The "Fab 3": Photographers Make The Posts

I want to share the work of three amazing photographers that allow me to post their images on Econesting.

Did you know that Annie Leibovitz lives right near me? Well, she does, and I've had the privilege of gracing Annie's home a few years ago when I picked my daughter up from babysitting her kids. Annie is not one of the "Fab 3" photographers you'll find here. To be truthful, I didn't ask her. Do you think she would have said yes? I hate rejection, so instead I asked these equally talented photographers. I believe they capture moments in time with just the right perspective and composition. Here is an introduction to the "Fab 3" photographers of Econesting:

Ben Scott

Ben Scott is a multi-talented Boston-based graphic designer, photographer and mixed-media artist. I'm sure if you asked him what he would rather be doing more than anything else, he would answer "Fly Fishing". We're glad Ben really loves his camera too. You must check out Ben's images of his hometown, Martha's Vineyard. Ben is also my daughter's boyfriend, so I guess he couldn't say no when I asked him if I could use his photos. Website: Ben Ross Scott

Juliet Harrison

Juliet Harrison is a newish friend that seems like an oldish friend. We started meeting once a week with a few other unbelievably talented women for a "Creative Breakfast". Juliet and I discovered our husbands are colleagues, and now we are all bonded by friendship. When Juliet told me she was a black and white equine photographer, I had no idea what she was talking about. Was there really such a thing? Well, Juliet has many photography books to her credit, and now I know so much more about horses, as she shares their beauty through the eye of her lens. Website: Juliet Harrison Photography

Jen Kiaba

Jen Kiaba is another friend I met at our amped up caffeine and creativity-charged breakfast. Jen is young, beautiful and so, so talented. She's the ultimate portrait photographer. Already a professional at 26, Jen is going places. I had so much appreciation and trust in Jen's work after viewing her portfolio, that I convinced the editor of Where Women Create magazine to have Jen shoot my six-page spread. You all saw that, right? Jen's so good, that my portrait picture didn't even need a photoshopped facelift. Amazing. Website: Jen Kiaba Photography

Main image: Jen Kiaba Photography

Muddy Comments

Here’s the first comment I read Monday morning on an article I wrote for Care2 titled, 10 Ways To Help Kids Cope With Japan:

“my god how stupid is this article? coping with what the tv says? are parents really this stupid that they need an article on how to explain natural disasters to their mentally ill children?” ~ Jay

No caps, just hateful spewing.

Hopefully by the time you read this, the next few commenters will clean up Jay’s vomit. That’s how it often works on blogs. Maybe they’ll be all over him, and the conversation will go humming back to normal. Maybe. Websites have the ability to deem the comment inappropriate and delete it. They haven’t. If it’s cleaned up, the post might continue to get hundreds of constructive and adoring comments. Yet, this one guy feels entitled to bring us into his revoltingly unsafe world.

After three years of blogging, I rarely get nasty comments. I don’t let these types of comments get to me anymore. They used to. Now I just wonder where these people come from, and why they even bother to comment?

I checked Jay’s profile. Here’s a shortened version: Age: 37 Lives in: Canada Causes: women's rights, violence against women, violence against children, pro-choice, environment, endangered species, civil rights, children welfare... About me: sweet, loving, silly, strange, cat owner, loyal, average intellect... What Bugs Me: unfriendly people, the destruction of rural areas, people who won’t use their minds!, people who rape, ignorance, cruelty, bullying… Passions: writing, nature, making a difference…

What a crock. I’m going to take back an earlier statement I made. This does bug me. While I might be stuck in the mud with writer’s dismay, I have a few questions for you: Do you think all of our advancement towards becoming a more global community through the Internet has made us any more tolerable of each other? Should I moderate comments here? I don’t (except for spam). Is it only a matter of time until these slugs find Econesting and muddy it up?

I’m closing my computer.

Photo: Juliet Harrison

Armchair Creative

Do you read your horoscope? You don't need to answer that. I believe many of us do and won’t admit it. I'll confess to reading those snippets of monthly predictions, and of course at the time of the reading, my horoscope (Gemini) always seems spot on. Then I forget all about it and get on with the month.

