COOL

What thirty artists think on the subject. Come celebrate our first anniversary surrounded by inspired works of painting, drawing, photography and sculpture. Friday, August 1, 6 to 10:30pm. Live jazz. Snacks. Drinks.

2701 Hibernia, at Boll Dallas, TX 75204 214.206.4553

i'll be showing something from the "wet mary" series.

thanks to mary for letting me put the hose on her.

artist brain; photos by hal samples

no one ever looks at children and says, "are you going to be an artist when you grow up?" it's this bizzarre chemical reaction that happens in people where they are compelled to create enough work on their own steam until someone takes notice. nothing is really official until you declare the major in college, and even then, the doubtful lines like, "so. . .what are you going to do with that degree?" weighs heavy.

i didn't major in creative writing because i didn't believe i could have made a living at it. always the practical with me. i majored in mass communications with an emphasis in film production and a minor in writing, emphasized in journalism. although not "fine art" it is a creative major. though, the art is mostly lost in learning which buttons to push and law classes telling you how to stay out of trouble. there are a lot of buttons. and laws.

in the meantime i painted my ass off. i had the ultimate artists oasis in one beloved old train station converted to an aptartment that i could barely pay rent on. i wrote more words than i may ever write again. it wasn't until i picked up a camera that anyone got beyond, "she's so creative" to "she's an artist." and it wasn't until i heard that line that i realized the importance of that validation.

so i'm here. i know what i'm supposed to do. what i'm supposed to create. and i know where that's going to take me. as much as anyone can. and it's made my inpsirations that much more important and meaningful.

if i tell you i like your art, i really mean it. and i really mean that it's important to me.

when i come across artists i have to look and think and contemplate until i "get it." until it's real. somewhere along the lines some part of that helps me in my own art.

but then there's hal samples. who's work and person i completely adore. and i get all the "why" and reasoning behind the pieces. but the "how" is totally beyond me. this is a beautifully frustrating experience. i thought for the longest that it had to be the equipment. or maybe, it's that he has the freedom to just go and go and create and shoot without having to plan around daycare and diapers and life.


after a really long conversation with hal i started to feel a little of the underparts of his brain. and realized that That's! where it all comes from. the artist brain is just so amazingly different. there are pieces of grey matter that truly have their own unique vision of the world. art that wouldn't exist without that singular person throwing it out there for us to see.

i can't even express how absolutley fantastic and important this is. so, thanks hal for taking photos and talking and sharing the images with me.

but i still need a new camera. *grin* or a new lens.

naptime

the other day penn woke up from his nap, padded down the hallway and found mary and i outside. he gave us a look of utter terror and ran away. we found him on the arm of the couch. asleep.

my baby can sleep anywhere, anytime. wonder where he gets that from.

carissa byers photography: anniversary party

happy 40th anniversary!

i really enjoyed shooting this fabulous event. and i can't wait for this little man to run for office.

the dotted line. or blank space at the bottom of the paper, as it were.

we signed the lease today! looks like a ballpark of the 2nd week of august we'll get to start......painting. *sigh* yes. the whole place has to be painted. the con is obvious.

the pro: we get to transorm the dingy white (?) walls into splendid tones of GREEN! yes, my friends, i have always wanted a couple of bright green walls and now i'm going to get them. we're going to let ourselves be a little funky. it's not an opportunity that comes along very often so we say "Seize!"

it will be weird, seeing as how roomie and i have drastically different tastes, as to how the compromise will look. i'm going with green and she's going with purple. who knows what will happen in between.

the yard also needs a good clean-up. volunteers for our new project will not be turned down. *grin*

we're both a couple of work horses and i am SO looking forward to sitting back in a freshly painted, clean little, 1500 square feet and soaking up my new beginning.

carissa byers photography: lionheart apparel

last saturday i shot for lionheart apparel, a new clothing line by tarek saab to be released in august.

we shot mostly stop-action stuff for the website. the design is absolutley fantastic and i can't wait to see it go up.

it's rare that i wish i had more time on a project. it's hard to balence out my personal ideas with what's actually needed for the shoot. in my head i wanted to move this and that and get in close for this and that. only so many hours in a day, though.

this was another one that would've been impossible without erica fellicella's help. she's a total goddess. i'm in awe of her talent, her brain, her studio and her generosity. they don't get no better. thank you, neighbor.

lionheart's gonna be fantastic.

card my dad sent me

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

---Anais Nin


i wish we could all have fathers as thoughtful and kind and supportive and understanding as mine. i am so fortunate.

hero to zero, 3rd anniversary

if i were a good friend i would have remembered to post this to help spread the word. and bring a piece to help raise money. but my memory cache is full. i did go out to support the amazing hal, though.

i'd had a long hot and sweaty day of shooting so i only took three pictures while i was there. pic #1, mr. daniel playing his new cd.

