39 Days and Counting

Its just over a month to the show. I'm still pricing printers for my large-scale prints and catalog for the exhibition. Both the catalog and prints need to start this week. The printed images need to be to the framer February 13. I will be installing the last week of February and the last days leading up to the opening.

A small projection room is currently being laid out. Once the current show at Art League closes the walls will be built. I am still searching for flat screens and/or televisions to borrow for the show.

The cards arrive on Friday. Some will be mailed out and others will be dropped off at locations around Houston, Austin and San Antonio in the coming weeks.

The new portrait has been scanned and I'm working on a final edit. I plan to print three or four versions at 16x20 inches to determine which is the strongest image for the exhibition.

I feel like my head is spinning.

The Final Portrait

I spent the today in Houston at St. Joseph's Medical Center photographing in an operating room. It took me nearly five months to get access. In the grand scheme of things its not that long unless you are on deadline.

I tried to prepare mentally for what I might want to do in the space but having never seen this specific OR I couldn't plan too much. I met my contact Louise at 12:30 and changed in to scrubs. She led me to one of the three surgical suites in the women's center. The OR was much smaller than I expected. I had photographed in an OR at St. Jo's before but in another section of the hospital.

Not knowing how long I would have, I quickly set up the RZ with a polaroid back and tried to figure out which direction to shoot. In the past when I've done my self-portraits in medical spaces I've been completely alone. I was free to act and and explore my surrounding uninhibited. However today, people continued to look in through the windows, come in to the room etc. I'm not blaming anyone its just the nature of the space. I feel this interrupted time will definitely be reflected in the images I captured today. I believe I got something worthwhile however not exactly what I had intended to create. Who knows, maybe I'll be surprised when I get the film developed.

The two already existing self-portraits taken in an exam room and morgue I had time to explore the space and get over being intimidated by my surroundings. This was not the case today. In some ways I felt the room controlled me and I was unable to control my actions and emotions in the space. Maybe its my past experiences in operating rooms or reenacting my own surgery for cervical cancer might have contributed to the vibe I was giving off and reacting to. One of the shots will go in the show. I'm not sure yet if its as strong or stronger than the two existing self-portraits. Although the same process was followed to create this new OR portrait the look and feel are a little different. I'll post a polaroid soon. I welcome any thoughts.

Rise and Shine

I start my first semester teaching at the University of Texas at San Antonio tomorrow. Its great to be back in the world of academia but also a bit nerve racking. I am teaching one introduction to photography course at 8am two days a week. I've never taught such an early class nor attended one as an undergrad or graduate student. I'm not much of a morning person. At least my intro to digital photography at the Southwest School of Art and Craft is in the evening.

Back Online

We'll the holidays were definitely not restful. I moved Tuesday December 23rd to San Antonio then headed to Houston on Christmas day to celebrate the holiday with family.

I've finally gotten a majority of the boxes unpacked and I'm working on organizing my studio and getting ready to teach classes at The University of Texas at San Antonio as well as the Southwest School of Art and Craft. In addition I still need to send out applications for tenure track jobs and oh there is my solo show opening in ummmm two months and I'm still making a new piece for it as well as figuring out exactly what pieces are going in.

I'm hopeful to still put together a small catalog for the show but funds and time are short these days. I did recently order Amy Stein's book Domesticated since I DID NOT get it for Xmas to help inspire me and push me through.