Nothing Says I Love You Like...

I'm running a sale on Naggys Shop, my online photography store. Perhaps you've visited it? The link is to the right. I sell my nature photography cards, prints, wall art and downloads direct from me to you. In honor of Valentine's Day - two hearts beating as one, you had me at hello, and nothing says I love you like a handwritten letter - I'm offering two cards for the price of one! Please shop the store and pick out a couple of cards. I took all of the pictures, designed each of the cards, and will be the one running to HyVee to drop them in the mail. Talk about personal service! In this time of politics and cold weather, I hope Valentine's Day warms your heart, gives you a caring hand to hold, and comforting memories to cherish.   

Danglers done, dude

Yep, that's right. I said it! Dangers. Done. Dude. I have had a pile of "danglers" or projects that have accumulated over weeks, months, years in various stages of neglect from supplies purchased to half done to in need of updating to that would be a good idea. They are done!! I completed three scrapbooks, two wedding photo books and reorganized two storage spaces. Now, I can focus on writing and photography with a clear head, because the nagging "what about me... I'm not done yet... I thought I was a good idea..." the projects were doing is gone. I'm a "clean slate" kinda gal. I love a clean slate and the feeling that comes with it - no baggage, no nagging, no worries. Starting to write on the blog again gave me the perfect motivation to tackle those projects once and for all, so I could focus on my loves of writing and photography. Here's to clean slates, finished projects, organized spaces and clear priorities. 

Before I Die...

I Stumbled Upon the Before I Die... What Is Important to You project recently and was moved. It was started by Candy Chang in New Orleans. She's "an artist, designer, and urban planner who likes to make cities more comfortable for people. She is a TED Fellow, an Urban Innovation Fellow, and was named a “Live Your Best Life” Local Hero by Oprah Magazine. By combining street art with urban planning and social activism, she has been recognized as a leader in developing new strategies for the design of our cities." Her site gives permission to repost information about her projects and I do so with enthusiasm and pride. I would love to do this in Sioux Falls (South Dakota)... and the wheels turn.

BEFORE I DIE by Candy Chang

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget what really matters to you. With help from friends and neighbors, Candy turned the side of an abandoned house in her neighborhood in New Orleans into a giant chalkboard where residents can write on the wall and remember what is important to them. Before I Die is an interactive public art project where we can share our hopes and dreams in public space and discover the aspirations of the people around us. Stenciled with the sentence “Before I die I want to _______”, the wall helps improve our neighborhood and our personal well-being. It’s a question that changed Candy after she lost someone she loved very much, and she believes the design of our public spaces can better reflect what matters to us as a community and as individuals.

The responses have ranged from the funny and creative to the thoughtful and heartbreaking: Before I die I want to… sing for millions, see my daughter graduate, eat a salad with an alien, see the leaves change many times, be someone’s cavalry, straddle the International Date Line, cook a souffle, hold her one more time, make it in the hip hop, help numerous children, see what I’m like as an old man, tell my mother I love her, make peace with Ohio, abandon all insecurities, be completely myself, evaporate into the light… The project was featured in Oprah Magazine and NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams, and The Atlantic called it “one of the most creative community projects ever.”

After receiving many requests from people around the world, she and her Civic Center colleagues created a Before I Die Toolkit to help you create a wall with your community. Thanks to your passion, this wall is turning into a global participatory art project and expanding to cities around the world, including Amsterdam, Portsmouth, Querétaro, Almaty, San Diego, Lisbon, Brooklyn, and beyond – see other walls on the project site! You can also take a piece of the dream home with you with a limited edition painting and submit your dreams on the project site. We are currently developing a new website to provide more resources and help people showcase their walls around the world – stay tuned! The project is growing every day and together we can make public spaces that encourage us to reflect and, through our collective wisdom, help us live better lives.

2011, 41′ x 8′, Chalkboard paint, stencils, spray paint. New Orleans, LA. Self-initiated with permission from the property owner, residents of the block, the neighborhood association’s blight committee, the Historic District Landmarks Commission, the Arts Council, and the City Planning Commission. Installation assistance: Kristina Kassem, Alan Williams, Cory Klemmer, Anamaria Vizcaino, James Reeves, Alex Vialou, Sean Knowlton, Carolina Caballero, Earl Carlson, and Gary Hustwit. Concurrently installed in East/West Galleries. With support from the Black Rock Arts Foundation.

After one day – completely filled out!

Once the wall is filled, we wash the board with water and start with a clean slate again. We are documenting all responses and some will be included in a book.

Update March 16, 2011 – This out-of-pocket project now has a pocket thanks to the Black Rock Arts Foundation!

Update July 6, 2011: Take a piece of the dream home with you with a limited edition painting! More here.

Update Sept 22, 2011: “Our thoughts are to the individual as our art is to the community” More here

Update Sept 22, 2011: Make a wall with your community with the Before I Die toolkit!

