Jeremy Cowart wears his art on his sleeve

Jeremy Cowart, founder of the global Help-Portrait movement, says that he wears his heart on his sleeve. I say he wears his ART on his sleeve. Talk about courage. Talk about generosity. And talk about going in front of a LIVE worldwide audience to create your art in real time. And not just any ole art, but experimental portraits that are each unique and one of a kind - glitter, laser beams and all. Thank you Jeremy and I can't wait to see what you teach us today in Day 2 of your creativeLIVE workshop.

Tamara Lackey Behind the Scenes Day 2

A picture is worth 1000 words, right? This morning I have a number of behind the scenes photos to share from yesterday's brain-overloading workshop with the never-ending-energy-filled Tamara Lackey at creativeLIVE. Tune in to Day 3 where we'll discuss Clients, Sales, Business, & Life. Time to get deep.

Behind the Scenes - Day 1 with Tamara Lackey

Day 1 of Tamara Lackey's creativeLIVE 3-day workshop on children's portraiture is a dream come true. So many wonderful insights today, but my greatest AHA was on a personal note. As Tamara described her career pre-pro-photographer, all I heard in my head was - wait, that's so MY story! Job in the corporate world - feeling like it wasn't at all what i was called to do - take time to travel - came back to corporate job - oh no! - this still isn't for me - and finally allowed myself to take a leap of faith to build my photography business. Thank you Tamara for validating my career flip decision!

Watching Tamara interact with her subjects (kids and parents alike) during the "To The Tapes!" section of today's session was so inspiring. I'm definitely going to read some child psychology books to help me get in tune with my kiddo subjects. Tamara advised us to recognize who the kids are and get into their world - connect, quickly. Time to get some sleep, but wanted to give a shout out to our in-class workshop participants who flew to Seattle from around the globe to learn from Tamara directly. I look forward to seeing them in action tomorrow as they get a chance to shoot children in the creativeLIVE studio. You'll rock it! Here are some behind the scenes shots from today:

Day 2 starts in less than 10 hours - woot! woot!

Artist Reception at the Bottlehouse - 11/18 7-9pm

I humbly invite you to join me tomorrow, Thursday, November 18th 7-9pm for my Artist Reception at the charming Bottlehouse in Madrona (Seattle).

Where: Bottlehouse, 1416 34th Ave, Seattle, Wa 98122

When: Thursday, November 18th, 7-9pm

Why: because Third Thursdays are for celebrating art at the Bottlehouse every month!

The show includes both giclee and aluminum prints of images from my travels around the world, set in hand-crafted frames made from reclaimed materials.

Bring a friend or two!

Thank you to Soni & Henri at the Bottlehouse for hosting this show!

Gabe the Babe

There was this guy in college named Gabriel. My ladies and I called him Gabe the Babe. Upon meeting Stacia & Karl's wee little Gabriel for his newborn photo shoot, I began what seems to be sticking as his new nickname. Sure, it might fade away after his newborn-babeness turns into toddlerhood. But rest assured, come 18 years from now this no-longer-little guy will be cheering on the Fighting Irish while freshman girls giggle and whisper, "look - it's Gabe the Babe!" Thank you Stacia & Karl for welcoming me to create a cozy studio in your home. Props to grandma, grandpa and uncle for joining in the fun!

Social art is good for the world

As I listen to Chase Jarvis give his keynote at PDN PhotoPlus Expo, I am inspired over and over. The energy is palpable even though I'm watching by myself in my pajamas over tea. As I read the twitter feed and see Chase ask questions from other folks around the world who are also glued to their screens, I feel connected. This is a beautiful thing. I am humbled and thrilled that my life path has twisted and turned so many times and brought me to my now, this moment. As Zack Arias says, it took him 15 years but he is finally in his element, finally where he is meant to be. Ditto. That's me. I feel like I'm part of a rebel club. "The career paths that we have been taught to follow no longer exist." Thank you for this reconfirmation in my choices. I am finally allowing myself to build my photography business, build my art, and share those pieces of me with the world. And they are not just pieces of me, because what I do is a collaboration. I too believe that is what it's all about - the sharing. As Chase says, it just feels good - "Being creative makes this world a better place."

Global warming, yes. But Chase notes that our global creativity is also plummeting, creating a different kind of crisis. So what do we do? Chase led a conversation with artists who also are breaking the mold: Jasmine Star, Joey Lawrence, Zack Arias, Rob Haggart, Vincent Laforet. Get better! Thank you each for sharing your struggles and hard work. I'm signing up to be fearless about putting myself out there, because leaping over those fears again and again is what got all of these artists to where they are today and where they are going tomorrow.

I will say it over and over, but I am so thrilled that I was in the right place at the right time and have the rare opportunity to be a chat host for Craig Swanson and Chase Jarvis' live worldwide creative classroom - creativeLIVE. Thank you Craig. Thank you Chase.

Democratization of creativity - it starts with you and me and the artist in everyone. Keep it going - get backwards, break the rules, flip whatever "IT" is on its head, wake up every morning and not just follow, but create your new path for the day. What are you sharing today?



Chase says "what is social art? i can't say exactly what it is, but i know it when i see it." Well, when i saw this video about photographer/social change artist JR, I can't think of any greater definition of social art. And what JR is creating and sharing is truly good for the world, one smile at a time.