Oh, 2011.

Oh, 2011. What am I going to do with you? You have been a crazy challenging, amazingly beautiful year. Thank you for that. So much learned, lost, gained. Ups are always so much sweeter when shared with a few downs, and this year's experiences have attested to this. More than anything I have learned the importance of family, friendships, inner strength, and taking time to take care of oneself. It has been an interesting year, to say the least, and I am thankful, so thankful, darling 2011, for all the lessons, gifts, and sucker punches you have dealt. You've been sneaky, you've been memorable, you've been beautiful. And I'm grow grow growing, because of you.

2011 was both quiet and yet golly(!), so busy creatively. While I only created a few new pieces, I finally dipped my toes into the local art scene this summer, and spent the rest of the year jumping in and promoting my work. I confess I've been a bit shy about connecting with the Rochester art scene until now, but oh my, I've learned it is very. much. ALIVE. And I love it. 

In July, I sold my work at the Corn Hill Arts Festival, and ended up winning first place for photography. Oh pleasant surprise! So much fun:

Oh hey, Dad! Both my parents were so helpful during the festival. :o)

I also participated in a handful of smaller art and craft fairs this year, where I met some amazing artists and musicians. Many have now become incredibly dear friends to me. Each fair left my heart smiling, so much talent in this little city.

Hearts and Crafts Indie Craft Market, Java's. Image courtesy of Lisa Barker Photography.

Holiday Art Bazaar, The Yards.

I was featured in the Fairport-ER Post in September, and one of my pieces found its way to the pages of the Democrat & Chronicle as well. Yay. :o)

I also got to work with some AMAZING couples this year. I love witnessing the love between two people and feel so honored when asked to document it. What better way to spend a day?

Most importantly, I had my first solo exhibit in Rochester! My show, Dreams & Other Worlds, was on display at the Genesee Arts Center from September to October. The opening reception was honestly one of the most moving experiences I had this year... so much support from so many people... I reconnected with some amazing friends and met so many local supporters. Thank you, Community Darkroom. You have been so wonderful to me.

Image courtesy of Bethany Young, Fairport-ER Post.

This has been a year of firsts and a year of gratitude. I feel so utterly blessed for everything I have been given, and so excited for the future. Thank you to all the wonderful, magical, darling souls who have made the time go by easily and have shown me how blessed I truly am. And to all my supporters near and far who have been cheering me on, you've been so kind to me and I am truly thankful for you.

And now, it is a new year, a year which I know will be full of creativity and self-love. I have big, big goals this year--artistically, musically, and personally--and could not be more excited. I'm shimmying and shaking, full of smiles and optimism... for life is moving forward in a very great way, and I don't want to miss a second of it.

2011, here is a mix dedicated to you:

1. Go Outside, The Cults

2. Pumped Up Kicks, Foster the People

3. Help I'm Alive, Metric

4. Bad Street, Twin Sister

5. Cruel, St. Vincent

6. Holy Holy, Wye Oak

7. Serpents, Sharon Van Etten

8. Calgary, Bon Iver

9. I Met up with a King, First Aid Kit

10. Polish Girl, Neon Indian

11. You Wanna Freak Out, My Morning Jacket

12. Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes

13. Lover's Spit, Broken Social Scene (featuring Feist)

14. Please, Tom McRae

15. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, Bob Dylan

16. Lost in my Mind, The Head and the Heart

17. Black Water, Timber Timbre

18. Video Games, Lana Del Rey

19. Lindesfarne I, James Blake

20. Lindesfarne II, James Blake

21. Little Bird, Lisa Hannigan

22. Midnight City, M83

23. Punching in a Dream, The Naked and Famous

24. Ho Hey, The Lumineers

2012, bring it. :o)

love & hugs,

Alison Tyne

ETSY SHOP SALE! 20% EVERYTHING FOR FACEBOOK FANS!!!

Hello, beautiful blog friends!

I've reached over 400 facebook fans!!! To celebrate, I'm offering a 20% discount on ALL prints and cards in my etsy shop (www.alisontyne.etsy.com) to all facebook folks!!! Just "like" my facebook art page (www.facebook.com/alisontyne), send me a facebook message requesting the code, and I'll send it to you straight away!!! The code is valid until July 1st, and may be used on ANYTHING in my Etsy shop!!! Yippee! :o)

Love + Hugs XOXO,

Alison Tyne

Heartsy!!! ♥♥♥

Hello, dear blog friends!

I was hoping you guys could take a minute to vote for my work on heartsy.me here:http://heartsy.me/deals/3726/like . I'm trying to get a coupon for my etsy shop featured on heartsy (it's like groupon for arts&crafts!) to generate more business for my etsy shop (www.alisontyne.etsy.com) and get my work out in the internet world! I hope you can help me out! And if you're feeling really swell, could you help spread the word? It would make my day full of sunshine!

love and hugs to you all!