Thanks to your passion, this participatory public art project is currently expanding to cities around the world, including Amsterdam, Portsmouth, Querétaro, Almaty, San Diego, Lisbon, Brooklyn, and beyond - see other walls on the project site!

Selected press:
“They’re the stuff of everyday life from people of all walks of life… Young or old, rich or poor, the [Before I Die] wall does make you think as you walk by.” —NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams

“Before I Die is merely one of the most creative community projects ever.” —The Atlantic

“Through a series of large-scale projects that combine installation art with social activism, Chang has encouraged people to engage with public spaces to let their voices be heard.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

“Death can inspire life. Especially in New Orleans, on the corner of Marigny and Burgundy, where the Before I Dieproject has used the specter of urban decay and death to create art and inspire. Using a boarded up house as a canvas, artist Candy Chang transformed a haunting reminder of blight and divestment into a powerful affirmation of human life and imagination.” – Life and Times

“The notion of turning a neglected space into an active invitation to engage with your community and get to know your neighbors is a wonderful embodiment of enlightened urbanism. What’s more, it’s a reminder that not all meaningful social platforms are accessed through a screen — an inspired antidote to the Foursquarification of urban social quasi-interaction.” – Brain Pickings

You have permission to use above photos for publicity about the project. All photos by Civic Center. If you are a publication and would like a press kit with high-res photos, please contact us.

The word on the street: O the Oprah Magazine, The Atlantic, Wired, Brain Pickings, GOOD, Post Secret, Times Picayune, Wooster Collective, WeTheUrban, Design Milk, Creative Review, Life and Times, HOW, Juxtapoz Magazine, and many more. Read more about the project in an interview with Juxtapoz Magazine.

The Best Spot On the Face of the Earth

James went to CES last week, the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. Think six hundred thousand eating, breathing, drinking, swagging, modeling, selling, walking, partying, displaying, autographing, meeting, glad-handing people and electronics. James has been in the business for like 17 years! He's not a CES virgin, the show is always a blast and this year he sent me a few photos. Ahhh, phone pictures - the highest quality.


This one was the coolest. Men In Black 3 artists and actors were in the Sony booth, showcasing characters for the upcoming movie. 

As usual, celebrities were everywhere. 50 Cent introduced his own line of headphones, and appeared to be auditioning for a role in the rumored Entourage movie. 

Xzibit of rap and The Fast and The Furious fame, showed us how much we're all alike and all we really want is peace. James said he was actually really cool. 

James got home Friday afternoon and we had an evening of our usual posturing. He was acclimating to being home and I was acclimating to sharing again. Saturday we were talking about what to do with our day, taking care of Ian, watching hockey on tv, when we agreed that home is still the best spot on the face of the Earth!

A Year In The Life

I am considering doing a Year In The Life photo series. I don't want to commit to a 365 Project - taking at least one picture every day for a year. Not that I don't take that many pictures, my husband can attest to that. Mostly because it takes me on average 3-4 weeks to dump them from my camera to the computer. I'm working on that, in the name of Niki's World.

This is Congo. He's a Basenji - neurotic, smart, athletic, sleepy, and able to find a spot of sunshine in any room at any time. This doesn't look very comfortable, but don't tell him that. You'll just piss him off.

A Boy and His Dog

I was going to enter another I Heart Faces contest, and do it right this time. Apparently I didn't read ALL of the rules last time and forgot to post their button on my page. I thought, "I'll do it better this time." Of course, that would include knowing which day of the week it is, and realizing that the contest ended yesterday. Oh well - not meant to be this time obviously. Here's my Max and Ian story anyway.

This is Max and our little boy, Ian. He was born in March of last year. Max was 12 when this picture was taken in October of 2011. Maxi passed away 15 days later. As most photographers might do, I panicked the next day I woke up, thinking I didn't have any good, recent photos of Maximillian. I'd raised him since he was 8-weeks-old, he'd been sick off and on since the summer, and on October 27, he became violently ill and passed away within the day. I cried, and cried. I hadn't taken a lot of pictures of him over the summer and fall because he wasn't looking his best and I didn't want to do him like that. October 28 my heart was in my shoes. I dumped the pictures off my camera, reviewed and cataloged, then came across this one. A small percentage of his passing was made okay. I'm not saying it's the best picture I've ever taken, but it is the best damn picture I have ever taken. I love and miss you, Maxi.

The Mare

I took this picture last November. You know when you're editing and proofing your own images and actually fall in love with one of them? Bliss. 

I...

I write.

I take pictures.

I raise our son.

I take care of our house.

I take care of our Boys (two dogs).

I am a wife.

I am a daughter, sister, in-law, friend, granddaughter, niece and aunt.

I love to decorate and gather new information.

I must travel or my wanderlust implodes.