tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53216150664452345412024-02-06T23:54:01.078-05:00Patricia Lay-Dorsey, photographyPatricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-628508952808968112013-04-20T00:52:00.001-04:002013-04-25T23:11:54.809-04:00"Falling Into Place" at Fovea Exhibitions in Beacon, NY April 13-July 7, 2013<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75gF88h1MwZ5gaRgMPbwNL6-bmjxoajTa72Lu9yH0YnqFx2EQ3xKUe3HPv6ZIppJCODgmzuBOeXHBx7JpjnfurwsRec2FJfsbKuFitAZ4xGrvpUQWW5kmomh0sLODyjMt6e-ejWyRvl8M/s1600/IMG_2627a-resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75gF88h1MwZ5gaRgMPbwNL6-bmjxoajTa72Lu9yH0YnqFx2EQ3xKUe3HPv6ZIppJCODgmzuBOeXHBx7JpjnfurwsRec2FJfsbKuFitAZ4xGrvpUQWW5kmomh0sLODyjMt6e-ejWyRvl8M/s320/IMG_2627a-resized.jpg" /></a>
<p><i>Click on this photo taken by J.P. Pacquing to see it larger.</i></p>
<p>I can't think of anything that is harder to do than to put words to an ineffable experience. After all, just read the definition:</p>
<p><i><b>in·ef·fa·ble</b>
/inˈefəbəl/
Adjective:
Too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words: "ineffable beauty".
Too sacred to be uttered.
Synonyms:
unspeakable - inexpressible - unutterable - nameless</i></p>
<p>Well, "ineffable" perfectly describes everything I experienced last weekend in Beacon, NY as we celebrated the opening of my "Falling Into Place: self portraits" exhibit at <a href="http://foveaeditions.org/">Fovea Exhibitions</a>. Here's a partial list of the weekend activities:</p>
<p>1. A dinner in my honor for 20 of Fovea's volunteers and Board members put on Friday night by the co-founders/directors Stephanie Heimann Roland and Sabine Meyer at Stephanie and Mark's lovely home in Beacon. The wonder of meeting so many creative individuals, hearing their stories and falling in love with Sabine's 7 year-old daughter Jordan and Stephanie's 3 year-old son Mack, both of whom loved scooter rides.</p>
<p>2. On Saturday afternoon attending a special screening of the remarkable film, "Chasing Ice" with the film's director and none other than the folk music icon Pete Seeger, his wife Toshi and daughter Tinya in the audience.</p>
<p>3. Then the opening of my exhibit with 232 people showing up to help us celebrate, including Pete, Toshi and Tynya. My giving a gallery talk that was not only well received but elicited a tender sharing by Vaughn who told us of his mother who had dealt with MS with grace and tenacity. Feeling like spring rains were soaking into the sometimes parched soil of my confidence as a photographer as generous-spirited folks affirmed my work.</p>
<p>4. A late-night sushi dinner after the opening at an excellent Japanese restaurant on Main Street with Ron Aubert, who had kindly taken photos of the opening using my camera, and the exhibit curator, Sabine, who must have been exhausted.</p>
<p>5. Sunday at Fovea where J.P. was sitting the gallery as he has done every Sunday for years, then lunch at the Tea Room and hours spent at the amazing minimalist contemporary art museum, Dia Beacon, with my niece Carolyn and her husband Jonathan who had come up to visit me from New Jersey.</p>
<p>6. Later that afternoon as I charged my scooter at an outlet at <a href="http://www.hudsonbeachglass.com/">Hudson Beach Glass</a>, I visited with Janet Griffin and listened (unseen) to an astounding improvisation on acoustic guitar by a beautiful man named Zenote. That was followed by dinner with Stephanie, young Mack, and her singer/songwriter/creative consultant friend Carol who allowed me to brainstorm with her about the very exciting workshops she is preparing to offer to corporations.</p>
<p>6. Then Monday morning at Beacon High School where I was privileged to present a slideshow of images from "Falling Into Place" and discuss self portraits with Mark Lyon's photography students whose questions delighted me and whose engagement was palpable.</p>
<p>7. After a delicious lunch at the Homespun Cafe, I was allowed to photo-document Hudson Beach Glass owners, John and Wendy Gilvey, create one of their annual awards for the Rainforest Alliance: an exquisite earth-colored paperweight with two orange and yellow frogs painted in glass on the surface. I hope to create a slideshow using the photos to give to them.</p>
<p>8. My final dinner in Beacon was at the Yankee Clipper Diner with Stephanie, Mack, and photographer/photo editor Ronnie Farley who not only gave me a book of her photos but hopefully will come visit me in Detroit.</p>
<p>What I carry with me from these four days and nights is a sense of awe at the kindness, community-feeling, creative consciousness and open-hearted welcome given me by every person I met in Beacon. I went there for photography and found people I love. I shall return.</p>
<p><i>To see more images from the opening, go to "Exhibits and Installations" under PORTFOLIOS on <a href="http://www.patricialaydorsey.com">my website</a>. Once there, you can also see a video taken by Fovea volunteer J.P. Pacquing of my gallery talk on "Videos and Slideshows" under INFORMATION. The video can also be found under "Artist Talks" on the <a href="http://foveaeditions.org/">Fovea Exhibitions website</a>.</i></p>
Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-43607296448808490002013-01-22T23:02:00.002-05:002013-01-23T01:46:35.943-05:00"Falling Into Place" at the Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA, January 17-March 3, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<p><i>Click on images to see them in a larger format</i></p>
<p>There are times in your life that you know you will never forget. Thursday, January 17, 2013 was just such a time for me. It was the opening of three solo exhibits at the world-renowned Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, Massachusetts: David Pace's "Burkina Faso: Night and Day," Mary Beth Meehan's "City of Champions," and my self portraits from "Falling Into Place." Prior to the opening, I gave a Member's Gallery Talk, and later David Pace spoke about his photos of the people in the small West African country of Burkina Faso.</p>
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<p>The Griffin obviously has the support of the community judging from the dozens of members who turned out for my talk, and the many volunteers who were working behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly...which it did. They put on such a lovely party with a groaning table of food and plenty of wine and nonalcoholic drinks. Everyone was made to feel welcome, especially the artists. David and his wife had come from California, I had come from Detroit, and sadly, Mary Beth Meehan who lives in Massachusetts was unable to attend because she was recovering from surgery. But the Griffin Museum has the reputation it does because of two creatively gifted, hardworking women: the Executive Director Paula Tognarelli and the Associate Director Frances Jakubek. I learned so much from both of them.</p>
