The last couple of weeks are a blur of activity... new floor, draperies, shooting sessions and finally hanging some of the abstract photographs that we've been printing and framing on the open gallery wall as planned.

This latest step has been difficult for me. Choosing from among the hundreds of images that I've captured and processed over the last 4 years has been daunting. There are so many favorite catagories of macro and close-up grunge that I love... and so  many images finished and waiting to be printed, uploaded to a photo gallery e-commerce site like Fine Art America, Redbubble or 500px... or framed and hung. I have just felt overwhelmed. Organizing one's own images takes a lot of concentration and focus. I seem to be short on both in recent days. BTW... this photo looking at the end of the studio shows the new floor... but, before the draperies covered the wall with the big doors. The changes have been amazing. And that is part of why it been important to get the framed prints hung properly... to be finished (or at least LOOK finished) for visitors and clients coming to the studio.

Rather than choose a theme from the different groupings of images I have, I decided to hang a grouping 'salon' style in different sizes with images from all over the spectrum of my interests. The colorful result is a great way to see the Gallery walls finally full of our work. The Studio/Gallery is open when we are here so if you are in the area, call us and drop over to check it out. Thanks so much for all your great comments and for the encouragement that those of you who have had a chance to drop by the studio have shared with us. Most appreciated!

She's kind of a Romantic Heroine type... don't you think? Someone's fantasy styling... modest but a little naughty. OK, if it were YOU... would it be Biker Babe or Latex Lady? How about Fresh faced Country Girl or Vintage Vixen? Ballet Diva? Zombie Princess? (not sure what that is...) Got a 'vision' of yourself as a Tarzan's Jane or a Sexy version of the real you? We'd like to help you create that fantasy vision for you... and/or someone special... to treasure. Now THAT would make a 'Memorable' Valentine's Day... or any day!

I've just started to post some of the photos that suggest what the possibilities are. Check it out on the Valentine's Day page... contact us if you are interested in finding out more.

That is a picture of Kyle bending over his great idea for covering the foundation extensions in the studio... which looked fine when it was a "garage" for the race cars and had a grey rubber tile covering it. But, somehow, the grey rubber covering the extensions didn't add anything to the ambiance of the new dark walnut floor. So, the crew at Alan Smallman Builders in Boxford, and Kyle Smallman came up with the perfect solution... to cover the foundations to look like baseboards. Well done! And just in time for the 10 foot charcoal draperies to be installed over the big sliders at one end of the big room. Now the real work of making all these changes pay off in the ability to create some different looks for the images we want to make begins.

No sooner had we voiced that thought when the opportunity presented itself to take advantage of the changes. We had two days of shooting scheduled but only two days to find some furniture, accessories, fabric, props and... find our inspiration. Several wonderful things occurred then... Our wonderful collaborator, Donna McKinnon spent a day shopping with us and introduced us to the most fabulous place to interiors fabrics (Zinmans in Lynn, MA)... loans of props and accessories were made... Alan Smallman came to our rescue with a furniture solution overnight... assistance was 'volunteered' by my friend Jane Dean to my eternal gratitude... and everything came together finally for two intense days of making some lovely images. Models Anastasia Arteyeva and Rebecca Lawrence are true collaborators who brought their own creativity to the concepts suggested as we knew they would. Ana even picked up a piece of black velvet and belted it to create a period "dress" that worked perfectly when we had no wardrobe to fit the mood and period of the shot we were trying to achieve.