Taxes and Technology...Grrrrr!

Ah, Monday again. And you have been waiting, I know, for my new post. But I have to be honest....I am not very happy today.

Yesterday I did the prep that needed to happen for us to give our accountant the figures to do up our taxes. We don't do them ourselves because we have income from many different sources and it gets very complicated. for the last 6 0r 7 years I have been treating the photography as a part of the general business that I do as a freelance bookkeeper and in the past as an eBay seller. Last year was the first year that I did not do any selling on eBay and very little bookkeeping. And it showed in the numbers. I have a sneaking suspicion that my accountant is going to tell me that making art is clearly a hobby, since I spent so much more than I made. Framing costs a great deal when preparing for a large show the way I did last year. And then there were the costs of creating the book. Well at least these are all inventory and are still available to sell in the future. They are not perishable.

Today seemed to be going great.....but now it appears that some kind of virus has attacked my PC and it is down. Got a call into my tech guy. I hope he can get over here and get it up and running. There is a lot I need to be able to retrieve from it. At least I have my laptop....but it has an external cd/dvd drive that also seems to not want to work. I wanted to download music for my trip to Santa Fe on Wed.

Yes I am off for a brief vacation. I have a very good friend who is in Santa Fe this winter and I am going to visit. I have always wanted to go to New Mexico, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity. I am bringing two film cameras and lots of film. I plan to spend some time exploring the landscape and the galleries!

The opening of the CCCA 14th Annual Juried Art show was on Saturday. It was a wonderful mix of work, very well hung in the space at the Hudson Opera House. Frozen and Raindance are nicely displayed and in good company.

Lastly, I wanted to announce my Silver Seconds Auction blog. One this blog, for the next few months I will be running 5 day auctions of some of my Gelatin Silver Prints that I don't feel are quite as good as my gallery or website images, but are still deserving of good homes. These prints are created in my darkroom with the same meticulous care as any of my prints. Some are older works. The opening bid on all of these prints is $20.00, with bids to increase at $5.00 increments. Take a look....The first auction is on now and will end tomorrow at noon EST. http://silversecondsauctions.blogspot.com/

Ok...I guess that is it for today. I have to take some time now to pack up the two prints going to the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo's inaugural art show. They have to be shipped before I go away this week. The Expo takes place outside of Denver, Colorado March 12-14.

If I don't post while I am in Santa Fe....I will fill in about my trip in next weeks blog! Enjoy your week....I am sure that I will. Even with the technology breakdowns....how bad a week can it be when you are going on vacation!?!

Juliet

http://www.julietrharrisonphotography.com/

Blogging my Blog

Is it OK to blog about another of my blogs? I am sure it is. I have started the Silver Seconds Auction blog.

Not quite the best & not garbage either! These prints are images that I think have merit but are not up to the standards of the work I put on my website and in galleries. That makes them SECONDS. They are all handprinted in my darkroom with the same meticulous care as my first run work. I am starting the AUCTIONS of these prints at $20.00 and bids are to be increased at $5.00 increments. Each auction will last for 5 days. This one will end Noon EST February, 23rd. To bid on a photo....type your bid in the comments. Shipping price will be based on the winning bidders location.

http://silversecondsauctions.blogspot.com/

Session 1 has begun. I will be doing these once a month for a while I think, so bookmark the blog.

Juliet

http://www.julietrharrisonphotography.com

Back in Control

I was watching that wonderful young Canadian mogul skier last night and as he was speeding down the hill over those bumps just a fraction away from out of control....I thought...gee, that is exactly how my life can feel sometimes. This past week was all about getting back in control. So I organized my office. I filed my papers. And more importantly, I found all the paperwork that had deadlines that I needed to be conscious of. And good thing too, because at least three of those deadlines are March 1st. I would have been very disappointed in myself I had let them pass. I have now posted each and every deadline on a calender right next to my computer. And it is a good thing that I did this, as more opportunities arrived this past week.

I sent out the images to be considered for the feature on my work in Rural Heritage magazine. I filled out the entry for Photowork '10. It is a juried show at the Barrett Art Center, here in Poughkeepsie, NY. This years juror is an associate curator at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. That one is well worth entering! Filling out the paperwork for the invitational show "Evoking Spirit" to open at the Maplebrook School in Amenia, NY on Derby day. And I need to decide what 3 pieces I want to enter into the New Jersey Equine Artist's Association's 2010 juried show. Two more forms need to be thought about..one for a juried show in photography and one an invitational/juried event that will be part of the HITS at Saugerties show season. Those are due soon too.

I got invited to send two pieces to the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo's inaugural Equine Art Show. It will exhibited near Denver, Colorado in the middle of March. I will be sending two draft horse pieces. "L" and "Strath/Clyde(s)".

I delivered "Frozen" and "Raindance" to the Hudson Opera House for the Columbia County Council on the Arts 14th Annual Juried Art Show. Here is a link to the press release. https://sp1.actemarketing.com/speasapage.aspx?X=5L0W10RTHV8SRX3800Z8W9 The opening reception will be this coming Saturday, from 6-8pm.

I do think that is it funny that this was the year I was going to concentrate on creating and not on getting the work out there. And I have had so many invitations to show the work. I am grateful for it all.

I have been adding images to my Etsy store. B&W and Color giclees. There are several original Silver prints for sale there too. So take a look. http://www.etsy.com/shop/lechevalthehorse . And don't forget. Just about any image on my website can be printed as a giclee reproduction. Just ask!

