2012: In Review

Happy 2013 my dear readers!!

I hope that this first week of the new year has been relaxed and full of promise. I don't particularly believe in making New Year resolutions (I think people should decide to "improve" or work on something because they want to, not because they feel like they should due to a particular season), but I must admit that there is something magical about a new year and the idea of a fresh start. So, as I look toward the new year, I find myself wishing to discuss this past year with you all.

Mitch: December 2011

Many of you do not know me personally, and of those who do even a smaller portion have been allowed into my truly personal life. I tend to be a private person. I am uncomfortable sharing my life with a large group of people that I do not know and probably (unfortunately) will never personally meet. However I do believe that your faith in me and continued support of my art should be rewarded by my trust- at least some of it. I don't think it is appropriate to discuss the intimate details of my life with you or to use this blog as a personal diary, but this post is going to be more... personal perhaps than what I normally write.

Me: January or February 2012

Film: January or February 2012

I have spent this year learning about myself. This may seem like silly thing to spend time doing, because who could you possibly be but yourself? But for me, learning who 'I' was turned out to be an incredibly important and rewarding quest. I have always been on of those quirky people, and very early in life I was overanxious to please people. I don't know exactly when, but at some point in my life (middle school perhaps?) I began to adapt and change who I was to fit what people wanted to see. Now, some adaptation of spoken language, body language, and even attitude is natural- I think that people naturally change slightly depending upon the situation. This is not that type of adaptations I am speaking of. Instead I began to truely change, to hide who I was until I could barely remember who that was under the layers of "pretend" me's I created. It got to the point where I didn't realize that I wasn't being myself anymore- I was unconsciously changing myself drastically. This led to a lot of heartbreak, both for myself and for those around me, and is NOT something I would recommend doing.

Me: March 2012

Anyways, it is what I did, and last year I made a radical (for myself) decision to stop being someone I wasn't  and to learn to appreciate and adore (sorry, there just isn't any other way to describe the drastic self-value attitude I decided to pursue) who "I" actually was. To do this I changed my life path drastically, and I broke my heart and someone else's in the process. As painful as that decision was, I cannot find it within me to regret my choice (though I do think I could have possibly handled the transition slightly better). Instead I find myself being much happier and healthier both physically and emotionally. My friendships are more rewarding and I find myself feeling better about almost every part of my life. One of my dear friends who stayed with me during this upheaval period made a comment something like this "who (last year) would have thought that we would become such great friends? And who would have thought that we'd both be so much happier overall?"

Urban Urchins: Spring 2012

Brianna: Summer 2012

Film: Summer 2012

Film: Summer 2012

This past year has been immersed in learning who I am and in finding balance in my life between every aspect of my life. I don't think I will ever find a perfect equation for balancing everything, but I do think that I have become a much healthier person through this pursuit. I also started to allow myself to get much more personal with my art. I bought a film camera and I was given two Polaroids, and with these lovely new tools I began to explore the world with a whole different attitude. Film is a challenging and magical tool, and while I doubt I will every use it for my client sessions, I have been pushing myself to use it more in my personal work. At the same time I have been pushing myself to learn more about my digital work- learning new Photoshop tools and techniques and putting that knowledge to use. The more personal my art has gotten, the more cautious I am about sharing it- a reaction which I think is both good (as it means I put a great deal of love and effort into each photo and spend a great deal of time considering it before I share it) and bad (I share fewer images than perhaps I would if I were less cautious).

Fall 2012

Self: Fall 2012

This upcoming year I expect to continue to pursue self-knowledge and balance in my personal life, and I expect that I will continue to push myself to learn and grow as an artist. For standing beside my art throughout this past year I have nothing but the utmost respect and gratitude for you. You probably had no idea how important your support was to me this past year, and that makes you all doubly dear to me. You supported me without knowledge of my personal pains and triumphs. You supported me because you believed that the way I viewed the world was unique and worth following, and that- my dear readers- is priceless to me. Thank you, a million times, thank you.

I end this post today with this advice: Learn who you truely are, and embrace that person. Embrace your fears, your joys, and acknowledge both the good and the bad which we all possess. There is always room for improvement, and we will all make mistakes this year, but that doesn't mean that you are not wonderful and valuable just as you are today. Love yourself. I'm not suggesting becoming self-absorbed or vain, but rather that you embrace every inch of yourself and make the time to do things that make you deeply happy.

                   <3 AK

Recent Self Portrait: 2012

The Holidays

Dear Readers,

As I write this my hands are coated with the contents of a box of markers- a memento of the hour or two I spent coloring tongue depressors for my mother's kindergarten students and bonding with my family. Tis the season, but of what? I have noticed over the years that we now say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," and this change I do not entirely mind, however it does make me wonder what it is that the Holidays truly celebrate. I don't think it matters whether you are religious or not, the Holidays are important. They are a time to focus on those who care for you, who have helped shape your everyday life and been a part of your everyday joys. This does not mean exclusively the family created through shared DNA, but also those who have become family through bonds of friendship; through late night phone calls and stories that are always more amusing in retrospect. It is a chance to gather together and create deeper bonds; to create an atmosphere of love and compassion, of respect for the similarities and the differences within us all.

