cobb).

So last year, we dorked out and made T-shirts. But this year, in honor of my melanoma (that I have since named Benign Bernice), they thought it was more appropriate to make hats. The design was supposed to be emroidered into the fabric. But when they came back, they were basically ironed-on, like something we could have done ourselves. So we figured if we were going to be janky, we might as well really do it right and glue rhinestones to all over them. 

On the way, we got upgraded to first class, which was a great way to kick everything off!

On the plane though, I started this book that my sister gave me. It had been sitting in the basket since my trip to Oregon. And I grabbed it at the last minute while the cab was waiting for me outside at 6am. Not remembering that it was historical fiction about the HOLOCAUST. It's called Sarah's Key. And so on my way to go whoop it up in Cancun, I'm in tears on the plane. On the beach. In the hotel. I knew I should stop reading, but I could NOT put it down. At one point DD asked me about it, and it was right at a particularly horrifying spot. When I started talking about it, I was literally gasping for breath, I was crying so hard. Right there on the side of the pool, next to the cabana bar. Embarrassing. So it's definitely not a vacation book, but I highly recommend it. It's well written, and the kind of book that will stay with you forever. 

Now, back the regularly scheduled drinking, playing, tanning, laughing, swimming, sailing. 

I wonder what these guys were thinking when DeAnna and Robyn sat down to play cards with them, and then totally whooped their asses and won every game that afternoon. Too funny! 

The highlight for me was the spa. We went two days in a row, and it was SO worth it. With every service, you can come early for all kinds of other treatments: in the pool, back and forth between different saunas and water massager thingies. Then you lay on the lounger while they massage your neck and put a hot towel on your face, while you wait for your therapist. And afterwards, you get to drink champagne and eat frozen grapes in your robe, on the roof of the spa. Ahhh, why am I not there right now?! 

The resort was called The Excellence Riviera Cancun, and it was so much better than the place we stayed last year. I really have nothing negative to say about it at all. They had a variety of different restaurants, really good food, the spa was totally amazing, and professional. The beach wasn't crowded, and they had a fun disco tek at night that played 80s. Who could ask for more than that?! Also, DD and I were figuring out the other day that with airfare as cheap as it is right now, if you're in Texas it's cheaper to go to Mexico than to drive down to South Padre Island. 

Today I'm BURIED in editing. That Summer Special has gotten the best of me. It's going to take me a while to catch up. And I think it's going to also be a while before I offer something like that again (if ever). Although, as I'm saying that, I'm remembering that I am offering a Belly/Baby portrait special at Chic Mama next month on July 18th. So if you're pregnant, you will definitely NOT want to miss out on that. Call (210) 545-7217 for details and to schedule. AND, we are cooking up all kinds of ideas to rock out the Hot Mama shoots even more often. More on that later. 

For now I need to get back to work, and then later tonight I'm going to see Wicked. Can't wait! And see you later gators.