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<p>For me personally, there were five individuals who attended Thursday night's celebration who have very special meaning in my life. I call four of the five my "kids" and the fifth is loved because she is the life partner of one of our kids. Now in their 50s, Diane Favrow, Colleen Smith Clark, Bill Mackey and Tripp Micou were in and out of Ed's and my house as if it were their own during their growing up years. Ed and I never gave birth to children of our own but we loved kids, and the neighborhood kids seemed to know it and loved us back. I had hoped to see Bill and his partner Andrea Samsel while in Boston because they live in the area. Tripp also lives nearby but it was still an unexpected delight to have him show up. However, the unimaginable surprise came from Colleen and Diane who traveled from their homes in Michigan - 12 hours apart, I might add - to surprise me at this opening! We happened to be on the same plane so that was where the surprise actually occurred. Happily, that meant we were able to spend time hanging out together on Thursday. I don't have a picture of her, but one more of our "kids" traveled to the Boston area to see me: Leslie Mackey Potter, Bill's younger sister who lives in Vermont, drove two and a half hours to spend Friday night with me.</p>
<p>Here are pictures of me and my "kids" at the museum on Thursday night:</p>
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<p>I'm going to leave you with one more image from my time in Cambridge, MA (which is where I stayed). This photo was taken beside the Holden Chapel (circa 1744) as Diane, Colleen and I explored the Harvard Yard on Thursday. Never before had I seen an owl in the middle of the day, especially one who sat there without moving even when we stood right under it. Only when each of us had downloaded our owl photos to our computers did we see why that owl was not flying away. Click on the image and look at what it is sitting on!
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<p>Of course, to me this magical creature symbolized wisdom...the wisdom I hoped to impart at the museum that night. Now I look at what it had in its clutches and wonder what THAT symbolized!</p>
Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-10047455801653737722012-12-16T12:18:00.000-05:002012-12-18T00:03:19.588-05:00If not now, WHEN?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Click on image to see larger</i><br>
<p>These boys, girls and women were killed on Friday morning by a gunman shooting his mother's semi-automatic rifle, first in his home and then in the Sandy Hook Elementary School in northern Connecticut. Anyone who has ever seen a classroom filled with first grade students can close their eyes and see their beautiful faces, ready smiles and utter innocence. This is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. Even as I join the many voices crying for gun control today, I cannot stop thinking of these children. They are with me night and day.</p>
<p>As a meditation on their lives, I invite you to do what I just did and go to my photo portfolio called <a href="http://www.patricialaydorsey.com">The Space Between: remember the children</a>.</p>
<p>And then I beg you to do whatever you can to stop this madness. A good first step is to donate money to the hardworking folks at the <a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org">Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence</a>. Then send an <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments">email to President Obama</a> urging him to lead the fight for serious gun control that will protect our children. Next, contact your senators and representatives (federal and state) and urge them to propose bills to control the sale and use of guns, and outlaw semi-automatic weapons for civilians. Write a letter to the editor of national and local newspapers about this issue, and get the word out on Facebook and Twitter. And, finally, talk with friends, family and co-workers about the need to stand up to the NRA and protect our kids.</p>
I ask you, if not now, WHEN?Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-15666229929770529212012-12-12T16:53:00.000-05:002012-12-12T23:32:25.273-05:0012-12-12<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<p>"12 Seen With Fresh Eyes"<br>
<i>Click on image to see it larger</i><br></p>
<p>Rarely do we<br>
recognize<br>
the last time we<br>
will see a person,<br>
place or event.<br>
Instead we go<br>
through life<br>
thinking it will<br>
go on forever<br>
just as it is<br>
today. We walk<br>
blindly, eyes<br>
on our iPhone,<br>
checking facebook,<br>
twitter and texts,<br>
ignoring the smile<br>
we will<br>
long to see<br>
in the years,<br>
or even days,<br>
to come.</p>
<p>12-12-12...<br>
This date we<br>
know we will<br>
never<br>
see<br>
again.<br>
Precious,<br>
unique,<br>
unrepeatable.</p>
<p>Just like<br>
every other<br>
day<br>
in our<br>
oh so short<br>
life.</p>
Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-26982803196186917112012-12-08T17:08:00.000-05:002012-12-12T17:43:08.751-05:00Detroit's Noel Night 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<p>Willis Street at Cass, Noel Night 2012<br>
<i>click on image to see it larger</i></p>
<p>Yes, people are comfortable walking on Detroit's streets at night...50,000 of them in fact. That was the estimate of visitors to Midtown Detroit's annual <a href="http://midtowndetroitinc.org/events/noel-night/noel-night">Noel Night</a> this year. Mild weather didn't hurt. But even on cold snowy Noel Nights, the crowds have always been huge. And a large percentage of those crowds are families with children.</p>
<p>For 40 years the first Saturday in December has been known as Noel Night in Midtown Detroit's Cultural Center area. Every year more museums, galleries, restaurants, shops and even hair salons participate. This year there were over 70 participating places with performances by music, theater and dance groups. And it is all free!</p>
<p>Detroit has so many problems. Even people in other countries know that. But what they seem to miss is that we have lots of fun together too. My portfolio of photos, <a href="http://www.patricialaydorsey.com">"The Detroit I Know and Love"</a> shows my long-time love affair with this city and its people.</p>
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<p>"Vision In a Cornfield" installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), Noel Night 2012</p>
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<p>Detroit Historical Museum, Noel Night 2012<br></p>
Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-78824600193211510872012-11-10T17:48:00.000-05:002012-12-06T22:19:45.013-05:00photography's gift: the people you meet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Avery Duncan, class of 2013<br>
<i>click on image to see it larger</i>
<p>It was the last day of summer and everyone knew it. Even though it was October, temperatures were hovering around 80 degrees F. Forecasters were predicting highs in the 50s for the next day so everyone was savoring today's warm sun and mild temperatures. Ed and I were enjoying our last outdoor lunch of the season at a table in front of the Hydrangea Kitchen across from the high school.</p>