With these thoughts in mind, I have looked back and decided to share with you all images of a very dear friend of mine from Itasca State Park. This was a day of laughter and adventure; of lonely highways and clear fall skies. This was a day of family and of friendship, and I am happy to share it with you all.

Happy Holidays, my wonderful readers, may you find joy throughout this chilly season.

<3 AK

Hello

Hello my wonderful readers,

How are you? I hope that you are all doing well and that you have enjoyed your fall! I know that I most certainly did! Now the snow has fallen and stayed in my hometown and I find myself looking eagerly ahead for the joys of winter.

For those of you who don't know, winter is my favorite season! I see winter as a season to pull closer to those you care about, fortifying yourself against the cold of the season with the warmth created by close friendships. It is a season of hockey, or sledding and snowballs and skiing trips. Of hot chocolate and fresh baked cookies, of Christmas carols and twinkling lights. Winter is full of its own sort of magic, one that makes us search within ourselves as well as pull closer to others.

Bundle up lovelies,

AK

Meet Polly

She isn't a parrot, and she won't fit in your pocket- what she does is even better! Polly is the name of my Polaroid 600 camera which my dad brought home from work. He saved her from the trash bin when his work was doing some spring cleaning, and apparently she was never used! It is so amazing to be able to work with such a wonderful and fun camera! Below I've posted some of my favorites from the first cartridge of film I ran through her :), all shots are straight out of camera (minus, of course, being scanned into the computer to be shared with you all) and were shot on PX 600 Silver Shade Cool film purchase from the Impossible Project. 

I hope that you all enjoy the images, and- as always- that you are having a lovely fall (despite the abysmal weather we have been having)!  

 

Till next time!

-AK

 

Electric Twist Part 2: America

Well hello lovely readers,

I feel like I haven't written to you in so long, and for that I apologize. I have been incredibly busy working at my new job (as a librarian! I'm so excited!), setting up and working shoots (fun, fun, fun), traveling, and starting my Senior year in College. For all of these things I am incredibly grateful, but I must admit I've kinda missed sharing my work with you all! :) In lieu of that, here is the second installment of my last editorial shoot with the lovely Brianna!

The grass was tall, it tickled our legs and hid us from the nosy world. The fields were deceptively empty, promising a solitude that wasn't really there- but we excepted its promise and we played and laughed and frolicked beneath the trees, pretending that the silence would last forever and that the sun would never set.

<3 AK

Electric Twist Pt. 1

We ran across fields filled with grass in our underwear, just because it was too hot to keep on the sticky clothes and we wanted to feel the caress of the air against our skin. We swapped bras and danced in silly circles. We slipped traveling down to a small lagoon and squealed at the thought of ticks being found after we returned to the confines of the city. We climbed piles of dirt, and pretended that we were creatures of the wild. Like little children we leaped and spun and covered our feet in a fine layer of dirt. We talked about life and laughed about everything, and through it all we felt the pure and utter joy of being young and healthy and happy. 

May I present to you, my dear readers, part one of the series Electric Twist:

 -AK

Stick Twist Bread

Hello my fellow dreamers :)

Happy Wednesday to you all!! As always, I hope this post finds you happy, healthy, and enjoying every moment of your summer! I am currently writing to you from a comfortable home in a peaceful section of a small Minnesotan town. The trees are presenting a shadow dance with their leaves upon the wall, and the Olympic games are playing quietly in the background. A small Italian woman full of much love for her children is in the next room with the hair dryer, carefully preparing for her workday. On my left, in a matching armchair to the one in which I am currently reclining, is a dear friend of mine. He is currently focusing on his computer, there is some issue about increasing desktop or disc space for his apple's virtual computer system. The air is laced with the smell of my friend's morning coffee intermixed with the scent of cinnamon and freshly baked bread. This whole place speaks of peace for me, it speaks of sun kissed skin, of the cool embrace of lake-water, of warm summer evenings drifting into slightly cooler nights. It is the smell of the fire and the sound of feet in the sand. This is a beautiful place, one which I am always sorry to leave. I hope that you, my wonderful readers, have a place such as this and that you have had the opportunity to enjoy that place this summer.

While you are out hanging with your friends this summer, you might want to consider trying a new recipe called "Stick-Twist Bread." I found this recipe in the wonderful Kinfolk Magazine Volume 4, which if you haven't read before, I would seriously suggest checking out. This was my first time making the bread, but I have to say I was very pleased with it and even found an alternate use for the dough. The basic idea is that you make a very simple eggless dough (the recipe that I used can be found in Kinfolk) and you wrap said dough around a clean branch/stick and cook it for about 5 min over the coals of a fire. I was really pleased with the way in which this recipe worked and found that the leftover dough can be rolled and made into pretzels! :) 

Photo journey capturing the making of Stick Twist Bread:

Oh hai everyone :)

<3 AK