Alison Tyne :o)

some Saturday inspiration

Dear friends, have you seen this video? I've been meaning to share it for awhile... it is gorgeous and beautiful and I love it! I've been infatuated by this music video from Florence + The Machine since last year, and it's not very often that I am compelled to watch a music video this long after it comes out. So take a watch, and be inspired! And stay warm! It is cold here in New York, so we could all use something beautiful to cheer us up!

"Dog Days Are Over," Florence + The Machine

a most curious afternoon tea

a most curious afternoon tea

I just wanted to share with you my newest piece, and let you know that it is now available in my print shop in large and small sizes! I hope you like it! I'm going to post a before and after on the shoot next week, so stay tuned!

my 5 favorite photographers

I wanted to share some of my favorite photographers with you today. Some of them I've admired for years, and some of their work I've only recently discovered, but all of them are extremely talented and have somehow effected my work. They are true artists, and some of them push the limits of the medium so far that the line that separates photography from other mediums, such as painting, wears thin. So here you go! My top five favorite photographers. :o)

5. Jerry Uelsmann
Married to another one of my top-fivers (can you guess which one?), Uelsmann's work is surreal and fantastical. And.... his work is all done in the darkroom. Yep, you read correct. This is all layering of negatives, friends, no digital manipulation here. Just layers and dodging and burning. Jealous? Yes? Because I am. Beautiful? Compelling? Most definitely.

Untitled, Jerry Uelsmann, 1996.

4. Tim Walker
I stumbled upon Walker's work after falling in love with digital and manipulating pieces with my computer, so imagine my surprise when I learned that much of Walker's work is done without digital manipulation. With a use pastel, Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette colors, and dramatic sets, Walker's high-end fashion work is one part cinematic, one part dream. And he's young, so he's inspiring to someone just starting out, as well. I keep a copy of Tim Walker: Pictures on my nightstand. Sweet dreams to me. :o)

Caroline Trentini, New York City, American Vogue, Tim Walker, 2005.

3. Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange's work is what made me want to be a photographer, although I didn't realize this until much later. She is what made me fall in love with photography. I discovered her in middle school when I checked out a book of her work from my school library.  I remember leafing through the book every night for weeks, amazed by Lange's ability to combine documentary work of the Great Depression with an extremely artistic and emotional side. Ever since, when doing any type of photojournalism, I am compelled to try and catch the personal side of an event to help tell the story. And my middle school is lucky they ever got the book back....

Migrant Mother, Dorothea Lange, 1936.

2. Maggie Taylor

When I finished the first piece in my Dreams series, entitled Sisson, and showed it to my college photography professor for the first time, she quickly pulled out a book of Maggie Taylor's work to share with me. I was blown away, who was this artist, and why hadn't I heard of her before? It was like we were kindred spirits, influenced by the same surreal subconsciousness. Her work is absolutely stunning. Is her work a photograph? A painting? Taylor takes old black and white or sepia-colored photos she buys at random estate sales or online, tints them digitally, and manipulates them, meticulously combining layers upon layers of photos, digitally drawn images and textures. The overall effect is haunting, humorous, mysterious, and beautiful.

Moth Dancer, Maggie Taylor

1. Richard Avedon

I. Love. Richard Avedon. Avedon had such an ability to capture the essence of someone, it is phenomenal, and his work has ranged from fashion photography and photography of celebrities (including the Beatles, lovelovelove), to a collection of portraits of quirky, murky working people growing up in the West. I love his minimalist style- he used a large-format camera to photograph people looking at the camera straight-on in front of a white background. Simple, yet so much is captured in his work; each image animates its subject with such a unique, distinguishable personality. And do I need to remind you that he photographed the Beatles? And Marilyn Monroe? And countless other celebrities? As well as this favorite of mine:

Ronald Fischer, Beekeeper, Davis, California, Richard Avedon, 1981.

And that's five? But shoot, there are so many other photographers that I reallyreallyreally love...  William Eggleston, Scott Mutter, Diane Arbus, Man Ray, Robert ParkeHarrison, and, and... I mean, I could just keep going! So maybe this isn't my be-all-end-all list of favorite photographers, because there are so many amazing ones! But these are the five photographers to whom, time after time, I find myself drawn, looking through their work again and again. I hope you get curious and learn more about these artists... maybe you will fall in love with them, too.

I'd love to hear about your favorite artists, whether they be photographers or artists of other mediums, young or old, alive or from the 1600s (Rembrandt, anyone?)! Please leave a comment and share what artist makes you tick. I'm always looking for new inspiration. :o)

fPOE treasury- warmer day dreams

I just made my first etsy treasury of work by some of the lovely ladies of fPOE. Check it out!

warmer day dreams