<p>The kids had just gotten out of school for the day when a tall good looking young man came up and asked me, "Aren't you the photographer?" I said I was. He introduced himself as Avery Duncan and asked if I would ever have time to take a look at his photographs of Detroit. I said "Sure" and asked if he had any he could show me today. Avery brought over his laptop, set it up on our table and showed me some stunning images of Detroit's buildings, images that showed the beauty of the city I love. Well, Avery loves it too and his photos show it. We got to talking and in the midst of our conversation he asked if I could possibly take his senior class picture for the yearbook.</p>
<p>Today Avery came to my studio here at home and I managed to take 77 portraits from which he could choose the one he liked best. Avery's choice was a smiling portrait of himself dressed in a suit and tie taken from the waist up. My favorite, artistically speaking, was the photo posted above. Yes, it is rather dark and moody--certainly not suitable for a yearbook picture--but I think this image captures something in this young man that most people rarely see. Our cameras can do that sometimes: catch the intensity that drives us to persevere and overcome challenges others might not even know we are facing. From this image I know that Avery will make his way in the world with strength and determination. He is a young man of purpose and I wish him well.</p>
Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-30743477592829101052012-11-08T22:39:00.001-05:002012-11-08T22:59:52.172-05:00Andrew Drury on Creativity and Imagination<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Andrew Drury, drummer, performing in Jason Kao Hwang's ensemble at Edgefest 2010</i>
<p>Occasionally we are fortunate enough to hear exactly what we need when we need it. And so it was for me on Election Tuesday this week. I was a basket case that day, anxious and scared about how the vote might go. And then I received an email from a drummer I had met and talked with during last weekend's Edgefest sponsored by the Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Andrew Drury and I had connected on a deep level and I had asked him to send me a copy of a graduation speech he had made to fifth graders at an elementary school in Brooklyn back in 2008. There was something about the way he described it that made me feel it was something I needed to hear. And I was right. Now, with Andrew's permission, I would like to share it with you...</p>
<p><i><b>Keynote Speech for a Fifth Grade Graduation (2008) given by Andrew Drury</b></p></i>
<i><p>(NB Fifth graders at a school in Brooklyn where I led junk percussion workshops in 2007-8 invited me to give the keynote speech at their graduation. So I wrote this. The school is a dual language (Spanish/English) school so an administrator friend of mine translated each paragraph into Spanish after I read it in English.)</p></i>
<p>Before I share with you some of my words I want to share with you some drumming.</p>
<p>(Everybody drums)</p>
<p>I want you to notice that we just did that all BY OURSELVES. We made something beautiful out of nothing—but ourselves. That music was inside of you. That beauty was inside of you. Creativity and imagination are inside of you.</p>
<p>You're born with creativity and imagination. They are free. If you are human, you have them, and no one can ever take them away from you. Not only that, your imagination is totally unique and there's no other imagination exactly like yours. That blows my mind. It took billions of years of evolution and history to create you. You guys, each and every one of you, are amazing.</p>
<p>You all have successfully spent a chunk of your life in a wonderful, wonderful school. The teachers and other people running (your elementary school) care very much about you, and have thought very carefully and intelligently about how to give you the things you have need. But some big changes are coming.</p>
<p>First, you won't be at (this school) any more. You'll be in different schools, different situations, around different people. It would be great if all of them were like (your school), but unfortunately in this society that’s not how it works. You’ll be around new people. Some who will help you and inspire you, and some who won’t.</p>
<p>Second, you yourselves will change. You'll enter and go through adolescence and start turning into young adults. Your bodies will change. You'll look different. You’ll look in the mirror and one day think “I look pretty” and another day think “I look ugly.” Your minds will change and you'll think differently. You'll feel new kinds of emotions.</p>
<p>What I want to tell you today is that your imagination, your creativity, your spirit will be with you in all your situations and changes. And the more you exercise them and use them, the more powerful they will be.</p>
<p>It's like exercising so you can do a sport better, or practicing so you can get better at drumming, or math, or writing, or science. The more you exercise your brain, the stronger and more flexible it will be. The more you exercise your imagination and creativity, the better you will be in dealing imaginatively and creatively with life's challenges, and situations, and opportunities.</p>
<p>You won’t be the only one who benefits from this. THE WORLD needs you guys to be imaginative, creative, and inspired. A lot of us adults are waiting for you kids to share with us your wisdom and ideas. (Some day you all are going to be running things— taking care of us and changing our diapers.) You are the next generation.</p>
<p>The world needs young people who can think, imagine, create, and do. We need young people who can express themselves with words, with images, with rhythms, with dance, with tools, with science. We need young people who love truth, and who can figure out for themselves what is true and what is false despite what television, or anyone else, says. We need young people who can figure out for themselves what is fair, and what is not fair, and how to make the world a better place.</p>
<p>We adults can't wait to see and hear what new kinds of beauty young people in your generation are going to make. Your imaginations are the most important things in the world really—some day all of us adults are going to be old and decrepit and your generation will be running the world. Who you all become will be who society becomes and what history becomes.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>I want to read you a poem I'm working on. It's not finished. It's in progress. Right now I'm calling it "For Graduating Fifth Graders."</p>
<i><p>be thinkers, creators<br>
be curious about the world, about people<br>
taste ajiago in Bogota, and tamales in Sunset Park,<br>
ask people on a bus in Nicaragua for the story of their lives<br>
figure out a way to get to Mali and play guitar with the amazing<br>
musicians there<br>
figure out a way to be at home in Brooklyn<br>
