photography all her own

Going Down

Lesleypayne is the next featured artisan awaiting sales at artfire.  Lesley is a photographer with the kind of style you could recognize out of a crowd.  I love her black and white images that focus on texture with the absence of color.  The stark contrasts of the black and white allow subtle textures to blast through!  Lesley's photography also focuses on shadows, making an object seem soft or hard through use of light.  Lesley's black and white images have a sort of creepy vibe to them that is quite excellent! 

The other one of Lesley's photographs that I especially love is The Sailor and His Sweetie.  The photograph is reminiscent of the classic WWII photo V-J Day in Times Square.  That photo is an epic depiction of an epic time.  I like Lesley's photo especially in contrast to that classic photo.  Instead of an epic representation of American life, Lesley's photo captures daily romance, a touchingly private moment shared between two people.

Lesley's work is pretty obviously unique.  One of the things that makes her stand out is her choice of materials and equipment

I stand out in handmade websites because I still use film.  Digital photography is less costly, but I will always love the process of developing and printing my own film.  Developing every roll is like opening a present!

A lot of the objects I choose to photograph because of texture.  For my series of abstract images the form and non-reflective surfaces are important.  My goal is to make timeless images weather it's digital or film medium.  

With so many choices of online marketplaces, I am interested in why people choose to sell on artfire.

I was drawn to artfire because people can purchase items without having to go through the process of creating a user name.  The creators seem genuinely interested in helping sellers are developing new features all the time.

I agree that artfire seems very much to be seller focused.  The administrators are active in the forums and quick to address any issues that sellers have with the site.

Stay tuned to Lesley's shop for more developments

In late may I will start offering silver prints and fine art images as postcards.  Images of London and Paris are coming soon.

Where to find lesleypayne

I have a store at Etsy  http://lesleypayne.etsy.com/

Facebook  http://facebook.com/lesleypaynephotography

Blog  http://lesleysphotography.blogspot.com/

Twitter  http://twitter.com/lesleysphotos

Flickr  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesleypayne/

I am participating in Market Day Iowa Aug-Nov. www.marketdayiowa.com (series of Satuday art markets)

Everyday is one day closer to not having to sit a cubicle.

I think we all hear you on that front, Lesley.  Lots of luck to Lesley, and remember to go check out her shop.

a focus on distractedbyshiny

In perusing the artfire forums I found a great post where users could post their shop if they had zero sales.  I posted my shop, encouraged by the fact that I am not the only one!

Some of these sellers have some really great items, that are definitely just waiting to be discovered.  I looked through the list and picked out a few of my favorites to feature on the blog.

First up is distractedbyshiny

I was attracted to this shop first by the name and then of course by all the shiny!  One thing I love about this shop is the variety of shapes and styles of her fused glass jewelry.  When selling one type of craft it's easy to get stuck in a rut, but distractedbyshiny obviously tries something new with each piece.

KC told me a little about how she got started with fusing glass and her shop distractedbyshiny.  I love her story, it has a great do it yourself feel, and I can totally identify with her difficulty throwing anything away!

I am a collector - not of fine art or antiques - a collector of STUFF.....stuff that I can't throw away because I know that "Someday I'll find a use for that" or stuff that I can't part with because "I can make something out of that".  I come from a very artsy crafty family - and a family of "collectors".  

When we cleaned out my mother's house, I came across a box of dichroic glass pieces.  I had never worked with glass and had no idea what I would do with this stuff, but it was WAY too cool to throw out and I knew someday I could make something out of it!!  So, after reading about fusing on the internet, I decided to put some pieces together and throw them in my kiln.  I was instantly HOOKED! 

In the beginning I was using my old ceramic kiln.  I would load up the kiln every night and in the morning I couldn't wait to open the lid to see how everything had come out.  It was like Christmas morning...every morning!  I've moved to a glass kiln that fires quicker so I don't have to wait as long to see my results, but it is always a big surprise to open the lid and see what's inside.  I am constantly experimenting with different technique - some work well...others...well.....But the experiments keep things fresh and keep my work evolving.  

 It's great work, and I'm looking forward to her new evolutions in the future!  Be sure to check out distractedbyshiny's shop to see what other lovely fused glass jewelry she has in stock.