This Week in Rochester, NY

Here are two art/photo events happening this week in Rochester, NY:

Photographer Doug DuBois to speak at Rochester Institute of Technology

Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Time: 6PM
Location: Carlson Auditorium, Bldg. 76 room 1125
Cost: Free

Additional information available at RIT's School of Photographic Arts and Sciences news page and Facebook event page.

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ArtAwake

On Saturday, April 10th, 2010, from 5pm-2am, ArtAwake will transform the former First National Bank on 35 State Street in Downtown Rochester through a festival of art, music, and much more! There will be art of all forms and special installations, 21 bands and musicians performing on 3 stages, interactive exhibits of all types, a historical exhibit, and a variety of culinary art and other food & drink provided by a variety of local businesses. Tickets are available in advance or at the door, and will gain you unlimited access for the duration of the event along with special discounts at several nearby restaurants.

Date: Sat., April 10
Time: 5PM - 2AM
Location: 35 State Street, Rochester, NY
Cost: UR Students: $7 advance, $9 door
Other Students/UR Community: $8 advance, $10 door
Community: $9 advance, $11 door

Two of my photos will be on display, as well as work from my MFA classmates Fiona Wilson and Nick Marshall.

Easter Eggs

Here's my little kitchen creation for the day. Sadly, for some reason I have yet to purchase paprika. I could have sworn I'd bought it long ago. Anyway, try to envision the eggs with the orange sprinkling of the seasoning. The free-range eggs were purchased yesterday at the Rochester Public Market, from a vender by the name of Old Home Farms. The recipe was a slight variation of this one. Though the addition of a few teaspoons of lemon juice is key! And I used a trick I learned last summer from a coworker: instead of halving the eggs lengthwise, I halved them at the width, but used a knife to take a sliver off the pointy ends of the egg. Then they stand up on their own, which is a nice little variation to the basic deviled egg.

Happy Easter! May your day be spent with family, friends and delicious food!

Livingston County 2010 Farmer Neighbor Evening

While photographing the first day of Sugarbush Hollow's Maple Syrup Festival, I had the pleasure of meeting the president of Livingston County's Chamber of Commerce, Cynthia Oswald. Upon hearing about my thesis project about small scale, local food production, she generously invited me to attend the county's 13th Annual 2010 Farmer Neighbor Evening last Friday, March 25.

The event was held at the Genesee River Restaurant & Reception Center, which housed over 300 attendees. The entryway and reception room were lined with displays by such organizations as the NY Farm Bureau, the 4-H program, and even AT&T. Once Again Nut Butter, Deer Run Winery, and Eagle Crest Vineyards provided product samples as hors d'oeuvres. The main events of the evening were the dinner buffet, award presentations, and an address from guest speaker David J. Salmonsen, Senior Director of Congressional Relations.

IconUnited Q&A

A huge thank you to Nate Abramowski for featuring my work and a Q&A on his blog! I met Nate a few weeks ago in Philadelphia during the Portfolio Walk-Through at the SPE conference. Look out for additional artist interviews on IconUnited and be sure to check out Nate's website, for his series quiet men.

Sugarbush Hollow Maple Syrup Festival

Sugarbush Hollow's Maple Syrup Festival was the perfect way to spend the official first day of Spring. I dropped off my film this morning, to be processed. But in the meantime, here are a few photos from my digital camera:



Chuck Winship explains the tapping process during a walking tour on Sugarbush Nature Trail:


Attendees enjoy sunny weather and full stomachs (from syrup and pancakes) on the porch of the sap house:


The hollow's friendly canine mascot:


In case you missed Saturday and Sunday's festivities, the fun continues next weekend: 3/27, 28, 10AM - 4pm. 8447 Pardee Hollow Road, Wayland, New York 14572

Sugarbush Hollow

During the last week of February, I had the delightful experience of photographing the process of maple syrup tapping at Sugarbush Hollow in East Springwater, NY. This was really exciting, because I first learned about the hollow back in the fall, when I met owner Chuck Winship at the Brighton Farmers Market. Since then, I've been patiently waiting for maple syrup season to begin!

Arriving at the hollow on a snowy day, I met Chuck at the syrup house:

The forest is located on an incline, so that the maple syrup can flow downhill, through pipelines. We took a snowmobile to the top of the hill and the tapping process began. Chuck drills a hole into the tree:

To maintain tree stability, a new hole is made about an inch to the right and slightly above the last year's hole. The tubing, connected to the new hole, declines to a tree further down the hill, allowing for the syrup to move downward, and eventually reach the syrup house. Outside temperatures must reach about 40 degrees Fahrenheit before the syrup starts flowing.

