Now, I was just going to go as a guest but at the last minute Gabe and Melissa asked for me to be the primary photographer.  I was so honored.  Gabe is an amazing videographer and photographer himself.  So you know I was super nervous.  But with all the amazing detail that Melissa put into her wedding, and all the amazing family and friends that attended, my worries melted quickly.

At Gabe and Melissa’s wedding I got the best of both worlds.  I was able to photograph to my hearts content and I was able to enjoy myself as a guest.  The whole day and night went off swimmingly and I am still so grateful I was able to be a part of it.  Congratulations Gabe and Melissa!  Love you guys!

If you just said, “yes” I’m currently booking weddings for 2012 and 2013.   Give me a call, I’d love to hear from you.

To view the entire event and to order prints go, here.

Dear Art,

We need to talk.  There are a few things I need from you and a few things I want to give you in return.

First and foremost I want my voice.

I have this constant urge and need to create.  I need you to help me find my style.  No matter what medium I use I want that sense of who I am come to life.  I want my work to flow and compliment each other. I want people to be able to see my work and know it was created by me, not because it has my name attached to it but because it’s my look, my voice, my style.

Me.

I know this process can take years.  I just ask that I get there sooner rather than later.  That is if I had my choice.  In return I’ll keep you reverent. I  will never take for granted the things you have given me.  I will keep you close to me and my heart.  You will become more apart of me than I could ever ask for.  You will be irresistible. You will be my addiction. And the only way I can ease my craving is to create you.  You will bring more joy to me than you do know, if ever that were possible.  I will make you my fourth child.  Then Kurt would have to love and appreciate you more.

The next thing I ask is plain and simple.

Make me money.

I can’t even describe the happiness I would feel if I was able to create you exactly how I wanted and be able to make a living from it.  To say we’re, “getting by” on what I make right now is an extreme understatement. The life as a starving artist is not in my cards.  I need to be able to provide or my family.  And not only provide but to not want.  I want to be able to take awesome family vacations, put my kids in sports or whatever activites they want.  Through you I want to be able to give my family insurance and assurance.  I LOVE being the bread winner and I crave that responsibility but it’s only possible if you’re profitable.

I want to be able to charge accordingly.  I’m over giving people deals and not making what I’m worth.  I hate that I’m making minimum wage, if even that.

I know the only way for this to happen is to establish my voice, something that is different and original.  Then have it be desirable to the people it speaks to.  Art, I love you.  I will continually, express you every way possible no matter what.  But I would love for you to be profitable.

I want to help you whether I make money now or later.  I want to educate people.  I want to teach people about who you are and what makes you possible.  I want people to know that you aren’t all about the latest trends.  That you can’t nor should you be copied.

You are personal and you speak to everyone differently.

I love the idea of teaching younger kids.  Start educating children while they’re young to appreciate you.  Help them learn to find their own paths creatively, in the hopes that they can come away with a better understanding of you and who they are as well.

I have one last thing to ask of you.  I had said I wanted you to be my fourth child but I really want you to be my solace.  My escape.  When my life is crazy and I need a break from reality  I want to be able to come to you.  I want to put my stress, worry, thoughts, passion into you and feel free from all the negative and feel rejuvenated for more positive.  When the world is in chaos I want you to be constant.

The last thing I can do for you is give you new life.  I’ll create things that are fresh, different, and fun.  People will see you in new light.  They’ll hit their heads and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”  People from all different walks of life will stare.  We’ll cause a ruckus.  They’ll want more.

I want my children and husband to look at you and believe that all those times you took my attention away from them,  that it was worth it.  I want my kids to know more about me through you.

If you’re read this whole thing then congratulations.  You seriously deserve cookies or something.  But now I ask, what three things do you want from art and what three things are willing to give back?

Last week we heard from a guy that I SWEAR was high every time he painted.  Yeah.  But tonight, we are going to hear from a photographer/mix media artist, Sandy Skouglund.  She creates surrealist images by building crazy detailed scenes including humans, furniture, animals, and other objects.  Then she photographs her scenes.  She uses lots of bold colors that make if very dream like.