and play with the amazing musicians here<br></p>
<p>be writers, drawers, spray paint artists,<br>
make up your own comic books<br>
make up your own stories<br>
and tell them in funny voices<br>
and record them on cassettes and CDs<br></p>
<p>be researchers, inventors<br>
discoverers, investigators<br>
finders of evidence<br>
experimenters, builders<br></p>
<p>write down your coolest ideas in journals<br>
and make plans for how to make them happen<br>
figure out the details<br>
think of big ideas<br>
and big plans that no one would expect to hear from a person like you<br></p>
<p>listen, always listen<br>
take notes, observe<br>
try to make sense of what’s going on<br>
and imagine something better<br>
or something different<br></p>
<p>don’t accept the narrowness<br>
when life’s pliers try to clamp you down and squeeze out your spirit<br>
it happens to everyone<br>
so just respect that fact<br>
and don’t get sucked into a rut of petty nonsense<br>
figure out what’s truly important to you<br>
figure out how to get on your feet<br>
and moving in the positive direction<br></p>
<p>decorate life<br>
take something plain and make it fabulous<br>
see something beautiful and stop to appreciate it<br>
take time<br>
and dance some patterns into it<br>
take a bucket, and drum some beats<br>
paint your wall, or your face, or your friends face<br>
in amazing, weird colors<br></p>
</i>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>I want to end by drumming again. But before we drum I want to share with you something the poet Amiri Baraka wrote about some music by an amazing musician, and one of my heroes, John Coltrane. He wrote:</p>
<p>“If you can hear, this music will make you think of a lot of weird and wonderful things. You might even become one of them.”</p>
<p>I want you to listen to the music of your life, and imagine a lot of weird and wonderful things. And if you do, I think you will become one of them.</p>
<p>(Everyone drums).</p>
<i>Fifth Grade Graduation Speech by Andrew Drury</i>
Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-36858882262757677472012-10-27T00:24:00.004-04:002012-10-27T00:50:57.670-04:00Walter, Detroit Tigers #1 fan...may he rest in peace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Click on images to see them larger.</p></i>
<p>As photographers we sometimes forget what our photos can mean to people. We may win awards, have our work exhibited on gallery or museum walls, see our photos featured on the web, or even have a book published, but if even one of our photos makes a difference in someone's life, that is what it's all about. Thanks to a loving daughter named Denise I now know how the pictures posted above touched lives in ways I could never have imagined.</p>
<p>Let me share with you the email Denise sent me on Thursday:</p>
<i><p>Hi Patricia,</p>
<p>Hope this email finds you well. Don't know if you remember me but you took some wonderful pictures of my Dad, Brother and family at the Tiger Game September, 2011. I wanted to let you know that sadly my Dad passed away this past Mothers Day, 2 weeks before his 93rd Birthday.</p>
<p>He had to start emergency kidney dialysis after a procedure last Nov 2011. He made a miraculous recovery and was in the hospital/in patient rehab until mid Dec. He came to live with me and my family and was progressing until Feb. Then in March 2012 he was readmitted to the hospital due to a rapid heart rate and overall weakened condition. At that time the doctors found a massive lung infection that had been weakening his heart along with the dialysis. My Dad fought so hard to get well and always seemed to bounce back. He made it through another 7 weeks in the hospital and remained fairly stable. He was discharged the begin of May to a skilled nursing/rehabilitation facility to get stronger and have some additional skilled care. The plan was to have him come back and live with me and my family in about 4-6 weeks. Unfortunately he was only there 12 days when his heart stopped.</p>
<p>My Dad was such a big part of my life and I miss him terribly but was blessed to have him with me for so many years. Its been hard for me to watch the Tiger Games because I miss sharing that with my Dad. He was their #1 fan and would have been so excited they made it to the World Series this year.</p>
<p>I wanted to contact you many times to somehow let you know that the pictures you took at the game ended up being more precious than you could imagine. They were taped up in every hospital room and rehab facility that my Dad was in the past year. He pulled through his darkest moments looking at those pictures and sharing their story with staff and doctors. I've posted those pictures on facebook; made prints of them to give as gifts and took one with me to the final playoff game last week to honor my Dads memory. I wanted you to know that your pictures of my Dad and family were a gift far more precious than words could ever convey. Always remember my Dad's smile.</p>
<p>Thanks so much from the bottom of my heart,</br>
Denise (Walter's daughter)</p></i>
<p>How grateful I am to Denise for sharing with me the story of her Dad's last months. Even though I only spent a few hours with Walter, his two sons, son-in-law (Denise's husband), grandson (Denise's son), and daughter-in-law, that man's joyful, loving spirit will always stay with me. Maybe my photos touched Walter but just being in his presence was a privilege. Don't worry, Denise, I will never forget your Dad's smile.</p>
Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-62097893778282205772012-10-10T01:03:00.001-04:002012-10-10T01:58:00.080-04:00New York City, September 11-15, 2012<p>I went to NYC to meet with David Drake, my book publisher from Cardiff, Wales. He was in New York to attend Helen Sear's book launch and Klompching Gallery opening. David and Fotogallery had published her book, "Inside the View," this year. Of course I also took a few photos as I scooted around the City.</p>
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Wall Street
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Occupy Wall Street on Broadway at Wall Street
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9/11/12 concert at (Le) Poisson Rouge with ACME performing Steve Reich works including the World Premiere of WTC 9/11 all-live version
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GQ & Nordstrom Mens Store Fashion Week bash. They invited me to come inside so I could get better pictures.
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Scooting back to my lower Manhattan hotel via the Hudson River Park
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Fashion Week at Lincoln Center Plaza
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Fashion Week at Lincoln Center Plaza. Check out the shoes.
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Strand Bookstore...not to be missed!
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My publisher David Drake relaxing after we had worked on an initial edit and sequencing of my book, "Falling Into Place." The book is scheduled to be released in May 2013.
