ASAD 2024

2024 brought me lots of good times with my friends (old and new), family, and my favorite animals (old and new). This year also gave me time to explore through good food and travel. 2024 also started me down a path of figuring out who I want to be, and what I want out of life.

This year’s traveling was off to a slower start than usual. I didn’t go out of town until May. In May, I went to Nashville for a wedding. We stayed at Opryland, went to the museums, and I knocked out another state from my list of riding a horse in every state. My next vacation was to my home, Ohio. I came in to help my best friend Sam, prep for her baby shower. It’s so fun for me to watch my people succeed and I love standing by them as they grow. I am now a very proud auntie to a baby Enzo. While I was in Ohio, I reconnected with some other friends I hadn’t seen a long time, and I am so grateful for my time spent in Ohio this year. In September, I went to Chicago, and while in Chicago I saw a broadway play, completely fan girled in museums, and of course, hung out at the bean. The last place I went this year, was to West Virginia for Chris’s grandfathers Funeral. Under the circumstances, it was nice to spend the with his family, and meet some new faces.

I also gained an orange cat, named Coyote. Chris was out on a run, and had a little kitten follow him. Coyote had a collar on, so he brought him home. A few days later, we took him to the vet to check for a chip. The good news is he had one, the bad news was that it was connected to our local animal shelter. Coyote was supposed to be in foster care. We were asked to bring him in the shelter for a neuter appointment the next day. So, I asked about him when we dropped him off and they called me back after his surgery to tell me the foster parents surrendered him, and I went to pick him up the next day! He is a very sweet, playful, crazy boy and I am lucky to have him. I also have been feeding a few stray cats in the neighborhood, trying to get them acclimated to people, So that I can re-home or send them to our local shelter to be adopted.

I’d like to give a special shoutout to my horse family and trainers at the Equestrian Center. They help me everyday to be a better rider, and a better, stronger version of myself. My buddy Brigand is getting older and more injury prone. This summer while riding, he became lame and unfortunately hasn’t fully recovered. He has lots of good days, and a few days that hurt my heart. Im grateful to be riding with him on all of the days he is feeling well enough. However, I am now riding multiple horses more often, and learning to like different things about each of them, which is pretty cool. I still make sure Brigand gets the attention he deserves, and a big bucket of banana mash when I am done.

I hope you enjoy watching a glimpse of my year. If you want to see more, below you can watch this years video. The links to my other ASAD videos and the blogs to go along with it. Be on the look out next year for 2025!

If you cannot see the video this blog, click here.

Links to other blogs in yearly order are here!

2023
2022
2021
2020
2019

ASAD 2022

The year 2022 was filled with so many highs, and some very low, lows. 2022 brought travel, and weddings, animal snuggles. new friends, and family get togethers. Although some unexpected, I’m grateful to have seen them. 2022 also brought me lots of laughter, and new opportunities for growth in myself, and my art.

As some of you know, the year 2022 started out rough for me. New Years day, I was on a plane heading to my grandpa’s funeral. Although the circumstances were not ideal, I enjoyed seeing family that I have not seen in many years. I loved playing games and reminiscing with them about their childhoods and mine. My grandma is my only remaining grandparent, and I will forever cherish our conversations from this week. I am thankful that she sees me as someone she could talk to, and help her through her grief.

With the United States opening back up from covid, this brought on more travel. Not long after we got home from being in Ohio, my parents came to see me. I also traveled back to Ohio two other times this year. I flew in for my life long best friend’s bridal shower and bachelorette weekend, and then again for her wedding. I also traveled to New York City. I have been there five times, and I do not think I will ever stop being surprised by its beauty and culture.

Everyone that has ever met me knows that I have a love of animals, my favorite being a horse. Growing up in a suburb of Cleveland, its definitely not a typical favorite animal. My bedroom growing up was always covered in horse statues, pictures, toys, etc. After the loss of Molly, I decided it was time to become formally trained. This year, I started my journey towards horsemanship, and hopefully lead to hunter jumper. Bailey was the first horse I felt a bond with at The Equestrian Center. She was very patient with me and helped me through the beginning challenges. The center lost Bailey unexpectedly, and it broke my heart. After riding a few horses, who were all wonderful I found Brigand. I typically use the the phrase “he's a dream” when I talk about him. He pushes me to be better, work harder, and also to expect the unexpected. I am truly grateful for my trainer and friend, Janet, and the entire equestrian center. This is the first time in my life, I have had friends that are also horse people.

