The Center for the Study of the End of Things

I am pleased to announce that two images from my Abandoned Houses series will be on display at the Inaugural Symposium of the Center for the Study of the End of Things, in Charlottesville, VA. Fellow RIT MFA student Fiona Wilson will also be displaying images from her Collapse series.

The event will be held in a vacant building which will be demolished soon after the show. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend, but if you happen to be in the Charlottesville area, be sure to stop by and check it out! To learn more, visit the organization's Facebook page.

Date: Friday, Feb. 5, 2010
Time: 6-10PM
Location: 1017 West Main St., Charlottesville, VA

Image credit: The Center for the Study of the End of Things

Cibi & Custom BrewCrafters Pair Food & Beer

On Thursday evening, I had the pleasure of photographing a cooking class at Cibi Deliziosi, located at 3894 Rush-Mendon Rd. Mendon, NY. The theme for the evening was appropriately a Super Bowl Party Menu & beer pairing with products from Custom BrewCrafters (CBC). The Menu included chips & dip (Creamy Avocado & Shrimp Dip; Roasted Pepper, Artichoke & White Bean Hummus), Scotch Ale Fondue, and Beer Braised Chili Stew. The class was led by Cibi chef/owner Rosita, with assistance from three CBC brewmasters. Beers included Canandaigua Lake Ale, English Pale Ale, Scotch Ale, and Double Dark Cream Porter.

Rosita instructs at her chopping table:

CBC Scotch Ale:

CBC owner Mike Alcorn pours one of his beers:


Scotch Ale Fondue:

Brewmasters wait patiently for the stew to finish:


Chili Stew, perfect for a cold & snowy winter night:

Check out Cibi's website for upcoming classes, including a "Mardi-Gras Party" on Tues. 2/09 and an evening of "Local, Seasonal & Natural" food items on Thurs. 2/25.

For additional photos from the event, check out my Flickr page.

Joe Bean Coffee Roasters

Thanks to Joe Bean Coffee Roasters for showing me around their shop at 182 North Ave., Webster, NY, yesterday morning! The company roasts fair trade, organic beans from around the world. If you're a Rochester local, their products can be purchased at their shop and additionally are available elsewhere around town, such as at Abundance Cooperative Market (62 Marshall Street) and Lento (274 N. Goodman Street), a restaurant dedicated to utilizing small-scale, local food production. If you're from out of town, you can make purchases here. Also, check out their Facebook page for updates on events and open houses.

I watched as the coffee was 'cupped', a tasting technique performed in order to determine each coffee's flavor profile:

Making cappuccinos:

Earlier this month, I also caught Joe Bean baristas serving coffee at the Rochester Roots "Growing Together Community Garden Conference." To see these photos and more, visit my Flickr page.

Slideluck Potshow Comes to Rochester

Last Friday, Jan. 22, Rochester Contemporary hosted a Slideluck Potshow event. The walls of RoCo's gallery were bare, as the Members Exhibition had just come down.

Begun in 2000, when Casey Kelbaugh "invited some friends to his backyard in Seattle for a potluck dinner and art slideshow," Slideluck Potshow has become an international phenomenon, which brings artists and their surrounding communities together for a night of food and art. Sounds like a great idea to me! Images for the slideshow are collected through a call-for-entry and jury selection process and range from emerging to well-established artists. To learn more about the organization, click here.

Attendees watch the show:

Kelly Shimoda's text message project I guess you don't want to talk to me anymore:

Work by Abelardo Morell:

Elinor Carucci's recent work from the series My children:

Complete List of Artists shown:
100 Eyes/Beware the Cost of War
Aaron Huey
Alberado Morell
Alec Soth
Alyssa Monks
Anastasia Taylor
Andrew Moore
Andy Freeberg
Ariel Zambelich
Birthe Piontek
Christoph Morlinghaus
Don Menges
Elinor Carucci
Emily Schiffer
Guntar Kravis
Jonathan Lipkin
Kelly Shimoda
Lindsay Blatt
Lorenzo Triburgo
Lori Nix
Magnus Bjerk
Michael Forester Rothbar
Molly Surno
Olivia Arnone
Olivia Jacquet
Phillip Toledano
Robert Herman
Robin Schwartz
Ryan Sulzc
Scout Tufankjin
Wren Noble

Converge: Upstate Graduate Exhibition

Last night was the opening for Converge: Upstate Graduate Exhibition at Rochester Institute of Technology's School of Photographic Arts and Sciences (SPAS) Gallery. The show includes work from over 50 MFA students at the following Upstate NY schools: Alfred University, RIT, Syracuse University, University of Buffalo, and Visual Studies Workshop.