pic #2, mr. daniel throwing up far away expressions and hand claps.

pic #3 (not by me), sweaty/gross/tired me at the end of the night. congrats, hal on a great event.

daniel miller @ lake highlands cafe

drove a whole mile to see the lovely daniel miller play last night.

he's totally on to something with his new cd. i'm a little anxious for it to be ready. *nudge-nudge*

neighbor and photo-genius got coffee and cake (which i forgot to pay you for!) and we giggled through half of the set. i swear i was listening, d.

and then the lights went out. i've always been a fan of power-outages.

carissa byers photography: art for sale

a lot of people have been asking for prints these days. now they are available! and for really cheap because the shows are over and i want you to have them. for now, the two most-requested series' are up. more to come as time allows.

seen anything else of mine you want? let me know. be specific.

art you can own : http://www.carissabyers.exposuremanager.com/
web and contact : www.carissabyers.com

the announcement: life isn't always a bowl of cherries

it's not. and i never expected it to be. i don't expect a lot, actually. things just sort of happen the way they happen. i hold no grudges against the natural order of things.

and the natural-order of things in the byers-smith household has led me to a decision. penn and i are moving out into an adorable little house with our beloved mary. or, "mama mary" as penn calls her.

i am really excited about this new chapter.

my hero

it was 11th grade and band. i played the trumpet. a used trumpet when it was bought for me in 6th grade. i still have that trumpet. there was a very very red-headed boy next to me playing the trombone. our teacher was working with woodwinds so the brass section was free to sleep or make-out or read. (note: i think i recieved detentions for all of the above. i kept the one i got for making out.)

very red-headed trombone player was reading, "stranger music" by leonard cohen. i asked if i could see the book. and then i asked him if i could borrow the book. this book was the real beginning of poetry for me. of words that were strung together into something big and full and important and lived.

after i read that book and all of the other out-of-print books i could get my hands on, i was left wanting more. because i understood more. hell if i knew what it was i understood (still don't), but it felt exciting to have the knowledge. still does. no person i haven't met has ever inspired me more. inspiration is sexy.

there's a documentary out now, "Leonard Cohen: I'm your man."

i'd like to be walking through the grocery some day and bump into him on the produce aisle.



Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
It's how the light gets in.

—from "Anthem" (1992)




click here for wikipedia link

shorter

new haircuts always call for a photo sent to the select few females who care about what my hair looks like. but you can't see my hair. just me screaming at the sun.

who cares, though, really, when you get this picture of penn.

he's captivating when he's still.

kinome=best damned hair artist in dallas who is way too kind to me.

or late 20's......

ldopa.net

carissa byers photography: a birthday shoot

happy first birthday, little one!

thank you for letting us celebrate with your beautiful family.

and your beautiful dogs.

everyone loves a good pinata, though i'll be honest, penn was a little freaked out about everyone beating up his hero, dora the explorer.

nothing personal, he's just never gotten the pinata thing.

the cake was scrumptious.

and you partied with the best of them. happy birthday!

playing with logo ideas

carissa byers photography: a texas wedding

i am now entering into the world of themed weddings. i recently shot a texas themed wedding in full-out old-western attire.

as if weddings weren't fun enough! sure, it's typically a long day for everyone involved, but it's wrapped around love and family and celebration and when you mix in a couple of saloon girls you've got yourself a fun time.

"decor" is almost always my favorite folder on the disc. i try to shoot a handful of images of the location for everyone. this wedding was held at the fort worth stockyards.

it is absolutely ripe with photo opportunities. and, barnyard smells.

there was even a gun fight!!!!!

there is one chore for a wedding photographer. the "posed" photos of friends and family. it's an un-estimated amount of time where everyone is forced to stand up straight and smile and hope the sweat isn't showing up in the picture. (it almost never does, by the way). but this family encouraged fun and silliness which takes out all the drudge of "formals."

congratulations guys! it was a fantastic day and i am so happy for you.

first wk of july

the lovely jonelle graced me with a weeks worth of her presence last week. it just happened to be one of the busiest of my weeks for a myriad of reasons that i'm not ready to elaborate on just yet.

par usual i had so much fun. emersed in the idea of growth and decisions and next steps and, of course, work. jonelle witnessed me literally take over a thousand photographs this week, not to mention suffering through the back-end processing, album making, packaging, paperwork and phone calls. there's so much right now and i am quite behind. (above photo by jonelle)

but she helped me. like only best friends can do. some mountains are easier to climb with friends like mine.

highlight: jonelle's new tatoo by adorable youngster cody biggs.

she braved the ink of symbols from her family coat of arms on her wrists.

and we braved the boobified circus that is late night deep ellum.

love you, nella-boo. much support here for the beginning of your exciting new adventure.