Fresh Perspectives on a Long Time Love

Forever ago. A lifetime ago... My artist mom was rambling over and over about an exhibit coming to the fairly news and fresh faced Meijer Gardens. I'd never heard of him- Dale Chihuly. From his pictures my brain made him some grizzly pirate. She was going on and on and on about it so she and I went together. This was 2010. I'd been married to Hubby for almost three years. Stuck working in retail and trying to find a better way. My photography career was growing slightly and slowly and being the artist I am now was so far back on the burner I couldn't see the stovetop anymore. My camera was my faithful Canon Powershot that I literally drove into the ground. That thing was the base of being a photographer. It cost $100 when I got it. 

But that camera started my love for shooting everything. I learned macro photography on it by shooting the insides of bearded iris blooms. It traveling with my everyday in my backpack, just in case. It got me my first national byline in Firehouse Magazine with images I shot of the American Bicycle Company fire in 2007. I got my first local byline with pictures from a house fire my new husband did medical stand-bye for.  And yes, it took the first images of the artist that has inspired me so much in my ways of using color as expression for things I cannot explain or photograph.

I dug around in the sealed basement totes earlier this week to find my stash. The hard side plastic tote labeled "Tornado Box #1" because it holds my entire photo career on 7 external hard drives along with other memories and important stuffs that should be in a basement during storm season (The Great Lakes are apparently the new extension of Tornado Alley). I found the oldest two drives, and after realizing I'm on my third laptop since using them that I neither have the software CD nor a CD drive on the current laptop- I used Mr. Google to find and download the software for my to unlock and open the drives. Then with a deep breath and a prayer I searched the drive- and there they were- last opened in 2011, archived on the drive as Chihuly 2010. I found them. Now, these might not be crisp. They might not be perfect. They were shot on  "Old" technology... But I've thrilled I found them. I've been buzzing on the high of finding them for the last three days... The photos of an artist that changed my path.

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The reason I dug these up, was because he's back. Chihuly is at the Fred Meijer Gardens again!! Less then this amazing display above, but still very much remarkable. Still insanely gorgeous. And yes, probably a catalyst to a new evolution in my art (if I can ever get off my obsession with honeybees). Look at my images from my last two already trips to see his work. We even bought a membership at the Gardens, just so I could go whenever I want to :)