Have a great week. I will be getting things moving forward even more this week. And since I just ordered more paper for my darkroom. I expect to be getting some printing done later in the week.

Juliet

http://www.julietrharrisonphotography.com

A Scattered Life

It is that feeling that there are lots of little details that you are missing. Things that need to be doneThat should probably be on a list. Like writing my Monday blogpost! So here I am...a bit later in the day than normal. But I did not forget completely.

A bit of sadness came my way this past week. The Equine Art Guild, of which I have been a member for at least 5 years now, is shutting down. This group is comprised of the most wonderful collection of Equine artists. And I was extremely fortunate to have found them when I did and to have been a part of the group for this time. I truely believe that were it not for the sharing and support of this wonderful group of artists, I would not be doing what I am today. And I thank them for warmly welcoming a photographer in their midst at a time when my work seemed to not fit in anywhere. Luckily, these wonderful people and I are dedicated to creating a new group where we can continue to share and florish. But until we have it all figured out....we are going to be working hard on all the "details".

I was thrilled to get an email last week from Marya Zubaty, the publisher of the Stable Woman Gazette, asking if I would be interested in sending her 14 images that she could use to put together a Valentine's Day show of my work. I could not, of course, say no! Her theme for the show was the romantic and the sensual. And she said that she felt that my work was exactly what she wanted. So here it is....The Sensual Equine Nude: a sensory exposee. Click on the banner and then the arrows to turn the page. http://www.stablewomangazette.com/ Happy Valentine's Day...a gift for me, to you! "Coy" above is one of the images in the show.

I am also working hard to put together a group of images for a feature about my work that will be published in Rural Heritage magazine this Spring. I am revisiting some of my favorite draft horse, mule and oxen images for this. Stay tuned for details when it will be available for purchase.

Perhaps my biggest excitement for last week...was the purchase of a new camera. I bought myself a Bronica 2 1/4 camera outfit. One body, two lenses, two film backs and more. I am so thrilled. I can't wait to use it. One box has arrived but I am still waiting for the arrival of the lenses. This is one camera I will most definitely be taking with me when I go to Santa Fe at the end of this month.

I feel that surely I am leaving something out here. But I am not sure what. I guess if I remember it you all will get an extra blog post form me this week. Until then...have a wonderful one. Stay warm...stay dry. And go enjoy a horse. I am now going to get back to all those things I still need to do!

Juliet

www.julietrharrisonphotography.com

Monday morning post - turned into Monday Afternoon

I should be ready to write this each week. But it does not seem to be working that way. The past week was full and so is my brain. Part of the problem today is that I had the most wonderful walk with a friend and fellow artist, Nadine Robbins this morning. And we talked about so much that my head is full of ideas. You can see some of her work here - http://www.nadinerobbinsportraits.com/

I finally put together my new plan for moving my framed pieces into the homes of my friends and fans. I call it "Art Sharing". I announced some of the details to my newsletter subscribers. If you might be interested in hanging my work in your home for 2 years at a nominal fee, with some great perks....you need to sign up for my newsletter and I will send you the program information. Sign up here - http://data.fineartstudioonline.com/dataviewer.asp?keyvalue=11230&page=Email%20Newsletter "Braids" is one of the photographs that is available right now!

I remember that at the beginning of this year....I told myself that I would spend less time in the next 12 months marketing my work and more time creating it. Some of that I have been good at keeping to. I am limiting the amount of time I spend in the internet and the number of juried shows that I am entering. And I have been back in the darkroom several times in January and like on my walk today...I have taken my camera and just taken pictures. Looking for interesting light, pattern and texture. But interestingly enough, in my attempt to limit the number of shows I planned to do......I have only limited the juried shows. Instead, they have been replaced by more invitational events.

As I mentioned last blog post, I have two pieces that will be in the Columbia County Council on the Arts 14th Annual Juried Art Show which will open the 20th of February. http://www.artscolumbia.org/ I only intend to enter 3 other juried shows for the year.

Yesterday, I was invited to put together 14 images for a Virtual show of my work for the Stable Woman's Gazette. The theme of the show is romance and sensuality. Done from my perspective. I will post the link to the show as soon as it is ready. The image below, "Lush", will be one of the ones featured in the show.

I have been invited to send work back to Terry Lindsay's Equidae Gallery in Saratoga Springs, NY during this years' race meet. And to have work again at the annual art show at the Maplebrook School in Amenia, NY that opens as a kick off the night of the Kentucky Derby. I will post more details about these as it gets closer.

So many of us have been touched and saddened but the devastation in Haiti. Wanting to find ways to help. I have joined with an International group of Photographers, Images Without Borders, to try an make a bit of difference. A website has been set up with images contributed by the photographers and made available exclusively for sale to support the efforts of Doctors Without Borders. Please take a look and know that ALL proceeds from purchased images go to help. http://www.imageswithoutborders.org/c/imageswithoutborders I have donated 4 COLOR images for sale. To find my work just enter "Juliet Harrison" in the search box.

I still have spaces available for those interested in my mentoring program. Information if you need it is on this link - http://data.fineartstudioonline.com/dataviewer.asp?keyvalue=11230&page=Other%20Form

Being an artist is never only about creating. Just as much time is spent in the task of making being an artist a successful endeavor. It is a juggling act that can be at times frustrating, but is never dull. Next weeks blog post may be more thoughtful. This one just seems to be full of news. But I guess that is ok too. Have a great week.

Juliet