I always talk about the things I wish I could improve in the future of my videos. In the past, it was about video organization. I fixed this problem by creating folders per month and adding them at the end of every month, then going and creating that months section of the video. This has helped me a great deal and I definitely will continue it in the future. I was underwhelmed with some of my phones camera quality, but I upgraded my phone so I hope that will improve future videos. Something I really want to improve on will definitely be the blog writing itself. I struggle with writing out the synapsis of my year, and even my art.

I hope you enjoy 2022’s a second a day video, and I can not wait to hear what you think! The link is below, and please do not forget to look for 2023 in the future!

I have four more blog posts, saved in my drafts and I am working to get them to you soon.

If you cannot see the video this blog, click here.

Links to other blogs in yearly order are here!

2021
2020
2019

Celebrating National Photo Day

     As some of you may have known, this past Friday was National Photography Day. In honor of this, I have decided to go in depth on an image that I never really talked about from my previous blog titled "Fashion Accessories". With the help of my best friend, who went to see the Horst P. Horst exhibit in the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg Florida on her vacation, I have decided to give you a short bio of his life and fame as a photographer. Ill then show you how he inspired this image of mine. (Citations Below!)

     Horst P. Horst was born in 1906 in Germany.  At a young age, he discovered his love for art and in 1920 started studying at Hamburg, only to move to Paris in 1930 to study under the architect Le Corbusier. While in Paris, Horst met many people in the art industry including Baron George Hoyningen-Huene who was the Chief of Photography for French Vogue. In 1931, Horst became his photographic assistant as well as his lover and favorite model. In December of that year, he published his first of many images in French Vogue. In 1932, Horst had his first big exhibition in La Plume D'or in Paris. After this exhibit, he became famous almost overnight thanks to a review in The New Yorker. 

     In 1937, Horst moved to New York where he met Coco Channel and photographed for her for thirty years. While his career was going strong in the United States, it seems his love life was also in 1938. Horst met a British diplomat named Valentine Lawford, who lived with Horst until Lawford's death in 1991. They even adopted and raised a son together named Richard J. Horst.

     In 1941 he applied for United States citizenship and joined the Army in 1943. In the Army, Horst had many of his images in the Army’s magazine called “Belvoir Castle.” In 1945, he became friends with and photographed President Harry S. Truman which lead him to photograph every first lady until the 1960s. Also in the 1960s, the new Vogue Editor Diana Vreeland convinced Horst to make a series of images illustrating the lifestyle of international high society members. Eventually he moved down to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and on November 18, 1999 at the age of 93 he died in his home.

     Horst P. Horst’s images are still very prominent to the fashion industry today. Horst is best known for his fashion and portraits, but is also recognized for his still life’s and architecture images. His work often shows his interest in surrealism as well as glamour and beauty

Like these images here of Horst P. Horst.
 

This image of mine that I used in a series of different fashion accessories that I was inspired by Horst P. Horst to create. My style is very glamorous and elegant, Just like Horst P. Horst, and as he uses black and white film, I used monochromatic colors. Horst always has very strong visual lines, and I think the hat and my model Hannah's body language gives me those strong lines.

 
Have a good day everyone and happy Belated National Photography Day!


"Horst P Horst | Classic Photography." Horst P Horst | Classic Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2016.

"Horst P. Horst." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2016.

"Horst P Horst News, Photos and Videos - Vogue." Horst P Horst News Photos and Videos Vogue. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2016.

Duane Michal's Show

     A group of photographer friends and I, got the amazing opportunity over the Valentines Day weekend to go to a gallery show for the photographer Duane Michals at the Carnegie Museum of Art.  

     If you do not know who Duane Michals is;  Duane Michals or the "StoryTeller", is a photographer who works in the darkroom to create visual composite stories. He also is known for writing poems and stories to go with his images. My favorite series of his is called The House I Once Called Home. This series is about the house he grew up in 70 years ago, in Mckeesport Pa. Since then, this house has been abandoned and has started falling apart. This series is full of very personal information about his family, what it was like growing up, and even showed before and after deterioration pictures of rooms through out the house, to go along with his poetic paragraphs under each image.

     This was such an amazing experience for me. I have been such a big fan of his work, that seeing them up close and personal, seeing how instead of starting over when messing up while writing on the matte board, he would just cross it out and then continue writing it was so fantastic.