it's thursday - - have a crane

all shook up

i just wanted to thank everyone for their comments and emails about the earthquake yesterday. myself and all of my pretty things have emerged unscathed. i was in michael's craft store when it hit and it was very strange. people were just looking around as the very, very tall shelves (i never really noticed how tall) swayed and stuff like scrapbooks and glitter glue hit the ground. i thought for sure i would come home to a barn full of broken glasses, but no, nothing even moved. not even an inch (i know that because of the dust that surrounds each glass). i feel very lucky, very lucky indeed.

white plates

i'm running around today looking for white plates for a shoot this week. hoping to have the scanner back up and running next week (when andrew - - my hero - - returns). until then i will just pull from the polaroid archives. hope you don't mind.

I took your advice.

Well, sort of.
I didn't actually leave the house in it, but it did help to just put it on for a bit.
It got quite hot, quite quickly,
so my time as a sheep was brief.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaa-d

That pretty much describes my week, without boring you with all of the details. I don't know what is worse, having a couple of bad weeks, or admitting to having a couple of bad weeks. I pride myself on staying very positive, even in the most challenging of situations and I am completely aware that a "bad week" for me, is still a pretty darn good week for a lot of other people. I remain very grateful for all that I have, cause I have a lot! It's just that sometimes, I can't help but get kind of pissed and want to break every plate in the cupboard. I didn't, but I really, really wanted to. I actually think I screamed at the top of my lungs, "Oh my God! I'm gonna break every plate in the cupboard. I am! I'm SERIOUS!!!"

PS. How great is this mask? Can I wear it out in public or is that weird? It's weird, right?

Real Simple

Before I say anything more, let me just say I am having an absolutely awful day (actually the last week has been a bit yucky). It started when Andrew's grandmother past away this past weekend. He traveled back home to Australia and I couldn't go with him. So everything seems a bit more intense without him here. I'm sure any and all of my circumstances could be cured with a little snuggle.

Well, our scanner doesn't work (as I mentioned earlier this week) and it is causing me a lot of stress and Canon isn't being terribly helpful. My self timer for the polaroid died, which makes it very difficult to finish a project I am working on for Erin. My .mac site is not working so I cannot send or receive emails from that account and I only had to wait on hold for an hour and twenty minutes to find that out (and no, we don't have a speaker phone, and yes, my ear hurts). I usually try not to dwell on any of this, but it has been tough. There actually are a lot of great things happening, too, they just seem a bit overshadowed today.

Now, about this post's title. I wanted to tell you a while ago that I shot something for Real Simple Magazine. I was so excited, but I didn't want to say anything until the issue came out. I love that magazine and I love the girls that work at that magazine, so I was thrilled when they asked me. The first issue that I shot for them came in the mail today (August 2008) and although super excited to see my name, I was a bit sad about the image. It got, well, cropped. I know that happens, a lot. Not a big deal, but I thought at least I have an outlet here to show the shot in it's entirety, because I thought it was pretty cute. Fingers crossed that the next one squeezes itself onto the pages of the September issue.

Oh, and did I mention I'm on a diet. I picked a bad, bad week to go on a diet.

ps. this looks great

and THANK YOU for everyone who either posted about my small magazine shoot or replied directly to me. It's going to be amazing!!

Lost in the Shuffle

Hi. I'm still here. Just been kind of a weird few days. And that damn scanner of mine is still on the fritz. Not happy. I tend to be a big believer in everything happens for a reason, so I'm guessing when the time is right, it will be resolved. In the meantime, this is on hold, which makes me sad. Soon. On another note. I always kind of liked this shot, but it's one of those that just got lost in the shuffle. I guess that's bound to happen when you have thousands of polaroids. What do you think? Jewelry can be like candy, right?

Check out this new blog.

Help, please!

I know, I know. He is just too cute. I wish he were mine, but he belongs to one of my best friends, Megan (and I guess her husband, Ryan had something to do with it, too). Actually if I could be promised a little boy like this one, I would have a baby tomorrow (well not tomorrow, but maybe 9 months from tomorrow). But I digress. I am actually writing to you for some help. I am really excited to be contributing to the fall issue of Small Magazine, and I am looking for designers to loan me some products to feature for the shoot. I am primarily looking for kids fall/winter accessories (Belts, shoes, hats, glasses, gloves, mittens, scarfs, leg warmers, etc). I think it would be a fantastic way for independent designers to get their product out. So if you have a blog and would be willing to do a post on it, or if you know a small designer that fits the bill or if you are a small designer that fits the bill, let me know. I can be contacted by email at hello@jengotch.com. Let's talk!

Oh, and I received my copies of For the Love of Light today. Jen did an amazing putting it together. So if you haven't already -- go get you one!!

Can a kitchen counter be interesting?

Just wondering.

Can you look at this without smiling?

I can't. Balloons and big colorful bunches of tissue paper party balls (sounds kind of dirty) always make me smile. These are both from my travels yesterday. So I guess work isn't so bad when you get to do stuff like stare at balloons and big bunches of tissue paper party balls. The tissue paper party balls are at this amazing new store called Mercado. I have been meaning to stop in for a while now. Every time I pass by and see that amazing window full of the balls I want to stop in (I decided to shorten it from tissue paper party balls, although I guess explaining it might have just defeated the purpose - - and gosh, now it sounds really dirty). Yesterday I did just that and was lucky enough to meet Michelle, one of the owners and a prop stylist. This place is amazing, so if you're in LA, you must check it out and if not, you can see it online here. Ok. Off to a shoot. Have a very, very nice day.

Me & My Shoes

A couple of shots that I took for the first issue of Mankind Mag. You have to check it out if you haven't already. It's getting rave reviews, plus, I really, really like Erin.

What I've Been Doing

I've updated my site (with a ton of help from my brother). Jazzed up the mainpage a bit, finally got around to posting my links. I had a long, long list of people, places, friends, etc and then I decided to make it more of just a fun place to stop by. Beware, "2" is addictive. I also finished the "what they are saying" section and added a section called "play hopscotch" that has some of my travel photography. Now all I have left to do (aside from the minor tweaks) is to finish the "prints for sale" section. That one has proven to be a bit tougher than I thought. I'll keep you posted.

Old School

My contribution to the Old School show at Uppercase Gallery.
Read more about it here.
I ate the Hostess cup cake as soon as I was done shooting. They're still pretty good. But there wasn't enough money in the world to get me to touch that Salisbury steak.
I was never one to eat the school lunch. I always brought mine. Peanut butter sandwich (no jelly), potato sticks (not chips) some fruit (usually green grapes), 2 oreos and a Capri Sun.
How about you?

Fireworks

Happy 4th of July (a day early, I know).
Our scanner got sick, so just in case I can't post for the next few days I leave you with this.
Taken in Memphis, July 4th 2004.

strip tease

this is a piece of the new photostrip i put up on my website. see the rest of it here.

and if you want to know more about me you can go here and here.