The disposable life
for 30 years, I was a dyed in the wool Minolta SLR fan. I have 5 35 mm minoltas, ranging from a SRT101 to a 570 to a 700 to a XG7. these are workhorse cameras- I rock climbed with them, bashing them into rock walls at Yosemite, dropping them as I fell into a tide pool at Big Sur. heck, I cross country skied through the Sierras, falling occasionally into snowbanks with them. I have a plethora of lenses that fit all the cameras, most with multiple dings on the cases. The 101 was my favorite for ice & snow- with manual everything, I didn't have to worry about the batteries dying. all metal bodies- and the lenses were mostly metal, too. and with all those dings and drops, I never had a piece of equipment fail on me.
then digital came along. I'm a late converter. It wasn't until a trip to New Orleans in the late 90's that I finally picked up a little digital camera - the gateway DC50. small, but not so small my chunky fingers had trouble with control, it served me well in a 5 megapixel world. but I yearned for a digital slr and last year invested in a canon digital rebel.
sure, the body is mostly plastic and the lens is too, but it does do 8 MP of glorious picture. and it looks and feels and behaves more or less like a SLR. Until last week, while trying to get reshots for a Step by Step Beads article, and the camera dropped out of its case as
I opened it, and fell approximately 24 inches onto a heavily carpeted floor, landing lens down. well, I have a recommendation for you if you own one of these babies - don't take them rock climbing at Yosemite...don't take them to Big Sur....forget about cross country skiing with them...don't open the camera case unless it's sitting on a table. You'll notice the pic at left shows a slightly larger space to the left than the right of the
lens cap? and that silly little difference means that nothing automatic on the camera worked. called Canon , since the camera was less than a year old and was told that their warranty doesn't cover stupidity (well, they put it nicely but that's what they meant). when I mentioned how I tortured my minoltas, there was a pause, then the nice young man responded- "that's probably why Minolta got out of the camera business. Would you like to order a new lens?"
then digital came along. I'm a late converter. It wasn't until a trip to New Orleans in the late 90's that I finally picked up a little digital camera - the gateway DC50. small, but not so small my chunky fingers had trouble with control, it served me well in a 5 megapixel world. but I yearned for a digital slr and last year invested in a canon digital rebel.
sure, the body is mostly plastic and the lens is too, but it does do 8 MP of glorious picture. and it looks and feels and behaves more or less like a SLR. Until last week, while trying to get reshots for a Step by Step Beads article, and the camera dropped out of its case as
I opened it, and fell approximately 24 inches onto a heavily carpeted floor, landing lens down. well, I have a recommendation for you if you own one of these babies - don't take them rock climbing at Yosemite...don't take them to Big Sur....forget about cross country skiing with them...don't open the camera case unless it's sitting on a table. You'll notice the pic at left shows a slightly larger space to the left than the right of thelens cap? and that silly little difference means that nothing automatic on the camera worked. called Canon , since the camera was less than a year old and was told that their warranty doesn't cover stupidity (well, they put it nicely but that's what they meant). when I mentioned how I tortured my minoltas, there was a pause, then the nice young man responded- "that's probably why Minolta got out of the camera business. Would you like to order a new lens?"
He may be right. I used to buy a tire that guaranteed me 40,000 miles - I regularly got 50-60,000 out of them. they're not made anymore. I think canon and their lenses are like the printer companies, who low ball the price on a printer, but the price of the replacement cartridges kill you. maybe that's why the landfills are are becoming "landfulls" = full of last year's cellphones and pda's and computer monitors that no one wants. give your old cellphones to your local women's shelter or police department - they'll recycle them for abused spouses safety nets.
why education matters,even to an artist
why education matters,even to an artist
it's a strange world we live in. yes, I bought the replacement lens because a week from today, I fly south to Atlanta to take a Sr. Certification class in Art Clay Silver with the divine Pam East. 
Yes, this is on top of the old format 3-day level 1 and 2 certs that I hold from PMC Connection. I am so excited about this class. I've had to work around a move at my "real job", and Mom's illness, but it's finally going to happen-and I want to be able to take pictures during the class.
Pam (in case you don't know her) is one of the few US ACS Master instructors, and an enameling whiz. she has a book (http://www.pinzart.com/product/0413) coming out shortly on the art of enameling on metal clay and I'll be coming away with 6 projects, a wealth of information- and an idea of what 3 projects I need to submit to the jury to qualify as a sr instructor.
so there is a goal in mind for this class I'm taking, but even if there weren't, I'd probably still be doing it.
Yes, this is on top of the old format 3-day level 1 and 2 certs that I hold from PMC Connection. I am so excited about this class. I've had to work around a move at my "real job", and Mom's illness, but it's finally going to happen-and I want to be able to take pictures during the class.Pam (in case you don't know her) is one of the few US ACS Master instructors, and an enameling whiz. she has a book (http://www.pinzart.com/product/0413) coming out shortly on the art of enameling on metal clay and I'll be coming away with 6 projects, a wealth of information- and an idea of what 3 projects I need to submit to the jury to qualify as a sr instructor.
so there is a goal in mind for this class I'm taking, but even if there weren't, I'd probably still be doing it.
and just missed a class with Jana Roberts Benzon (http://www.janarobertsbenzon.com/) .I'm a firm believer in learning, and whenever possible, learning from someone who's the very best at what they do - even if it's something I may never use again, once I learn it, it's mine and no one can take it away. and someday (like those physics classes back in high school- as I stood last year with a chainsaw in hand and a tree on my garage roof, I was able to calcualte where to tie the rope from the car to the tree- and where to cut the tree so that it came down exactly where I wanted it to with minimal damage to the roof) it may come in handy. and both these artists are genuinely nice people, in addition to being fantastic artists.
I met Kelly at The Bead House (www.thebeadhouse.com) in Bristol, RI, during one of Celie 
Fago's Hollow forms and Keum Boo classes (www.celiefago.com) and she blew me away. and Jana left us speechless last July at the SO CT Polymer Clay guild's retreat - Clay Connections- when she showed us her method of getting canes moving to reduce them (and these were HUGE canes) - by flailing them on the floor. her demos at this event were SRO - and filled with laughter. that's been one of the great things about working with metal clay and polymer clay - the wonderful, sharing people I've met along the way.
Fago's Hollow forms and Keum Boo classes (www.celiefago.com) and she blew me away. and Jana left us speechless last July at the SO CT Polymer Clay guild's retreat - Clay Connections- when she showed us her method of getting canes moving to reduce them (and these were HUGE canes) - by flailing them on the floor. her demos at this event were SRO - and filled with laughter. that's been one of the great things about working with metal clay and polymer clay - the wonderful, sharing people I've met along the way. 
Lindly Haunani (http://www.lindlyhaunani.com) was able to help me 'see colors' (no small feat as I'm colorblind to browns and greens) while we were "dancing with the rainbows " at a weekend with the Lexington MA polymer clay guild. 
Christi Friesen (www.cforiginals.net) got me hooked on sculptural techniques with that same group- and taught me that it's never too late to have a happy childhood. 
Sarah Shriver (www.sarahshriver.com) taught me not to be frugal with my clay when making canes (what do you mean, reduce the cane down to 1"? I started out at 1"!!!), so when I met Jana and her 25 pound canes, I didn't write her off as a crazy lady.can I replicate anything that any of these magnificent artists taught me? not exactly, but I find myself incorporating pieces of things I learned from each of them into my work - and it makes me a better artist. ...and a less boring person.
so keep taking classes - and maybe take one from me (www.silvergoldnglass.com), so I can afford to take more......
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