Today I clicked onto the February horoscope from The Sister’s Project, a companion blog to A Way To Garden…

"We live in very modern times and many of the old rules no longer apply. One of those changed rules is a very important one for you to remember—“it’s OK for an artist to be an intellectual and it’s OK for an intellectual to be an artist.” In other words, do acknowledge and nurture the many wonderful dimensions of yourself and allow your creative and intellectual energies to work together."

OK, knowing that my month will now be in sync, I deleted the post and headed down my long, snowy driveway to retrieve the mail. I grabbed a packing envelope that I immediately knew held the dimensions of my creative and intellectual energies.

A Twilight Zone moment? A celestial success story? An alignment of the stars? A serendipitous coincidence?

Whatever the reason, the Spring issue of Where Women Create: Inspiring Work Spaces Of Extraordinary Women hit the newsstands (and my mailbox) today, and I am elated to be one of the profiled women that will "nourish your soul and inspire the creative process."

Now, you may ask…How did an environmental writer/blogger end up in a magazine about the work spaces of creative women?

The short answer is…A fateful phone conversation with the fabulously energetic and passionate editor, Jo Packham led to an invitation to submit my story of reinvention with pictures of my work spaces.

My thoughts about it at the time…No way this will happen. I may be creative, but I'm an "armchair creative." It's not that I sit and watch others work, my work takes place within the confines of a chair and a computer. Where Women Create profiles famous (and not so famous) artists and crafters.

An Armchair Creative's Story

Reinvention is a buzzy word that seems to coincide with life shifts. In my case, a bunch of eco "re" words like: reinvention, recreated, reworked, renovated, repurposed, reimagined, were playing out simultaneously in my life. I did not lose my job. I chose to leave it. That is what I wrote about.

Three photo shoots later with the talented Jen Kiaba, which included many images of my work spaces (dining room table, couches, one of my kid's repurposed bedrooms, comfy chairs, a window seat…), I can now share with you the humbling acknowledgement of the convergence of the creative and intellectual.

Thank you Jo, it is a true honor to be among the creative women profiled on the pages of Where Women Create.

It would make me so happy if my lovely readers picked up a copy of the magazine and read my story.

Photos: Jen Kiaba for Where Women Create

Anew: Clearing The Pipes

After a few days of family and self-imposed unplugged bliss (an absolutely scary state for a blogger) over the holidays, I've now been thrown in the other direction. I'm struggling to find my way back into the prolific writing groove that generally drives me. Maybe it was that exhaustive A-Z DIY Eco-Gift Guide which was so much fun to organize and write - but, it kind of sucked the blogging out of me for a few weeks. Could it be the fresh year awash with newness and all the connotations that accompany that? Right now, I'm tip-toeing back into the blogosphere with a few new posts and a sprucing up of this blog (coming soon). I'm also moving forward with more careful intention. You can read about that here. This is new for me. I generally catapult myself on pure instinct - then "see where it all lands." The twists and turns have been exhilarating, and continue to allow me to keep singing my Econesting tune. While I could keep truckin' merrily along, I'm also taking in the larger landscape of what's next...

2 things on my mind right now:

1. It would be nice to monetize this blog. Any ideas?

2. I would like to collaborate more. Any ideas?

2 newsy-related items:

1. I will be profiled in the next issue of Where Women Create. This is an absolutely awe-inspiring honor to have 6-8 pages of magazine real estate devoted to…me. I promise to tell you more about that very soon.

2. If you are in the New York area and have any interest in starting your own blog, join me at Wing and Clover for a workshop: Blogging The Basics: A Niche and a Knack.

As the image above suggests, I'm clearing out and reconstructing for the new year. Will you be learning some new tunes - exercising your pipes differently in 2011?

Credit: Carl Kleiner via Design Love Fest (My dad was a trumpet and trombone player, and a master tinkerer. He would have loved eco-art - although it wasn't called that yet.)