What does a messy studio mean?

The floor is littered with scraps of foam board, mat board, and bits of canvas strips. The safety goggles are out, sectional frames are – well – sectional still, and the music's cranked to loud.

What's it mean?

It means I'm on deadline for a solo exhibition...

Great, but should I spring for the trophy?

Here's a different twist, I've been awarded a Bell Ringer award from the Publicity Club of New England. The best-in-category (Special Event: Series Campaign) award is for the Faces and Voices of Autism Photo Exhibition.

Okay, that's not the different twist. The different twist is that I can order a certificate for $15 or a trophy for $125. Hmmmm....

Portrait of Michelle from Faces and Voices of Autism Photo Exhibition

Got the Gold!

The Faces and Voices of Autism traveling exhibition is on the road – somewhere in California, last I heard.

Portrait of Rossi from Faces and Voices of Autism

Meanwhile, it's been recognized a little closer to home. The New England Society for Healthcare Communications (NESHCo, for the acronymly inclined) awarded Faces and Voices a best-in-category (Public Relations Projects) Gold award during its annual Lamplighter awards last month.

The Lamplighters are especially notable because they evaluate not just communication, but also outcome. When we (May Institute, the National Autism Center, and Andrew Child Photography) set-out to turn a body of work into an exhibition two years ago we approached it with a communication strategy. Rather than pulling together a group of attractive photographs, we identified the target audience groups and key messages we wanted to address. Among the groups were legislators, professionals who work in special needs fields, and the general public. One of the key goals was simply to make autism personal – to move people in a deeper and more meaningful way than facts and statistics can alone.

Faces and Voices of Autism at Boston's Prudential Center

What makes the Lamplighter Gold award especially gratifying is the peer acknowledgement that we hit our mark, scoring 98 out of a possible 100.

Ya, what she said!

One of my photographs has been accepted into Cambridge Art Association's annual Northeast Prize Show. Whitney Heavy, who also has a studio in my building, describes it well in her blog.

The reception is Friday, May 30th, 6-8 pm. I'll be there!

I'd embed an image of the photograph but... it's the same one I wrote about (and embedded) in this blog just last week. So scroll down.

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Wait, I've seen that photo before!

I'm sitting in a portfolio review yesterday morning, chatting with James Hull, when I pull out an infrared panorama of a cabin in Harvard, MA. He pauses then excitedly says, "Wait, I've seen that photo before!"

Turns-out that he almost accepted it into the CAA Interiors/Exteriors show that he juried last month. Ummm, small world.

It was one of those moments that could have slipped into awkward silence. Instead, we just eased into a conversation about the merits of saturation, printing on canvas, and explaining how I make my infrared photographs.

And, as much as I'd like to be resentful about not having a piece accepted for exhibition, I found James to be both charming and very helpful. Guess I'll have to find another chip to put on my shoulder. :-)

It's just a crock...

A water crock, actually, and it's the newest addition to my studio.

I've been looking for an alternative to all the bottled water I drink but didn't want a full-blown water cooler. I eventually came across this crock on the web and ordered it. When it arrived, I became more than a little enamored with its shape. There's something I like about all the intersecting curves that seem to echo one another.

That and it's supposed to be lead-free.

Photos from Capitol Hill

Faces and Voices of Autism is now in its last couple of days on Capitol Hill. I've returned to my studio in Massachusetts (a team from May Institute will break down the exhibition tomorrow afternoon) and thought I'd post a few photos from the venue.


This corner of the Russell Senate Office Building houses the rotunda – and the exhibition.


Senator Kennedy toured the exhibition Tuesday afternoon and spoke with us for a few minutes. Shown here (left to right) are Juanita Class, Heidi Howard and Abbey Maney of May Institute meeting the Senator.


We were also joined by Karen Driscoll (center) who is a Marine Corps spouse and mother of a child with autism.


Karen and Heidi chatting with members of Senator Kennedy's staff.



The Russell Rotunda viewed from a third-floor balcony.