Anyways, go google her name, check out her work and I’ll let you know how the lecture went.

For my Digital Imagining class we had to take an iconic black and white photograph and change it to color.  Now I like photoshop for the things that I use it for: levels, curves, and color balance.  That’s pretty much the only thing I use photoshop for.  It has been really hard for me to want to do anything outside of that.  So to actually take this picture and change the color, not just shade in the black and white lines but to actually change the photo, it has been difficult.  BUT through an awesome teacher and a patient class friend, I was able to create, THIS! <- insert an unveiling voice here and pretend I took off a black cloak from this photo.

Yeah, I’m happy with it.  And glad the project is over.  My first photo of Audrey was of really bad quality and was causing a lot of banding around the shadow parts.  After my teacher helped me for a while he finally said I had to get a new photo.  Thankfully he pushed back the due date by two days.  Stay tuned for more school projects by yours truly.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• homework oh homework

To view rest of the Allen Extended Family Portraits and to order prints go here.

We moved from Cedar City so easily because Kurt, my husband, didn’t enjoy his job. It became better towards the end for him, not because he knew the end was in sight but because management had changed. But now we are here in Highland and I’m still able to enjoy what I do, even more now because I’m going to school, but Kurt is still unemployed. It has been so hard.

The other day I came to Kurt in tears.  Apologizing for making us move. I wasn’t too sure about my grades, I hadn’t booked anything recently and I felt like our decision to move up was a mistake. Had I heard wrong?  Was I blinded by the excitement of the possibility to move from Cedar City that I misunderstood my intuition to move up here?  I felt like I had.  And it was on my shoulders.

If it wasn’t for my silly day dream to leave Southern Utah and attend school at UVU Kurt would still have a good paying job.  We’d still be able to put Drew in sports or some other activity.  Brody would be able to play too, or t ball, or some other fun sport.  We’d probably be able to afford a second car, instead of having to ride the bus or if I did take the car, Kurt wouldn’t have to take Drew to school on the bike.  We’d still have all our furniture.  Especially my kitchen table.  How I loved my kitchen table.  I cried for days after we sold it.  Silly, huh?

But my beautiful, loving husband reassured me.  He reminded me that he too had the feeling to move up here.  That it was the right choice and it wasn’t a silly day dream.  He reminded me that these possessions were just materialistic things and that what mattered most was us.  Our family.

It’s so easy to forget what’s important when you’re lying in bed, and can’t sleep, because you don’t know how you’re going to make it. When you’re praying and praying for the phone to ring, or when you check your email just visualizing an inquiry from a bride.  But it’s not there.  It’s easy to forget what’s important when there are more application rejection emails than spam.  Or when you’re filling up your gas tank and you cringe when you’ve just realized you over drafted on your debit card.  That not only means there’s a fatty $0 but also a nice $35 fee.  Or when your teacher gives you your materials and book list and you think about selling your kidney to afford it all.

And I could go on. and on.

I’ve decided to take institute classes this semester and I’m so happy I did.  The other day our teacher decided at the last minute to change his lesson.  He said he didn’t know why but he knew somebody needed to hear it.  That person was me.  He talked about putting Christ at the center of our lives and when we do things get easier.  Not necessarily that things will start to be all honky dory, but things get easier.  He likes to keep us in the dark and not reveal his plans so we rely on Him.

I’ve felt like I’ve needed to blog something about our situation for months.  I didn’t because number 1. I’m awful at writing and putting my thoughts into words. number 2. I didn’t want to look desperate or sound like a sob story.  number 3. I figured it was unprofessional.  Why in the world would anybody put this out there and especially on a business blog?

A few days ago my sweet friend Yan took the words right out of my mouth.  And it gave me the courage to do the same.

I would absolutely love to photograph your family, wedding, children, or even your dog.  If you’re considering booking a wedding I’ve been very flexible with my packages and I’m totally willing to work with you.  Incase you’ve missed it, February is the time to have your photos taken.

I just can’t do it by myself anymore and I can’t pretend that I don’t need you.  Because I do.  And my family does to.

So call or email me and we’ll have fun, okay?