Being an artist, a perfectionist, maybe a tad bit type-A and a slight bit obsessive, I have a hard time doing things the easy way.  In contrast, I’m also a huge fan of efficiency – which is good, because that side of me usually lets me decide which things are worth marinating on longer, and which I can handle the quick version of to get the same result.

When it comes to my art – the long way is usually the route I will choose.  Because the process is part of the result for me.  It makes it better.

Hubby and I were watching an episode of “Off the Map” recently and there was a little exchange between two characters that I thought illustrated this so well.  (In all honesty, if you are astute, you can pull a variety of lessons from this little scene)

In the scene, a couple is being served dinner by the guy’s mother.  She introduces the dish (because the girl in the couple is a foriegner):

Mom: “This is Cacha Mancha.  It’s a Peruvian stew, baked underground with hot rocks to allow the flavor of the earth to remain with the food.”

Girl: “I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble!”

Mom:”Ah, just something I whip up.  You dig a pit, heat the river rocks, bury the meats and vegetables then cover the whole thing with the rocks, then cook it for many hours while my hands burn, and my eyes tear up from the onions.  It’s no trouble at all!  So take your time, and enjoy.”

(the Mom walks away)

Girl: “Is she really cooking underground?”

Guy: “Culturally, we like to make things very difficult for ourselves.”

Girl: “See, we are just the opposite.  In Minnesota, this would be called a casserole.  And it would have been made from canned soup and frozen vegetables.”

I don’t know about you, but I think the Peruvian stew sounds so much better than the casserole.

So, one of those secret projects (though not THE Secret Project) that I keep alluding to here on the blog finally came to fruition this week!

I give you our brand spankin’ new company: Blank My Walls.

Many of you have asked where you can buy prints of some of my fine art photographic work, and I finally have an answer for you – at Blank My Walls!  And, you can get the work of other artists as well!

Hubby and I have been trying to solve the problem of getting my artwork out of our basement (and my hard-drives) and into the hands of those who love it for, well for years.   I’ve had it in galleries, in art shows, and sold it via other venues, but honestly – doing so is all a ton of work, for very little return.  And we know from talking to friends and others that from the side of someone who wants unique and REAL art for their home, this solution wasn’t great either.  Galleries can be intimidating to those not educated in the arts, and their reach is limited.   And yet, buying art from a big box store feels so, well, generic.  The question was, how do we get REAL artwork into the hands of everyday collectors, and how do we make it unique?

Thumbnail previews of work by Kara Schultz, Jake Rohde and myself, part of the “Original 20″ on Blank My Walls.

Working off of another entrepreneurial idea we had – we hit on the solution to this problem late last year.  We would sell limited edition photographs on the web.  This gave us a wider audience than any gallery ever could, and it gave us the ability to offer unique art in a way that was accessible to everyone.  Once an edition has sold out – that’s it – it’s gone.  There won’t ever be any more for sale, ever.

Blank My Walls will have a constantly evolving collection of work.  Each week, two new images will be released for sale – one each on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Each image will be offered in a number of different sized prints and editions.  To start the site off, we have put together a collection called “The Original 20″ - a collection of 20 images by me and other artists.  The weekly releases will start on November 9th.

Thumbnail previews of work by myself and Heather Cook Elliott, part of the “Original 20″ on Blank My Walls.

We hope you will check out the new site, and we hope you will find something for your home there too!   Art makes a fantastic gift, and you can even buy gift certificates for your friends and family.

Thumbnail previews of work by myself, Alicia Swedenborg and Melissa Schollaert, part of the “Original 20″ on Blank My Walls.

You can keep up with our latest releases and our other news on the website, The #$!@?* Blog, our facebook page, or our twitter.   We’d love it if you became a fan or tweeted at us too!  We’d love it even more if you would share the work you love on the site with your friends! (Each image on the site has a facebook, stumble and twitter button right there for you to use)

Thumbnail previews of work by Heather Krakora, myself, Scott Webster and Heather Cook Elliott, part of the “Original 20″ on Blank My Walls.

Putting this company together has been a true labor of love. It has taken three times as long as we had planned or anticipated for it to be complete.  It has been a monumental investment in time, resources, relationships and money.  There have been times when we doubted ourselves, when we weren’t sure it was the right step.  But those times were far outweighed by our belief that this is a need in the market, and more so, it is a need for artists, specifically photographers.  Art is about personal expression.  And while we may undertake more commercial endeavors to pay the bills; in order to keep that artistic spirit alive, an artist must continue to create personal work.  Blank My Walls was created to serve this purpose as well.  We hope it gives artists an opportunity to earn an income on what they create for themselves – their art.  (If you are a photographer interested in submitting your work to the site – click here)

Thumbnail previews of work by Melissa Schollaert, myself and Michael Krakora, part of the “Original 20″ on Blank My Walls.

We’ve given up a good chunk of our social lives over the last several months to spend time on starting this company. Hubby and I are both entrepreneurs at heart, and anything outside of owning our own company was never going to be the ticket for us.  We want to express our gratitude and deep thanks to everyone who has supported us in this journey, believed in us and helped us in our work.  We are humbled by the artist friends that have submitted their work for the site and entrusted us with it.  We are touched by the family and friends who have tolerated our absence in your lives and loved us anyway.  You can’t know how much we appreciate you simply believing in us, much less offering your support and help.  I won’t even try to name you all, in fear of missing someone.  You know who you are – Thank you!

Today I took a few hours to hang out with my godson and nephew Ethan and take his three month pictures.  I haven’t seen him in a few weeks, and he has changed so much in that brief period.  He’s 13 whopping pounds now, and really filling out and becoming such a little man (though the jeans I bought him fell right off). His face has morphed from his newborn shoot into one that has a full range of expressions and isn’t 100% his Dad anymore (sorry Jacob).

One other unexpected treat was that my brother Christian (and my Dad) came along for the shoot today.  It is a great joy to watch Christian with Ethan.  He is so great with him, so natural.  There is just some special little magic in that little guy that turns my brother into the best version of himself.

I believe in taking pictures not just of the babies, but with their family members too, which is why I snapped these pictures above today.  I didn’t get any with my Dad, but we have taken some before.  Kids should have pictures to look back on that show not just how cute they were at different stages – but how those around them loved them too.

When I get to editing Ethan’s whole shoot I’ll share more!

I haven’t even posted Christine & Charlie’s wedding to the blog yet, and they were married back in May (remember when I said the blog is far behind reality?).  But I do want to share this moment before I forget.

After their wedding party pictures at the Capitol, Christine & Charlie decided to walk down State Street to their reception at the Overture Center.  It was early evening, with the sun sinking low on the street.  People lined the sidewalks browsing, eating, drinking and enjoying the first days of summer.  A group of drummers were gathered near the top of the street and you could hear their beats for blocks.  Suddenly, Charlie seized the moment and led Christine into the middle of the street and made his own wedding parade.  People clapped and cheered, the street was all theirs, and the drums beat on.  They laughed and smiled and stole looks at each other as they walked, hand-in-hand, towards the sunset.  It was quite a moment, made all the better by the fact that it was entirely found and spontaneous.

When we reached the Overture Center and the wedding party was again on the sidewalk, Charlie turned around, his face lit up like a firecracker, “That was awesome!”.

It was.