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In the East Village after eating at a Venezuelan restaurant with my electronic music DJ buddies, illich and luis
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In the meatpacking district on our way to an EM dance club. I got back to my hotel at 3:40 am that night. Grandma Techno was doin' her thing!
Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-54784194134627713972012-08-01T01:23:00.003-04:002012-08-01T02:07:18.629-04:00My Olympic moment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Click on images to see them in a larger format</i></br>
<p>On Monday I received three copies of the August 1st issue of the magazine, Newsweek Japan. In it was a 4-page feature with seven of my self portraits with captions and introductory text from my project, Falling Into Place. I share these images of the article in hopes that I am not violating the publication rights of Newsweek Japan.</p>
<p>There is something so different about seeing your photographs published in print from seeing them on a computer monitor. I have been fortunate over the past three years to see Falling Into Place featured on a good number of superb online blogs and magazines, but only once before has the essay appeared in a print magazine. At that time (Spring 2009) I was too inexperienced to realize that photos print much darker than they look on the computer. I remember being terribly disappointed when I saw my photos in print and it wasn't the magazine's fault; it was my own.</p>
<p>This time I knew what to expect and prepared my digital files accordingly, even making a test copy of each of the seven images on my printer before I uploaded the files onto Newsweek Japan's FTP server. But I was still a bit uneasy until I actually held the magazine in my hands and could see each image for myself. Happily, they turned out just as I had hoped. Better than I had hoped, in fact, because the magazine has very high quality printing, with true colors and sharp resolution. It is Japanese after all, and the Japanese are known for the beauty of their printed papers, whether origami, notecards, books or magazines. Another surprise was to see the lead photo of me looking in my grandmother's mirror printed HUGE! It actually takes up one and two-thirds pages in the magazine.</p>
<p>While all this was going on with the Newsweek Japan magazine, I have been spending hours every day watching the London Olympics on TV. I love seeing these young athletes whose excitement is contagious. I love to celebrate their successes, whatever country they are representing. And I feel deeply for them when their performances do not meet their dreams and expectations. I love seeing the stories of how they have come to be where they are today, and am touched to see their families watching with their hearts in their mouths. I think of all that these young athletes and their parents have sacrificed to prepare them for this moment.</p>
<p>Tonight when I was writing in my journal, I realized that in some way, having my self portrait project featured in Newsweek Japan is MY Olympic moment. It is certainly the result of years of work and dedication to an activity that fills me with passion. It is an opportunity to share my life with persons a world away. Now maybe the Olympians have always had this moment as their goal, but I could never have dreamed this big. It has all come as a most unexpected gift.</p>
<p>I only hope that what I am calling my Olympic moment will become a significant moment for others, that seeing my self portraits and reading my story will open minds and touch the hearts of Japanese-speaking persons around the world. Creating Falling Into Place has certainly done that for me.</p>Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-20775621894205357682012-07-24T10:23:00.003-04:002012-07-24T12:30:44.639-04:00Sadako's peace crane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Click on image to see it larger.</i></br>
<p>Sometimes we make decisions that will impact more people than we can imagine. So it is with my decision last March to celebrate turning 70 by getting a new tattoo.</p>
<p>I had gotten my first tattoo right before my 64th birthday: an armband with a picture of the earth surrounded by green vines. It symbolized my belief that we are all members of one family across the globe.</p>
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<p>I only get tattoos of images that have deep meaning to me. Nothing had come to mind since the earth tattoo, that is until I saw Mikey Vigilante's table at this year's Motor City Tattoo Expo.</p>
<p>I was there photographing this amazing event where tattoo artists from around the country and tattooed people from the Midwest gather to share their love of this form of body art and to create new art on the spot. It is like a kid in a candy store for a photographer like me who loves taking pictures of people in all their diversity.</p>
<p>Mikey Vigilante's space had dozens of folded paper origami peace cranes on the table and on the wall behind him was a large black-and-white drawing of Sadako with arms outstretched and Hiroshima in the background. Her arms cradled a large origami peace crane that then became a flock of real cranes that flew through the dark grey mushroom cloud into a clear sky. Mikey's tattoo business was called the <a href="http://papercranetattoo.com">Paper Crane Studio</a>. I immediately recognized him as a brother who shared my commitment to peace.</p>
<p>The story of Sadako and her thousand peace cranes has meant a great deal to me over my decades as a global peace activist.</p>
<p>Sadako Sasaki was two years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb one mile from her home in Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. She survived the bomb but nine years later began developing symptoms of radiation-induced leukemia. In 1955, Sadako was hospitalized and given, at the most, one year to live.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_Sasaki">Wikipedia</a>,</p>
<p><i>"On August 3, 1955, Sadako's best friend Chizuko Hamamoto came to the hospital to visit, and cut a golden piece of paper into a square to fold it into a paper crane, in reference to the ancient Japanese story that promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by the Gods. A popular version of the story is that Sadako fell short of her goal of folding 1,000 cranes, having folded only 644 before her death, and that her friends completed the 1,000 and buried them all with her."</i></p>
