Working Girls Open House Scheduled December 2nd

We are gearing up for the Working Girls Studio and Gallery opening December 2nd, 2011. Eli decided to take on the other gallery across the hall from our original one, so now we are really set up for space for teaching classes, painting and for photo shoots. The sunlight pours in the windows and it's just all very exciting. This is the first time in 20 years that I've had a working studio outside of my house, so it's a big change.

When we began, we worked with David Cohen to create a logo for us - David had the idea of creating a silhouette of Eli and me by photographing us first and then he created the first sketches. Girls being girls, we weren't happy with our wardrobe, poses, etc., so I decided to shoot some more images and create the new silhouettes myself in Photoshop. Then we chose the colors we wanted in the logo,  gave it to friend and designer extraordinaire Sheri Lalumondier, and asked her to work her magic with the colors, figures and fonts. To tie it all together we decided to liven up the dark stairwell leading to our studios by painting the steps the same colors as our logo to entice people upstairs. Since we are truly "working girls" and can't always be around to have visitors, we will simply hang a sign at the bottom of the stairwell on the gate that says "open - come on up" or "closed but call us for an appointment", rather than having strict hours of operation. We do plan, however, to have open hours on Thursdays and Fridays on a regular basis.

Watercolor painter, Kathryn Phillips, will be sharing the paint studio with Eli - we look forward to working with other local artists as well to offer them a place to exhibit and sell their work,  create new work, and teach classes. Eli will be in charge of that part of the business, so you can contact her for more information on that.
I am excited to have a place to sell my work as well as have a downtown location to shoot in. To see samples of my print work, please go to my website. As always, I'm available for commissions.

Working Girls Studio and Gallery

One baby step at a time, Eli and I are putting together our studio. After tossing around many ideas for names, we decided on Working Girls Studio and Gallery. We ARE working girls (maybe not the type the name can imply), both with our photography (me) and painting (Eli), as well as with our downtown vacation rentals that we manage. Primarily, we both wanted a space that we could create in - a space that would be open and bright - so when Eli found this wonderful location on Battery Park, we knew it fit the bill. So, be on the lookout for this sign above the very colorful stairs we are painting - stay tuned for more updates.

I'm Downtown at Last

I have worked out of a home office since my oldest daughter, Jessica, was a baby  - and she's now 20 years old. Working at home, and in some cases having a home studio, was wonderful for a long time - it allowed the female tendency toward multi-tasking to really max out. I could load a batch of images onto the computer, start a load of laundry, sort the images, fix a pot of coffee, and even begin the final edits - all while in my pjs. Just writing this makes me ask "Why would anyone want to change this situation?" . However, for years I've craved being downtown more, running into friends and clients,  absorbing the energy of downtown Asheville, and yes, getting dressed and out the door in the morning. So, thanks to my friend Eli's offer to share a space that she found on Battery Park, I'm finally here.

It's a wonderful space with a wall full of windows that bring in beautiful light, particularly in the late afternoon, and we plan to not only use it as a working studio, but also as a place to offer workshops and classes. The idea is that when we're able to be here regularly enough, we will have open hours when we invite the public in to see what we have to offer - our art work.

It's a big undertaking but we're excited about it. Stay tuned for more info. For now, here is a photo of the space.

I'm Not Kidding

While I had my six week stint in the 5 Walnut Gallery, I spent a fair amount of time people watching, socializing with the many people who stopped by to see what I was up to, and meeting new people. Since I had so much fun creating the stop motion video for the Crash Test Dummies last year, I decided to start a new project focusing on the "scene" around me at 5 Walnut - the many Asheville "flavors" that populated both the bar and the block. I really had no idea what I was going to do, as my vision kept shifting. Finally I told myself to just start shooting and see where it lead, which is exactly how the last one began. So, I drove back downtown one evening, armed with my camera, and as soon as I stepped out of the Rankin parking deck, I came upon a costumed troup of butoh dancers that were corralling the crowd, albeit quite slowly, to the NC Stage Theater for their performance. These performers moved so gracefully and deliberately through the crowd, dressed up in costumes and masks that were magnificent, that it was quite a lucky moment to catch - so "Asheville". No sooner had I finished shooting the dancers than I rounded the corner only to run into a young woman holding a baby piglet. I stopped and asked "Could that little piggy walk down the sidewalk towards me?" and she replied "of course!". So, what you'll see in the opening of the video with the piglet and dancers happened just like that - I'm not kidding.

