P-PAW 2015

[Dan Mouer]

New Years Resolution: It's time for a new PAW...in fact this will be a P-PAW!

In 2008, 2009, and 2010 I participated in an exercise in self-discipline that had been started by some online photo friends on one of the Leica groups. It's called "Picture-a-Week," and the idea is simple: make at least one good photograph each week, no matter what, without fail, no excuses. Doesn't have to be prize-winning, but it should be one that I am happy to show off to some sophisticated photography/art audiences. It was a very productive and rewarding exercise to go through and, in fact, my 2009 solo gallery show called "Café Life: a Laptop, a Cell Phone and a Latté" was a direct result of that practice.

Because I primarily consider myself a print maker--my art is producing a work on paper (or aluminum, or copper, or plexi, or ceramic...) rather than being an "imager," I want to make my 2015 exercise a P-PAW (Picture and Print a week.) Following my 2009 show, I have done relatively little photo-based art. Instead, I've been making mixed-media compositions, collages, and mail-art. I had a very nice mail-art show this year at Artspace Richmond leaving me to wonder what is the next step for me and my ADD creativity.

I keep coming back to feeling that I want to do more of what I used to do: photography. What's more, I find myself attracted to traditional subjects (landscape, nature, portraiture) as well as traditional formats (film, silver prints, etc.). So I have decided to undertake another year of picture a week discipline, complete with a top-quality print of each week's PAW. Since I love my mail-art networks and don't want to lose the friends I have made there, I think that my weekly print will become the core of a weekly mail-art piece. So mail-art friends, watch your letter boxes!

To add a little spice to the mix, I have just had surgery which renders me very immobile. I am in a leg cast and restricted to movements I can accomplish on one foot only. That will be the case for at least a couple months, with another 2-3 months in a "walking cast" I probably won't be routinely leaving the house and/or driving until at least late Spring. So no walks in the woods with cameras for me. If it isn't in my house or on my front porch, I most likely cannot photograph it. What will I photograph? We shall see...

Keep eyes peeled, Friends,

Dan M

[Valentine Mark Herman]

Yep, five. The first one to straighten an inward-growing big toe didn't work. Nor did the 2nd one to straighten the adjoining 'index' toe. So the 3rd one involved taking a bone graft from my hip, reconstructing the big toe, and inserting a metal plate and screws to hold it all together. That went wrong, and there was a 4th operation to rescrew the whole thing together and re-align the plate. Then the plate snapped and the 5th and op was to remove the plate, screws and assorted debris and reset the toe again. It seems to be working. I was supposed to have the other big toe done too, but no way, José. Here's a photo of my toe (sort of), but it's probably healthier if from now on we talk about your foot and your project. Good luck. Hippy New Year!

[Petrolpetal]

Great project! It would be nice of you publish the p and p weekly here too. I might dust off my old camera in 2015 too.Photography used to give me a lot of pleasure. Also going to play around with Photoshop more. Good luck with the cast.I hope it doesn't hurt!

[Dan Mouer]

Damn, Val! Five operations??? My surgeon tells me I could need three. I recommended he do his best to fix it with one! I hope you are up and about by now!

[Valentine Mark Herman]

Good luck! This sounds a fascinating project. I can see that a major part of the challenge will be what you can photograph in the first part of the year with limited one-footed movements (unless you get someone to drive you places).

Let me know how you get on? Photo-  AND leg-wise?

Hippy New Year, Val (who had 5 operations on his left foot in the last 2 years, and also had to get around on, mostly, one foot for long periods of time)