<p>Since her death on October 25, 1955, Sadako and her Thousand Cranes have symbolized the terrible impact of nuclear war and an international cry for peace. There is a statue of Sadako and the cranes at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and every year Sadako is remembered when people all over Japan celebrate August 6 as the annual Peace Day.</p>
<p>So it happened that, in March 2012, I was finally able to commemorate Sadako in my own way: with a tattoo of an origami peace crane on my forearm.</p>
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</div><i>Click on image to see it larger.</i></br>
<p>Now here's where the unexpected impact of this decision comes in...</p>
<p>Tomorrow, July 25, 2012, the first image I posted here will be one of seven self portraits from my Falling Into Place project to be published in the Picture Power section of the August 1st issue of <a href="http://www.newsweekjapan.jp/">Newsweek Japan</a>! So people all over Japan will see how Sadako's story is known and cared about by people across the globe, even one 70 year-old American woman who has never been to their country.</p>
<p>May we never again experience the horrors of nuclear war. And may we never forget what my other tattoo shows: We are all members of one human family here on earth. War is never the answer. Peace is our common destiny.</p>Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-53121456201849424242012-06-29T09:56:00.000-04:002012-06-29T10:47:53.494-04:00Detroit's River Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Click image to see it larger.</i></li></br>
<p>It doesn't matter what's happening with jobs or the economy, Detroit always knows how to party. Last weekend it was the 3-day River Days Festival beside the Detroit River in the heart of downtown. For $3 during the day and $5 at night, you had a full carnival with great rides, performers/buskers along the River Walk, all kinds of food booths, a huge sand sculpture, the River Walk splash fountains for kids (and adults) to play in, and live music on three different stages. </p>
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<p>On Sunday night I saw 3 of the original 4 members of Boyz II Men electrify a crowd of thousands of Motown fans. Is it any wonder why I adore this city and its people???</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHCV94j75azOovWCq-vbzJICCmvyyUkVWd85AV7Xxm8jBrkoNSnOpTWlng8rcyL5qEKXb00sq1zaUXYPfK4ZEIxzJycoXewIlLSzPlK-5mAHTmqUNXf8VPWvajD08TW6fWivzYC9uqZLLK/s1600/IMG_9518b-resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="267" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHCV94j75azOovWCq-vbzJICCmvyyUkVWd85AV7Xxm8jBrkoNSnOpTWlng8rcyL5qEKXb00sq1zaUXYPfK4ZEIxzJycoXewIlLSzPlK-5mAHTmqUNXf8VPWvajD08TW6fWivzYC9uqZLLK/s400/IMG_9518b-resized.jpg" /></a></div>Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-34353884517872530862012-05-24T23:51:00.000-04:002012-05-25T00:42:41.520-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgax40IWN54tc1OQFRnXb32OjMFQ6nk7bCDeSVZA9lgXuHegSrz6A5snJtMp4zh_z5JmK1oh2YXDtt-8ov5XUMdgejVfVRInDMEwmb1pQ1QDkWlPxhzZRMXjAQyOg8dxIuNFZc5qjWjGg23/s1600/IMG_0044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgax40IWN54tc1OQFRnXb32OjMFQ6nk7bCDeSVZA9lgXuHegSrz6A5snJtMp4zh_z5JmK1oh2YXDtt-8ov5XUMdgejVfVRInDMEwmb1pQ1QDkWlPxhzZRMXjAQyOg8dxIuNFZc5qjWjGg23/s400/IMG_0044.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>I took this photo late this afternoon using the Hipstamatic App on my iPhone while scooting back home along the lake. I had just swum 44 lengths of the middle school pool and was feeling quite fine indeed.</p>
<p>And what a gorgeous day! Sunny with roses, peonies, rhododendrons and irises in riotous bloom and a warm gentle breeze coming off the lake. Oh, I do LOVE this time of year...especially when summer-like days like today appear. And I must say I took full advantage of this beautiful day--I went for a 6-mile scoot in the morning and a 7-mile scoot in the afternoon.</p>
<p>Speaking of which, I am finding that having an iPhone frees me up rather than invading my privacy as I had feared. No longer do I have to check my laptop to see if any emails have come in that I need to answer. I just whip out my iPhone, push a button or two and viola, there it all is. No fuss, no hassle and no time to speak of. I still have a lot to learn but it isn't as hard as I thought at the beginning. It's pretty intuitive after all. Thank you, Steve Jobs.</p>Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-51431256492835641312012-05-12T23:53:00.000-04:002012-05-25T00:31:54.964-04:00Imaginal Cells<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMBd0WGa2JunyWCz_jzLQlm4g9jmIjAjGC6hziwXS4gmMSmdqZ1uIVKaIW1ZQMHphWWhDHKIfxocIjgzVcUmthnFTu-38LfF2o4d3tgo4I3hI3HUeAAu4JTGdYCT21xy7M1dNWtBa9g0D/s1600/me2-resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMBd0WGa2JunyWCz_jzLQlm4g9jmIjAjGC6hziwXS4gmMSmdqZ1uIVKaIW1ZQMHphWWhDHKIfxocIjgzVcUmthnFTu-38LfF2o4d3tgo4I3hI3HUeAAu4JTGdYCT21xy7M1dNWtBa9g0D/s320/me2-resized.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /><i>Click on image to see it larger.</i></br>
<p>I've started a new photo project called "Imaginal Cells." This refers to the transformative experience of the caterpillar losing all sense of itself in the chrysalis when it feels as though it has died. But within the decay is a cell called the imaginal cell that has all the properties of the butterfly the caterpillar will become.</p>
<p>Today I feel like a caterpillar in the chrysalis as I try to learn how to use my brand new iPhone. Even though I've used a cell phone since 1995 and a computer since 1998, I feel absolutely clueless when faced with this new (to me) technology. But I trust that within my brain is the imaginal cell that already knows all it needs to know to figure this out. And at tomorrow morning's iPhone workshop I expect to see that cell divide and evolve into a community of cells that can work together.</p>
<p>At least I am finally catching the train into the 21st century. I really was afraid I was going to be left behind. Next I need to learn how to tweet!</p>Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-73935148831743136532012-04-27T23:53:00.000-04:002012-05-13T00:28:12.953-04:00Being cameraless<p>My camera has been in the shop for repairs for over a week and I've been going crazy without it. Everything I think about doing involves a camera. It's like I feel only half there without it.</p> <p>I have a back-up -- my old Canon 40D -- but when I got it out and tried to turn it on, nothing happened. I charged the battery, and still nothing. So today I drove across town to the camera store, hoping the problem was just a worn out battery. It was. Whew! That was a relief. The Detroit Zoo was on the way home so I stopped in.</p>
