seen but not heard: October 2008

voter registration

I know, I know. Two posts in one day. And a political entry at that! But this relates to my photographic interests and impacts them directly. Whenever I drive places, familiar and strange I am on the lookout for abandoned houses/structures and will routinely check out the ones I know of to see if there are any changes, new points of entry, signs of life/demolition. Today on the way to lunch with M, we were sitting in traffic and noted an unfamiliar campaign sign out front of a long-abandoned house.

It read Another Democrat for McCain. We had a laugh, having never seen another such sign in front of any house, let alone an abandoned house. Thought little of it. Then on the way home from lunch, we drove by another obviously abandoned house on the same stretch of road WITH THE SAME SIGN in the yard. This was just too much. Then at the intersection there was a vacant gas station on the corner with a THIRD sign on the property.

So for all those people who are looking for abandoned houses in Montgomery County, a surefire way to tell if no one lives there: look for the Another Democrat for McCain sign in the yard- the calling card of The Nonexistent.

Labels: abandoned, politics

URBN development

Currently on hold with the offices of Dr. M, only the eighth or ninth doctor in nearly two years for just the one problem. So surgery is getting moved up to who knows when while I have another special ultrasound and consultation. That is the bad news. The head cold is out of control so perhaps it is for the best that I am not going to have anaesthesia in a week.

But there is a lot of good news. Terrain has invited me back to shoot the Holiday Set, and their Christmas Open House is November 8 & 9. In the spirit of the end of Harvest, I wanted to post some more from that set that I recently processed.

oxalis © Laura Kicey for Terrain. All Rights Reserved.

And as if that wasn't enough from URBN, the big news I have been sitting on for a month is that Urban Outfitters wants to sell one of my constructs as wall art in their stores. How exciting!! I don't have the specifics yet but add me to your holiday shopping list:

Labels: art, autumn, happiness, health, philadelphia, photography, terrain, urbanoutfitters, urbn, work

how the mighty have fallen

Over exertion while pursuing the absolute maximum photographs per day is the name of the game. Goodness, good morning! Good night.

the orphanange © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

I am still dizzy from a full weekend which included hanging out with the collegiate posse that has recently relocated to The City proper from points beyond. Lopping off all my hair.

the fix © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

Crack of dawn rising to greet fellow photographer of abandoned things Tom Bejgrowicz and his lovely partner in crime Jennifer, whereupon we made our way to the House of Smoke and Mirrors which lent us some special sunrise sleight of hand. Curiously, though it showed no other signs of human presence, two rooms that had been previously locked up were open to us.

basement baygrowits © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

The morning light favored the basement more than the afternoon light I was used to seeing it in. Tom and I examined the mad stash of booze, 70s style wet bar, and a cabinet of plaster casts and a kiln, which seemed to be used to fire the tiny vessels from the casts. Pompom fringe and silk flowers caught the morning light... and the basement door, once locked, was hanging open to the greenhouse. Maybe the house has had some brawny inquisitors in my absence.

fall of the empire © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

Immediately rushing off to another shoot with Michael and a model-friend I have been wanting to shoot with for ages- tanya dakin. Wherein we hit up not one but two abandoned houses I'd visited in past: Peru House and Riddle House.

nightshade © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

Allowing Tanya to take the styling reigns, I provided her visual clues about the houses and she ran with it much to my delight. Despite the chill in the air, she was fairly fearless, trash picking for props, climbing up on precarious ledges, scaling questionable stairs. Tanya came out unscathed, but I managed to fall through the floor.

velvetine © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

Yes... it was bound to happen sooner or later. Second floor of Riddle House, Michael was shooting some portraits of Tanya and I was milling about scouting my next spot and I walked into an adjacent room and was looking at a fire-damaged corner.

seizure © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

As I went to leave the room, the floor gave out under my right foot and I plunged knee deep into the floor. Fortunately I was wearing knee high boots and I came out without a scratched... the boots are looking a little rough. We fought the fading light and broken glass the rest of the afternoon to great effect. Many thanks to Tanya for keeping it fresh and both of us on our toes.

Last weekend, Ms. Beaver and I teamed up once more for our most elaborate collab to date. We had to put this shoot off for several weeks, twice getting ditched on by model number one, we finally pulled together a new model, Danielle Guldin, and a pinch-hitting makeup artist, Jessi Liberatore. I had originally asked Sarah to play on the theme of patterns. I wanted to draw in pattern through light and backdrop/environment and I wanted her to carry it through the clothes' textures, textile patterns and accessories.

arise © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

The four of us prepped at my apartment and spent a bit of time shooting in my bedroom, where Sarah and I pulled together some props from around the house to set the scene. The light loved us.

We headed down to Wales House. Last time I had visited there, we noted that there was a contractor's trailer nearby, but the construction site was across the street. Saturday afternoon... who would be working?!

nestling © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

I go to turn in the driveway and there to greet me is a heavy duty pickup and backhoe, whereupon I sloppily swerve back onto the road to avoid hitting them head on.

underneath © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

Rather panicked, we pulled into a parking lot up the street and paused to collect our thoughts and wait for them to clear the area. About ten minutes later, we returned to the lot and ended up being in the clear for the rest of the afternoon.

home on the range © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

Danielle was energetic and very instrumental in the process, bringing her performing background to the 'characters' and drawing out a beautiful narrative. The farmhouse and the vintage pieces from the 30s, 40s and 80s set the stage for what is perhaps my favorite editorial to date.

Michael and I decided to take a scenic get-lost tour of Durty Jerz. We managed to shirk responsibility for several hours and finding our way back to life.

mum's the word © Laura Kicey. All Rights Reserved.

Today I found out that the constructs along with my relatively new Viewville representation have been blogged over at the extremely popular design-for-home blog, Apartment Therapy - Chicago.

Though I am coming down with a cold, it looks promising (if that is the appropriate word for it) that I will be having what had damn well better be my last surgery in about two weeks' time. I am meeting with the Butcher this week to discuss the ins and outs and I am filling with the expected amounts of dread which I have been doing everything I can to offset with hyper-busyness. With the promise of colonoscopy prep to start and three days of clear liquid diet afterwards, plus the two weeks of bedrest into two more weeks of laying low, I am doing all I can to not think about it until absolutely necessary. My friends at the hospital will be happy to see me again no doubt. I should bring a party platter for them.... and jello shooters for me.

At the very least, it should keep me from falling into holes and getting caught by the authorities for a little while. That being said Sarah and I have been discussing another wintery shoot which I am rather excited to dig into once she is back in the US and I am back on my feet... and lacking work of substance.

Oh and one last thing, this Friday I will have been blogging here for THREE YEARS!! Happy Bloggiversary to me!

EDIT TO ADD: I loved this blog post that Tanya wrote about her experience shooting with us... I can't recall if I ever wrote about the party where we met, but we were in fact both bearded ladies and have been talking about working together for the year and a half its been since.

Labels: art, autumn, distraction, fashion, happiness, health, jersey, michael, philadelphia, philly, photography, publicity, sadness, sarah, travel, trespassing, venting, winter, worry

I like you....

Just a few of the 2000+ photos needing processed from this weekend's bachelor/ette party, rehearsal dinner and wedding of the Shannon and Josh McLaughlin conglomerate. A real blog entry to come... for now enjoy what I got finished before passing at at 2am.