After that, I began posting messages on Facebook that said "Show up at 5 Walnut between 5-7pm tonight to be in my video", and so many friends and clients did just that. All I told them was that the window in the bar was their stage, and to "do something". While mild panic crept over the faces of a few, most people got to work with their ideas. And there were the many folks who simply wondered what the heck was going on and jumped in front of my camera for their cameo.

"I'm Not Kidding" is short hand in our household for "you won't believe it, but it really happened this way". The video would never have come together if I hadn't found the PERFECT song for it by Asheville's own Ol Hoopty - a song they wrote called Dance.

Here is a radio interview I did with Lesley Groetch on 880 the Revolution a few weeks ago where I talked about how this all came about.

Check it out here if you'd like to see it, and I hope you will.  As always, I appreciate your comments.

It's a nice hang...

My favorite wine bar in downtown Asheville is the one at 5  Walnut, so imagine my pleasure at being able to set up shop in their art gallery for two months. I am there as much as I can be, but even when I'm not, the gallery is open whenever the wine bar is open, which is daily from 2pm until late night. 

I am exhibiting works from three different series - "Asheville - A Contemporary View" and "Urban View" as well as a series of the Biltmore Estate. I am selling prints, framed and unframed, as well as posters, so please  stop by anytime to take a look. Since I don't have any new work hanging on the walls right now since I've been busy with other endeavors, I wanted to create a stop motion video to show at the gallery that would involve many of the local characters both in my life and the life of 5 Walnut. So, I've been shooting scenes of whoever shows up for the past week, leaving the "models" to their own improvisation, and boy have some of them come up with some original ideas! I have had so much fun photographing the locals but am having almost as much fun editing the hundreds of images, laughing out loud  as I work by myself at my computer.

We are going to have a reception to show the gallery and the video on Thursday night, July 28th from 8:30 - 9:30, which is the night before Bele Chere begins so Walnut St. will be closed. I hope you can come.

My Annual Trip to Rancho La Puerta

I just got back from yet another blissful week at Rancho La Puerta - this is the best "working vacation" I take all year. While the format is the same each year that I go - I give a presentation on "Self Expression Through Photography", teach "Digital 101" and "Photographing People in Nature", and lead a photo walk with demonstrations, I seem to feel obligated to shake things up each time. I constantly recreate the self expression talk, based on what I've been experiencing and thinking about over the past year, and this year I included samples from the HATCH mentors we had last April, Sylvia Plachy and Gerald Slota, as well as work and a video by JR, the photographer/graffiti artist who has "pasted" his huge images in various unlikely settings all over the world. If you have the time, I highly recommend that you watch this video about JR on the TED page, which shows a talk that JR gave about his acceptance of the TED prize - $100,000 to make the world a better place. Lofty goal, huh? I first read about JR in the NY Times last year, and I find his work to be immensely inspiring.

I had more students than in years past, and really enjoyed working with them all. I love it when people run up to me at dinner and show me the photos they took, using the tips I had given them in class - what a kick! I was talking to my liason at the Ranch, Victoria, about creating a "photo week" at the Ranch when I go next July that is more photo intensive, forming our own group for a sunset photo hike, private dinner, slide show of student work, photo contest, etc. The Ranch will help me promote it, and in turn I will try to get a group of people together that want not only a wonderful relaxing vacation, but that want to learn how to take better photos too. Best of all, we will be able to get special discounts as a group. So, if you are interested in staying informed on this, please sign up to follow my blog and I will post any info I have about it here.

This year my trip felt busier than usual, and I had to "schedule" down time to just relax and read my book (fantastic one by the way - "Cutting for Stone") in one of many beautiful resting places - the gazebo, the hammock, the pool...you get the picture. I enjoy hiking most mornings up the mountain through the desert terraine, among wild horses, cows and wildflowers, followed by a delicious organic breakfast and various classes such as yoga and body sculpting. My friend and author, Kathleen Flinn, was the guest chef at the Cocina Que Canta, the cooking school at the Ranch, and I was able to take her cooking class, in which we made all kinds of wonderful things, including whole wheat artisan bread, homemade pasta, fruit tart with whole wheat crust, and other yummy dishes. We also made time to take some headshots of Kat for her upcoming book. Hopefully she will come to Asheville's Malaprops Books to promote it next fall.

Here are a few scenes from our hikes and around the Ranch.

LYNNE HARTY PHOTOGRAPHY: Self Expression and Other Lofty Endeavors

LYNNE HARTY PHOTOGRAPHY: Self Expression and Other Lofty Endeavors: "Now that the tsunami of HATCH Asheville has hit and receded, I am reflecting on the warp speed pace I've been living the past few months. Si..."