<p>Such a good idea. It was a beautiful sunny day and our zoo has absolutely lovely land and trees and flowers, not to mention a butterfly house, and environmentally-friendly spaces for the animals. When I got there, lots of school kids were lined up ready to go back to school. I didn't want to spook the kids so took a few "lap pictures" (shot without looking through the viewfinder) and went on my way.</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz1l-q-IXw74411PfW0jKBq4KMNqW0GgnMIlOhxWQiix9beIU7tFLPAvjUTwjThoenGENlOCmZ4bPQ7ViDH87kEmVljl2A_xu-GjN1rsUWLogfYE0bjJ2sCSo_6SlX29zbzvgABdV-quFo/s1600/IMG_0458a-resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="267" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz1l-q-IXw74411PfW0jKBq4KMNqW0GgnMIlOhxWQiix9beIU7tFLPAvjUTwjThoenGENlOCmZ4bPQ7ViDH87kEmVljl2A_xu-GjN1rsUWLogfYE0bjJ2sCSo_6SlX29zbzvgABdV-quFo/s400/IMG_0458a-resized.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I started at the butterfly house and experienced what I had forgotten is always a problem for me with that camera: the shutter release button is incredibly difficult for me to push. I don't have that problem with my Canon 7D, but the 40D is very frustrating for me to use. The only way I could get anything today was to use manual focus (not all that easy for my gimpy hands either) and put on the 3-second timer.</p>
<p>Not the easiest way to work but at least I could get something. And that "something" was the gorgeous peacocks that were wandering around everyplace. I took a good number of blurry shots but got a few good ones.</p>
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<i>Click on image to see it larger.</i></br>
<p>All in all, it was a wonderful day. And now I feel like myself again.</p>Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-31812670215405806482012-04-25T00:18:00.001-04:002012-05-01T10:52:06.104-04:00FotoFest 2012 Biennial<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS7-uporcS-ApMifmij3gps_-KG2DkllZteymZqEQ-oCVeQGyyImQGUkw8VYI56Jl63NDQ3TLjLqbHJIW7rgMTERkaRCQrWEutz4uIODqvBnXwuFyEzGY0wJ87YrGsObxfaRi45PgfBPjy/s1600/IMG_3600a-resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS7-uporcS-ApMifmij3gps_-KG2DkllZteymZqEQ-oCVeQGyyImQGUkw8VYI56Jl63NDQ3TLjLqbHJIW7rgMTERkaRCQrWEutz4uIODqvBnXwuFyEzGY0wJ87YrGsObxfaRi45PgfBPjy/s400/IMG_3600a-resized.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
<p><a href="http://2012biennial.fotofest.org/">FotoFest 2012 Biennial</a> in Houston, Texas. The granddaddy of all portfolio reviews. Four days of intense, single-minded, intimidating, exciting 20-minute sessions where you show top photo industry professionals from around the world, prints and books of the portfolio you hope they will want to exhibit, publish, write about, talk about, celebrate far and wide. If you're an emerging photographer, you dream of being discovered at FotoFest. It has happened to others, so why not you?</p>
<p>Like 500 other photographers, I came to Houston not having a clue what would happen. I had been preparing for this incredible opportunity for months prior to my session, Session 3, March 26-29. There were four sessions in all, and believe it or not, I met a couple of photographers who had signed up for back-to-back sessions, 8 days of at least 4 portfolio reviews a day, and usually way more than that. I don't know how they did it. As much as I adored every single minute I was there, 4 days was all I could have managed. I was so geared up every night that it was hard to sleep. I was literally vibrating the entire four days.</p>
<p>And yes, it was amazing to be able to show my portfolio, <a href="http://www.patricialaydorsey.com">Falling Into Place: Self Portraits</a>, to national and international museum directors, curators, gallery owners and directors, educators, book and magazine publishers, photo editors, photography festival organizers, photo agency representatives, foundation directors and creative consultants. I saw 22 different reviewers in all. Their feedback was priceless, and when the invitations came, they took my breath away.</p>
<p>But I would have to say that my favorite part of the whole event was simply hanging out with my colleagues, the other photographers who had also brought their work to be reviewed. Although we were from many countries, we shared a common language: our passion for photography. So while we waited in the lobby outside the hotel ballroom where the reviewers had their tables, we showed one another our prints and books, talked about how best to present them to the reviewers, offered ideas of other places to submit the work, and generally supported and celebrated one another. For four days and nights there was nothing in the world but us, our work, the subjects and causes we care so much about, our dreams and challenges, and our shared passion for photography. I saw such amazing portfolios and met such wonderful people!</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHK-uX5v2lnMHW0-rPPQznfFrKk7XNhcl_wirbzM7SV9HHZZq1mj-HLiLvesbo-CGfXIIvF_BfrPZjy3bJ_4XrlzEG8pzFdlJ59d-GUYCZOtn9_gnqa0RugUq2_2Tj5SDGv0rsNBMDNeij/s1600/damion+berger+photo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="208" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHK-uX5v2lnMHW0-rPPQznfFrKk7XNhcl_wirbzM7SV9HHZZq1mj-HLiLvesbo-CGfXIIvF_BfrPZjy3bJ_4XrlzEG8pzFdlJ59d-GUYCZOtn9_gnqa0RugUq2_2Tj5SDGv0rsNBMDNeij/s400/damion+berger+photo2.jpg" /></a></div><i>Photo by <a href="http://www.damionberger.com/">Damion Berger</a></i><br/>
<p>Each of us had jewel-like moments that will stay with us for life. For me it was the remarkable experience of being with hundreds of people who understood and appreciated what I have been trying to say with Falling Into Place since that bright June morning in 2008 that I took the very first self portrait while sitting on my upstairs toilet with sunlight pooled in the lap of my nightgown. And out of that understanding and appreciation came invitations, some right there during my 20-minute sessions and others since I have returned home from Houston. And I hope there will be more to come.</p>
<p>This is what has happened thus far:</p>
<p>1. During our review, Paula Tognarelli, Executive Director of the <a href="http://www.griffinmuseum.org/">Griffin Museum of Photography</a> in Winchester, Massachusetts, invited me to have a solo exhibition of prints from Falling Into Place.</p>
<p>2. On the same day, Stephanie Heimann, Founder and Co-Director of <a href="http://www.foveaexhibitions.org/">Fovea Exhibitions</a> in Beacon, New York, said that she wants to mount a solo exhibit of my self portraits.</p>