Pam Masterson, owner of Canadice Kitchens, poses after tapping a tree:

At the end of the day, we rode back down the hill on the snowmobile. Standing on a tow sled in the back (as if I were leading sled dogs), I took a few photos with my digital camera:

Sugarbush Hollow is hosting Maple Syrup Weekends this Saturday, 3/20, and Sunday, 3/21, and next weekend (3/27, 28). Each day, festivities will run from 10AM - 4PM.

Come join us for maple syrup demonstrations, a pancake breakfast by the Springwater Gala, taste the flavors of maple syrup & hike into the Sugarbush on our new Sugarbush Hollow Nature Trail. Great old fashion outdoor fun and education for families and friends! Free tours, demonstrations and tastings. Pancake Breakfast by Springwater Gala $5.00 adult $2.00 children. Culinary Breakfast prepared with local butter, eggs, pancake mix, apple juice and fresh maple syrup from Sugarbush Hollow.

Address: 8447 Pardee Hollow Road, Wayland, New York 14572

For those who can't make it to the event, their products can be purchased here.

SPE 2010

The past two weeks have been very busy due to my spring break travels home to DC briefly, then up to Philadelphia, PA, for the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) conference, then back to Rochester to begin the spring quarter at RIT. This was my second consecutive year attending SPE and oddly enough, my first trip to Philadelphia (it's a mere 3 hour drive from DC!). The conference was a wonderful time to reconnect with former photo professors and colleagues, to meet new people and to see a little bit of Philly (including the Liberty Bell, of course!).

In addition to socializing and sitting in on lectures, one of the highlights of the weekend is the opportunity for portfolio reviews. During the Friday student portfolio critique session, I had the great pleasure of meeting with four different reviewers: Anni Holm, Heather McClintock, Amie Potsic, and Walter Bodle. I was thrilled for the opportunity to meet with each of them.

Anni Holm is director and curator of People Made Visible, Inc., in West Chicago, which according to the organization's website, is a "non-for-profit with a mission to facilitate community while fulfilling the artistic, social, educational and cultural needs of the community through an innovative physical and web based presence." ...sounds amazing!

Heather McClintock is a documentary photographer, who according to her website bio, seeks "a deeper, more intimate connection to humanity" in her work.

Amie Potsic is an artist and current Director of Career Development at The Center for Emerging Visual Artists, in Philadelphia.

Walter Bodle is the founder of Youth in Focus, an organization with a mission "to empower urban teens, through photography, to experience their world in new ways and make positive changes in their lives."

In addition to the one-on-one portfolio critiques, Saturday night was the Curator Portfolio Walk-Through (see above photo), in which students and professionals cover the very crowded room with work, resulting in a delightful chaos of sorts. During this time, I displayed work prints from my current project Slow & Steady. A few people I met during this time: artist and contributor to the online magazines Fraction and photo-eye Melanie McWhorter, Photo Center NW Education Director Ashley Siple, and recent SCAD MFA grad Nate Abramowski. Toward the end, I walked around a bit to see what others were showing. Last year, I remember seeing a surprising amount of black and white photos, but this year color photography had a much more significant presence.

Because I spent most of Friday afternoon in portfolio reviews, I missed a lot of the lectures and panel discussions. Though I did sit in on "Seeing Beyond Dirt: The Language of Working-Class Photography," a lecture by RIT English professor Janet Zandy. I also caught RIT Photo professor Suz Szucs' presentation in the panel discussion for "Self as Object: Perspectives of Identity." On Saturday, I attended the graduate student presentations by Kelly Flynn, Garrett Hansen, Gazelle Samizay, Travis Shaffer and Leilani Wertens.

Friday night, while walking in Old City for First Friday gallery events, my RIT buddies and I stumbled upon what was for me a very exciting art space called Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, a namesake for Walter Benjamin's essay. The store/gallery is currently showing The Farm, a narrative exhibition documenting daily life and new initiatives at the Art in the Age Farm in Tamworth, NH, presented by artist Robin McDowell. The below photo shows the storefront window.

So that sums up my 2010 SPE experience. I look forward to next year's conference in Atlanta, GA!