We will live off of mangoes and love

..one more thing..

I would like to share some of Breece Pancakes short stories; they were a large source of inspiration for me while I was in Finland. They were also the cause of many late nights spent awake and dreaming of West Virginia..

Breece Pancake was a fairly unknown author in his time, but in recent years he has come to be regarded as a rare talent by contemporary writers such as Margaret Atwood and Joyce Carol Oates. He grew up in West Virginia and almost all of his stories occur in this bleak and impoverished landscape. There is only one collection of his works available for purchase (and I would sincerely recommend doing so). He committed suicide in 1979 at the young age of 26.

Trilobites, (published in 1977)

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/77dec/pancake.htm

In The Dry, (published in 1978)

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/78aug/pancake.htm

The Honored Dead, (published in 1981)

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/81jan/pancake.htm

Hollow, (published in 1982)

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/82oct/pancake.htm

Here is a great review of his collection of short stories by Joyce Carol Oates:

http://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/13/books/pancake-stories.html?pagewanted=1

Some inspiring short films:

A girls own story by Jane Campion


A Girl's Own Story
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A Girl's Own Story Part 2
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A Girl's Own Story Part 3
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La Jetee by Chris Marker



Phantom Canyon by Stacey Steers (please go to the link; this film is really lovely)

http://www.lumeneclipse.com/gallery/22/steers/index.html

Mothlight by Stan Brakhage



I made my first 16mm film last week! I will not see how it turned out until it is screened for the entire class this Thursday- which will be a unique and nerve-racking experience. I hope that you will enjoy these short films as much as I have (or more).

I'm dedicating this post to the magic of Russia and it's photographers! If you wade through the hundreds of documentary photographers surrounding the Soviet Union and its states, you will find a magical group of artists working to convey the mystery and beauty of their country's struggles, without the crutch of depraved imagery. Here are a few:

My favorite (and one of my favorite photographers in general) Alexi Titarenko:















I love his long exposures where people appear in waves, identity-less .

This next artist is Finnish, but he dedicated much of his career to photographing Russia. Pentti Sammallahti:






Igor Savchenko:







Remigijus Treigys (from Lithuania, previously occupied by the Soviet Union):

For our first assignment in Digital Photography 1, we are required to take a self-portrait every day for the rest of the semester. This is a challenging assignment for me, because I have never paid much thought to this sort of exploration. In an attempt to gain better insight (and inspiration), I've begun doing some research on self-portraits taken by some famous and not-so-famous photographers that I admire..

Diane Arbus

Francesca Woodman

Joel Peter Witkin


Ralph Eugene Meatyard

Chuck Close


Sally Mann






Henri Cartier Bresson

Edward Steichen

Eugene Atget

Mark Sink

And, here are a couple self-portraits that I've taken.