A Cautiously Happy New Year And A Year’s End Review!
Jean Brown’s Poinsettia, December, 2024
As the year winds down and the new regime takes over our government, I’m trying to remain optimistic about the future. The Grateful Dead's Kennedy Center Award bolsters my optimism. Seeing the remaining band members held in such high esteem was an incredible sight to behold. I also realize this might be the first sign of the apocalypse, or at least hell freezing over.
Let’s all hope for the best in the coming four years. Remember, don’t obey in advance; resist the urge to comply!
This past year has been one of the changes for me, which seems fitting, considering I turned 60 in December. First, I lost a long-time freelance gig at the Boston Public Library, so I worked at Trader Joe’s for about 3 weeks, destroying my knees. Next, I had a short stint as a salesperson at Hunt’s Photo and Video in Melrose, MA, selling all kinds of photo gear. I finally landed a full-time job at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, where I am working on digitizing documents of the communications between the Museum and Tribes around the country going back to 1993 for NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act). It is fascinating to read the correspondence and the history of giving Ancestors and funerary objects back to Native Americans.
On the art-making front, I received a Puffin Foundation grant in May to continue photographing American Elms around the greater Cambridge area. Building on the momentum from the previous year, I showed Elm pictures at the SPE Members Exhibition in March at the conference in St. Louis and the 7th MassArt Alumni Biennial Exhibition: LOOKING BACKWARD. LOOKING FORWARD.
Privately Owned American Elm [Middlesex Street, Cambridge, MA] 2023
In other studio news, I made the difficult but necessary decision to give up my studio space at Vernon Street Studios. It is quite an adjustment after 20 years of having a studio space. Fortunately, my friends Gus and Ross at Palm Press have given me access to their printer and darkroom to continue producing prints and scans for myself and a few select clients.
Whatever this new year brings us, I hope to remember what is truly important: friends, family, and the freedom to live the way we want.
Wishing all peace and compassion for ourselves and each other in 2025!
