Carla M Fox Metalsmith

Shooting my jewelry at Gary's studio

There are many kinds of artists. Some feel once one is an artist in any media, one can take on any other media….be it photography, graphic design, or web design. I have found that being creative in one area does not necessarily translate to another.

My jewelry photog, Gary and I, struggled yesterday to get a shot of a pair of earrings just right. Actually I struggled. He had done his job, mine was to “style” the earrings into a pleasing arrangement. He took the photos, we evaluated each shot on his monitor and I continued to tweak, as he adjusted the lights.

I am often asked if I take my own photos. I always snort “No” But why not? My father was a photographer, I learned at his knee. I have a friend who is a professional commercial photographer who willingly shares his tricks. I’ve seen Gary shoot my work many times.  I can certainly get a camera that has the capacity to take the images. But as I “styled” my jewelry and Gary rearranged his lights, I knew without a doubt that I shouldn’t be photographing my work. It’s not within my creative suite. Its not within my studio set up, I don’t have the years of working in the field.

Consider when Michael Jordan left basketball to play baseball he had a short and unstellar career. Joaquin Phoenix is a great actor, but it remains to be seen if he can be a great singer. We’ve all designed or seen designed the MSWord business cards and/or brochures, that could be titled “Fun with Fonts“. I’ve certainly designed my share of bad over-done graphics. But I learned my lessons the hard way & I don’t do graphics nor am I designing my website.

I recently, had the opportunity to observe a jurying for an art show. There are some wonderful artists out there, its damn exciting to see their work. But not all artists are photographers. And as the jury commented several times, “What were they thinking?” What indeed. They didn’t further their own carefully crafted work, with their poor photography.

As my photog sez, it’s not what camera you use…that’s just the recording device. In photography it’s about the lighting. And I am convinced, that is a skill that must be developed over years. As a jeweler I can tell you its not the metal and the bling, its how its put together. The fact that I am a creative person doesn’t mean I should take on ALL creative projects that come my way.

I am best at being a jeweler. I’m at home there. I am a poor photographer, a font frolicking graphic designer, and a clueless web geek.

I don’t always have the time or money for it but I have learned to hire, barter, beg, pay-over-time, whatever it takes to get the right creative professional for the job I need done. In the long run it is cheaper and saves more time.

This blog entry is for my Photog-Gary Alvis, WebGuy-Michael Hamilton, & GraphicPeop. Thank you for being so good at what you do, so I don’t have to.

Coming soon:  Thoughts on jury & booth images. The good, bad, and the GAWD AWFUL.

Carla

We giggled as we headed south. Reading from the 2008 La Quinta Arts Festival info, I had come to the page-long set of directions on how we were to stake our canopy. Good grief, what retired engineer did they turn loose on the staking directions? Usually all the info artists are told is to stake or weight your tent appropriately. But La Quinta told us that we MUST HAVE, 3 foot rebar no smaller then 1/2″ in diameter, pounded 30″ or more into the ground, tape or pipe clamped or roped (with cotton rope, not plastic rope) to our canopy legs. Good grief, talk about overkill. But once there, we did as directed, pounding away and measuring to be sure we got our rebar deep enough. And still we giggled, in our know-it-all smugness.

Art patron hanging on to panels

Then came the high winds as only a desert can know. Oh man! They weren’t a woofin’ about high winds. Large paintings flew through the air off of panels, trash cans twirled and the trash redistributed itself around the show. Artists scrambled to secure art and displays, festival goers alternately ducked the flying debris, or helped artists retrieved flying displays, art, and hold on. But the canopies stayed put! Not one went tumbling through the air to take out another canopy, a festival patron, or undefended pottery.

Dave & I looked at each other as the wind chaos flowed around us. We both offered an apology and thanks to whoever devised the staking rules for La Quinta. It was brilliant!

As the summer went on we had a chance to look back at La Quinta’s staking instructions with fondness. Our 2008 trip to the Des Moines Art Festival fell just after their 2008 floods, torrential rains, and HIGH winds. The winds were still fierce and our well-weighted canopy swayed as it tried to break free of the 40 lb weights plus! sandbags that sat on each corner.

On asphalt our rebar stakes were useless, so we watched our canopy scutch (a derivative of scoot) along

Sandbags & weights

the ground with each heavy gust, and we dutifully moved it back into place.  The show even evacuated the public for a couple of hours while winds blasted through it. Artists were told to button up and hang on.

And so the show season of 2008 went. Heavy winds, flying art, more weights added to canopy legs, one slightly damaged tent…. Summer weather, what a bother.

We hoped for calmer weather in 2009. So far its not been auspicious. The winds found us again at Scottsdale. But we were on asphalt again, no place to pound in stakes, and we knew our 160 lbs of weights might not be enough.

Before the winds came, one kind-clever artist spent much time with his power drill, and kneepads,  screwing his fellow artists’ canopy legs into the asphalt.

Screwed in for safety

Walking the show on Sunday morn I was amazed at the inventiveness of artists in tying down their tents. When in danger invent!

Ways to hold on.

Carla

When small, my son would ask his sister, when she said she loved something, if she was going to marry it. Three years younger, he thought he had devised the bestest of snarky remarks with which to bug his sister.

This month I have found something I want to marry. I’m not often in LOVE with technology but a new point and shoot camera has totally won me over. It started with me wanting an inexpensive “pocket” camera. A quick glance at camera reviews led me to Costco and just before we left for 2 shows, I bought one.

This little jewel is AMAZING!  First it was cheap. Under $200. It of course shoots great photos, plus it keeps voice memo’s-so you remember why you took some random photo, it rotates the images as I review them, it chirps when I turn it on, and WOOFS when I snap a pic. The woof tickles the heck outta me. Drives my photog friend Tom, crazy.

But best of all, this deckofcards piece of technology takes movies! And not bad movies at that. No more will I try to capture a series of photos to get the sense of something too big for a 4″ x 6″ picture. Now I can just slide the button over to movie mode and off I go.

Vermilion Cliffs-Northern Arizona, on a VERY windy day

The dot sez I’ve reached a new level of dorkiness. The son sez, “No, I don’t need a new camera, I have a REAL video camera, Mom.” Well, yeah, but not one he can slip in his shirt pocket.

If you need a new camera, get this one. Canon PowerShot SD790IS. Itsa hoot. AND yeah, you’ll wanna MARRY it.

Carla

My friend Jan left my house laughing. I had delighted her. She was sent in to retrieve a piece of equipment we had left behind and ship it to us at a show. Our house was tossed, tumbled, destroyed!

She immediately called us as we drove south to the show, to tell us how much she enjoyed plowing her way through the our getting-ready-for-the-show house mess. She felt so much better about her housekeeping once she’d seen the mine.

My inner Oscar smiled at her amusement. I do what I can to make my friends happy. My hubby’s inner Felix, sighed. After a long marriage he’s given up trying to keep order in every day of our lives. Sometimes, more often then not, mess happens.

As Jan & I hung up, I observed….”Well at least if the burglars break in they will take nothing….they’ll figure someone else got there before them.” Felix/Dave, smiled, rolled his eyes, and drove on.

Carla