Portraits For Haiti

Hi Everybody! I don’t know one person who hasn’t been deeply touched and devastated in their own way due to the mind blowing earthquake that took place in Haiti just weeks ago. The footage of the mass destruction and the loss of lives is enough to keep me awake at night. The horror to have your husband/wife or worse yet, child missing or found dead, just turns my stomach. My heart goes to everyone involved but especially the children. Perhaps it’s because I myself am a mom, but I just can’t get the images of the injured and children out of my head. Already there were so many children who were deemed orphans before the quake hit but now the number of parent-less children is overwhelming.

I have spent the last 3 months writing snail mail letters to deployed soldiers, via the remarkable group Soldiers Angels.
It has been incredibly grounding for me and hopefully grounding for our deployed men and women. I haven't talked about it before now...I was doing it for me but I see how by spreading the word, you might think about writing to a soldier, too.

Well, the ravishing and talented Jenna Karowski of JFK Weddings asked if I would be willing to donate a day or portrait shooting to help the children of Haiti. My answer? Totally.

Myself along with some of my lovely photographer friends are coming together to put on a special portrait event to help raise money for the devastation in Haiti caused by the recent earthquake.
We are all giving our time and talents to do portrait sessions all day on Sunday February 21st, for donations. ALL proceeds will go directly to the cause.
If you have been thinking about getting professional pictures (your kiddo’s, family, senior, pictures with your sweetheart or anything else) done or if you haven’t had a chance to donate yet, this event is for you. We will be making 30 minute appointments for all day Sunday February 21st, 2010.
If you are interested in securing your portrait session please email me directly at PortraitsForHaiti@jfkstudios.com and I will promptly email you back with more information and get you scheduled. Appointments are being taken on a first come first serve basis and spots will fill up quickly, so email today!
Thank you to Jenna Karowski, Jessica Hanaumi, Emma Smith, Shannon Hodson & Amanda Mays for volunteering your time and talents to help make a difference!!

What I've Been Up To

Hi Everybody!

This time of year has always been a wonderful time of creative mixup mashup inside my head, and right now is no exception. Below are a few examples of what I've been up too while I'm not blogging...I'm off to Texas on Wednesday to shoot my cousin's wedding so today's blog is short.

I'm really into this quote from "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron...


"Being creative is different than living a creative life."


I am SO into living a creative life, but too much I think we get the two confused. Having to "be" creative is a sort of a judgment call, it brings pressure to mind because "being" creative to me is seen as something you either have or you don't. Obviously that's ridiculous because we are all creative by nature...creativity has a depth and a breadth that is far more than drawing or painting or singing or any of the traditional aspects I think of....to me, it's a relief to remember I can choose to live a creative life...that's a verb. I can DO that.

I got on the drums the other night with my ipod on. Sure there were other things to do. But I wanted to follow along and let Dave Grohl give me a private lesson...after about 45 minutes I needed a hearty drink of water! Later that night when we had a jam session, everybody agreed I rocked exceptionally hard...Brent laughs at what 45 minutes of practice does for me...and what's weird is that the feeling lasts...the feeling of honoring yourself, letting it all out, and having others recognize it is just extra confirmation, but it does feel good.

Is there something you've forgotten to do in a while? Is there a burning desire you're ignoring, living with a little tiny itch of dissatisfaction that you can't place? Be open to letting it creep it's way out from where it's hiding inside of you...even if your Inner Critic is telling you why you shouldn't. If it's too much, at least listen what your Inner Critic has to say...cause the truth is you have a right to living a creative life as much as any other beating heart that's ever beated.