I think I might have been a little busy as of late. The month of September has flown by and we are now into October. Football is in full swing, people are still complaining or rejoicing over all things pumpkin spice, and hockey season is about to start. However, none of that has to do with my photography, so I can go ahead and ignore that! What I wanted to do, though, was just drop a little info about what has transpired over the past month, maybe a few observations, and some info about anything that might be upcoming.

The last month, as I noted, has been quite busy! Between working on getting a show together for this month, and some wonderful things in my personal life (you can ask me in person about that), September was a little bit of a whirlwind, providing little time for breaks in the action. If it wasn’t something physical, it was something rattling around in my head that needed to be attended to.

As I think I noted in my recap of the summer, I found out that I would be showing all of “A Southern Verse” at the Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County in Camden, SC, along with paintings by Lori Isom, over the month of October. If there was anything that was on my mind over the past month, at least work related, it was that. Even when things were out of my hands while prints were being made and framed, the constant knowledge that the show was around the corner was in my head. As of this past Tuesday, though, the work is up in the gallery and I’m looking forward to the opening this coming Friday evening. If you happen to be in the Camden area, or passing through, between October 5, and November 2, please stop by and check it out. Also, give the Fine Arts Center a look too. I can’t express how amazing it is that a city the size of Camden has a facility as impressive as the Fine Arts Center. I wish Augusta had a facility like theirs that caters to so many aspects of the arts in one facility.

Earlier in the month, during the Arts in The Heart of Augusta festival, I was invited to be a part of “Ride or Die 3”, put together by Lauryn Sprouse. It was the second time I’ve been asked to be a part of this amazing group show that features selected artists from the Augusta art community. I’m honored, as always, to be included in the show, and in a community that continues to amaze me with the work that is created. The show was at the Miller Theater in downtown Augusta, and if you are from here and have yet to see it since it has re-opened, get down there for a show, the facility is amazing! Even though the weather was a little crumby over that weekend, people still made it out and there were just shy of 2000 people that came through the theater to see the show and the performances on the stage.

On a side note, if anyone is looking for a good place to get large prints done online, check out Artifact Uprising! Due to the show in Camden being printed, and needing to get prints made quickly, I had to find someone else to do the two prints I had at “Ride or Die 3”. I decided to go a little bigger than usual and took a chance with a company I’d never used. It was a gamble that paid off! The print quality was amazing, and the paper was high quality. I highly advise people to check them out.

Toward the end of the month I got word from the Midwest Center for Photography that I had been selected for inclusion in their 2018 National Photography Fellowship Competition for Developed Work. Included will be select pieces from “A Southern Verse”, along with work from 15 other talented photographers, all of whom, myself included, are up for consideration for the fellowship. I’m honored to be a part of this group and wish that I could get out to Wichita for the opening, however, I have to save money for upcoming portfolio reviews!

On the topic of portfolio reviews, that is part of what I will be working on over the next month, among other things. In the process of trying to get a book made from “A Southern Verse”, I’ll be spending a lot of my time finishing up the larger edit, looking to get a layout done, and making a mock-up of the book. I’d like to have that all done by the end of the year, so that the mock-up can accompany me to portfolio reviews, but we’ll see where that goes. It’s been exciting trying to make this happen, and has opened new doors, posed new challenges, and just made this journey as exciting as it is time consuming. I wouldn’t have it any other way, though. I’ve had lots of help from so many people now that making a list would take longer than writing this blog, but my thanks go out to all of you, you know who you are!

Besides getting out and shooting when I can, the rest of my time has been filled with trying to talk to as many of my friends in the local art scene as possible. We don’t always get to connect for lengthy periods, so when I get the chance, I like to take full advantage of it. I’ve had some friends move on, or preparing to move, to other places recently, and I’ve been lucky to keep in touch as best I can. Seeing new work from new locations has been fun. I sometimes complain about not getting to talk art as much as I’d like to, but it seems to come in waves. At the beginning of September it was at a little bit of a low point, but towards the end I had some wonderful opportunities to share with some people and hear what they have going on. I can’t get enough of that!

The month of October is looking up! Hopefully the temperature here will eventually start to go down a little, and by November maybe it will feel a little more like the falls I used to get in Massachusetts. Enjoy your pumpkin spice, or enjoy hating on it, and have a wonderful start to fall. Hopefully I’ll be able to post a little more this month, but if not, thanks to everyone for being there and supporting me and every other artist out there.