End of the Semester Craziness

So today is the first day back after Thanksgiving. Students are just realizing that the end of the semester is upon us and that all the casual time management is coming home to haunt them. They have begun to be forgetful due to lack of sleep. One of Matt's students left his Nikon DSLR in the classroom on the desk and went off. Luckily, I realized none of my students were sitting in that place so none of them left it, so I retrieved it and gave it to Matt to identify which student it belonged to. Then one of mine left his hard drive after printing. Hope it gets better as the week proceeds or we are in for a bad time.

 ThinkTank makes pretty nice camera bags in all sizes and of incredible quality. They are a favorite of one of my colleagues who has a bundle of them. I have been a Domke bag girl for years but am trying out these. My pals tell me I will love them. I want a bag that lets me grab my camera while walking and then slip it back in the bag without having to set the bag down again. I want a bag that makes my life easier rather than more difficult. 

If you are like that too, follow this link to ThinkTank and see what you think. They each come with a raincoat for the bag, they are soft sided so they fit to your body. And if you buy from this link, you will be given a choice of a free gift. Students who have studied with me, alum of NKU, and colleagues can get the student discount from a link off http://www.nku.edu/~photo, but the rest of us can get the gift and purchase from clicking on the camera bag above. 

Peter Pan and Me

Each year at this time, I want to find a Peter Pan costume and sing his song "I won't grow up, I don't wanna go to school...." But once I get into class that first time, I am fine. It is a bit of stage fright. I am always remembering that what happens in classes can change people's lives. It's a lot of responsibility to have on our shoulders.

But here we go, off on another year's adventure in learning and life. I guess I will only hum Peter's song in the morning as I am getting ready to face the beginning of another academic year. You'd think, that after all these years, I would be used to it. This will be the beginning of my 38th year of teaching photo in higher ed and the my 19th year at NKU.

I spent my summer working on art, visiting with great friends in photo and former students, learning new software, and being a construction worker in our yard.

See you all and let's see if we can make this a great year.

Last night at LOOK3 slide show and performance by dancers from a video in the Pavilion at the end of the mall.

We go to LOOK3 every year in June and are impressed by how good these 3 days of peace, love and photography are done by the folks in Charlottesville and the festival supporters. I wish that all the students would come to participate in this amazing festival. Photo is everywhere in town during this time. Not only is the LOOK3 festival great, it is so very affordable with students paying $50 for 3 days. Dorm rooms can be rented for cheap and a free shuttle gets you back and forth from the U of Virginia campus to the downtown mall. You will be walking along and run into the likes of Sally Mann or Mary Ellen Mark or James Nachtwey. Take a look at their own website to find out more. http://www.look3.org

After the evening talk, we enjoyed some wine and conversation. L to R Rocky, Chris, Keith and I

Graduation marks the beginning of a new phase of life

Today many of our students will graduate and begin the new part of their life. I almost always go to graduation and love to witness this important mark in their life. When I graduated with my undergrad degree, I did not go to the ceremony because I was not interested in the pomp and circumstance of it all. I had finished the quarter before and saw no reason to spend the money on the gown rental. I had moved on. But I missed that recognition of my accomplishment by not joining my friends at this life marker.

Today, I will mark theirs and celebrate the work they put in to get to this place. I will send them my hopes for a continued life making art, and making a difference. I will come to understand that my time with them will change. They will be come art colleagues. I will miss them.

Some work from Senior BFA Shows that I think are as good as any graduate show

Kate and her images by Diane Kruer

Outside the installation

These are from Kate Dube's installation Simple Truths Speaks Volumes with 24" square images filling an 8' square space. A soundtrack is also filling the space with sounds of each person pictured sharing personal epiphanies.

These are from Spencer Sturr's photo installation called Is There Anybody Out There... which included a couple more images and sound. These stunning images were printed very large and commanded quite a lot of attention. Spencer will be going to graduate school in film at Chapman in Orange County.

Michelle Moore's Photobooth included enlarged strips of 4 like the traditional photobooth produced and as installed read like a story across the central sections.

Senior Shows

Senior shows are something to celebrate and also bring a bit of sadness to me. It means that these artists will leave school soon and move on with their lives. We will be left behind. It is nice to spend time with your students and see them develop into fine young people with a set of skills that will help them in their life pursuits. One of my main goals as a teacher is to teach them not to need me to tell them what to do next but to teach them to be able to figure that out on their own and to trust their instincts. This will serve them well as they continue on as artists.

But it still makes me sad to see them walk away just when they are getting really interesting to watch. I love seeing them know what they want to do as artists, to see them secure with their decisions and ready to do what it takes to make the work strong. What has been so easy is those little conversations as they stop in at my door to share an idea, ask a question or just hang. These will be memories soon.

Now we just need to celebrate!