I entered Kale, an image from my current project, Slow & Steady. The photograph was taken at Mud Creek Farm, and shows kale growing under a material that protects the plant from frost. (To learn a little more about the farm and my current project, check out a blog post I wrote back in December.) Kale was in the "nature" section of the show, in between work by fellow RIT grads Emma Powell and Emily Zeller.

Visitors take a closer look:

If you're in upstate New York, come by and check out the show:

Location: 70 Lomb Memorial Dr. Rochester, NY
Frank E. Gannett Building (7B), 3rd floor
Dates: Thurs. Jan. 21 - Fri. Jan. 29, 2010

Through Your Lens: School Facilities Across America

At the end of summer '09, I learned about Through Your Lens, "a collaboration of The 21st Century School Fund, Critical Exposure, and Healthy Schools Campaign to raise awareness of the need to fund school buildings that support learning and provide a safe, healthy environment for students and teachers." The contest challenged teachers, students, and other members of public school communities nationwide to photograph their school campus: both the good (subjects which show off school pride) and the bad (deterioration). I responded to the call for photos, by revisiting my alma mater Langley High School.

I submitted the photos in this post, along with the following statement:

U.S. News and World Report listed Langley High School in the top 100 schools in December 2008. As a graduate from the class of 2003, I can vouch for the high-quality education available from a dedicated faculty and staff at the public school in McLean, VA. Though during a recent visit to the campus, I realized that the facility, built in 1965, is a little rough around the edges. Fortunately, a new wing with shiny classrooms was just added to Langley's facade. But the renovations reveal a stark contrast to the rest of the aging building. Many details have been overlooked, including broken and tattered door signs. And the outdoor basketball court has rusty hoops and grass growing through broken asphalt. Despite some necessary maintenance work, there is a lot of charming history literally drawn on the school walls, including a map of Virginia in the science wing and a Saxon Pride mural by the gymnasium. It would be great if finances could allow a better preservation of facilities for the wonderful LHS community.

This afternoon, I learned that the picture below of the basketball court was published in Through the Lens, a book created as a result of the photo contest. The book will be delivered to key leaders in the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the US Department of Education.

Rochester Roots

Rochester Roots is an exciting organization "committed to the creation of urban school and community garden-based educational programs for youth and adults" in the city of Rochester, NY. Director Jan McDonald and volunteers work with the school community to develop a garden which complements lessons children are learning in such subjects as science, history, and math. To teach participants entrepreneurial skills, a portion of the produce is sold at the South Wedge Farmers Market. To learn more about Rochester Roots, check out their video, Let's Dig In.

I spent several chilly autumn mornings photographing at one of the elementary school gardens, watching children enthusiastically pick produce, pull dying plants, and feed the compost pile.

At the end of the season, Rochester Roots hosted a fund raising event that included a delicious harvest dinner, a dessert table filled with homemade pies, a silent auction and a lecture presented by guest speaker Samina Raja, professor at the University of Buffalo.
If you're a Rochester local, consider joining Rochester Roots this Saturday, Jan.16, 2010, for Growing Together: A Community Garden Conference. The day includes a morning bus tour of local community gardens (sold out) and an afternoon of three breakout sessions: 1) Soil Health 2) A-Z Organic Garden Planning and 3) Community Garden and Urban Agriculture Development. Walk-Ins for the conference are allowed, however pre-registration is encouraged. Phone registrations can be made to 585-232-1463.

Date: Saturday, Jan.16, 2010
Times: 9:00-12:00 Bus tour (sold out)
12:30-5:30 breakout sessions
Location: Rochester City Hall
Address: 30 Church St. Rochester, NY 14614
Free parking available at City Hall