<p>3. At breakfast the final morning, <a href="http://www.tomgriggs.net/">Tom Griggs</a>, who had brought his photographs of Medellin, Colombia (where he lives) to be reviewed at FotoFest, took the time to look through my self-published book, Falling Into Place. He was moved by the work and asked to feature it on <a href="http://www.fototazo.com">Fototazo</a>, his website that combines social giving (microgrants for emerging photographers from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in Colombia) and all things photographic. He published Falling Into Place: Self Portraits on Fototazo on Tuesday, April 24. The URL is <a href="http://www.fototazo.com/search/label/Patricia%20Lay-Dorsey">http://www.fototazo.com/search/label/Patricia%20Lay-Dorsey</a>.</p>
<p>4. During my FotoFest review with Amber Terranova, the Photo Editor of <a href="http://www.pdnonline.com/blogs.shtml">Photo District News (PDN)</a>, she said she would like to feature my work on PDN's Photo of the Day blog. She recently emailed and said she plans to feature Falling Into Place on Monday, April 30. The URL for my feature is <a href="http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2012/04/13847">http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2012/04/13847</a></p>
<p>5. Last week I heard from another of my reviewers, Howard Bossen, PhD, Adjunct Curator of Photography at the Michigan State University Museum in East Lansing, MI. He asked me to prepare exhibition proposals for two of the secondary portfolios I had showed him at FotoFest, <a href="http://www.patricialaydorsey.com">my Detroit and Young Musicians projects</a>. Howard is pursuing the possibility of mounting an exhibition of my work here in Detroit.</p>
<p>6. The biggest news of all: I FOUND A PUBLISHER FOR MY BOOK!!! Or rather, he found me! My next-to-last portfolio review was with David Drake, Director of Ffotogallery in Cardiff, Wales, UK. <a href="http://www.ffotogallery.org/ ">Ffotogallery</a> not only mounts exhibitions and offers classes for university credit, but publishes books of photography. In our 20 minutes together in Houston and in recent emails and a long Skype visit since returning home, it has become clear that David is totally committed to publishing Falling Into Place: Self Portraits. He believes in the quality of my photographs and the importance of the message. David is projecting the book will be released in about a year and hopes to host the Book Launch at the first Cardiff International Festival of Photography in May 2013, the festival he and Ffotogallery are organizing. Yes, we still need to raise the funds to produce the book but David is confident we can do it. I keep pinching myself to make sure I am not dreaming.</p>
<p>So if you are a photographer who is serious about your craft and want to take it to the next level, I say find a Portfolio Review or two or three, and sign up. You'll need to wait until 2014 to attend FotoFest but put it on your calendar now. And then follow your passion wherever it leads you. Stay true to yourself and you will know what, when, where and who to focus on with your mind, heart and camera.</p>
<p>By the way, if anyone ever thought that advancing age--I will celebrate my 70th birthday in June--means your life becomes predictable and hum-drum, think again. As long as passion is your driving force, the adventure never ends. Take it from one who knows.</p>Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-80128011558942143432012-03-22T15:00:00.000-04:002012-04-27T09:49:49.303-04:00published in The Sun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<p>Sometimes being a photographer is like riding a roller coaster. Today is one of those times.</p>
<p>After learning yesterday that I had not being accepted by the jury to participate in Review Santa Fe 2012, I felt lower than a snail. Then today I unexpectedly received word that The Sun magazine was publishing the above image in their April 2012 issue. And this after they had had this photo on file since the spring of 2009! The best part of it is that the image will be illustrating the Readers Write theme, <a href="http://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/436/the_best_feeling_in_the_world">"The Best Feeling In the World."</a> Well, that certainly describes how I feel today. Oh so different from yesterday. My learning is to not get stuck in the low places. They never last.</p>Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-50260155841551357442011-12-12T00:29:00.013-05:002012-04-24T22:10:03.379-04:00my Young Musicians book is completed and ready to order!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHCdp-7H_DN89dlyDCga-OIxfQhNUh3FCOTN2ntC-GAH40wlf02ppuntU1mzEyc2zEK58Rz_LiJH0IGp2X0fBlcAmtzj-znbBpETZULcP1r3X52e1zPyMEqyc_4_haXGbG5BAPZkiFWwS/s1600/IMG_7383a-resized.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685125102355317858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHCdp-7H_DN89dlyDCga-OIxfQhNUh3FCOTN2ntC-GAH40wlf02ppuntU1mzEyc2zEK58Rz_LiJH0IGp2X0fBlcAmtzj-znbBpETZULcP1r3X52e1zPyMEqyc_4_haXGbG5BAPZkiFWwS/s400/IMG_7383a-resized.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">(Click on my book cover image to see it larger)</span><br />
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I see that I first wrote a blog entry about my young musicians project on March 8, 2011. Well, nine months later, almost to the day, my "Young Musicians" book became a reality. And yes, it was an eventful pregnancy and birth, not always easy but always a labor of love. <br />
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You can see and, if interested, order this book by going to<br />
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<a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2903195">http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2903195</a><br />
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Once there, if you click on "Preview Book!" you can see every one of the book's 160 pages filled with 271 photos of the amazing participants in the 2010-2011 season of Detroit's Civic Youth Ensembles. The book Introduction gives you some background on this program and how I first learned about it. By the way, to see the photos in full page format, be sure to click on the square icon on the bottom right of the Preview page.<br />
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The responses to the book that I've received thus far are immensely gratifying. The director of the CYE program wants to order a good number of books to give to donors. Last night I showed the buyer at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra store a copy of the book and he expressed interest in selling it there. But, most importantly, the young musicians and parents who have seen the book, love it. It was so they could see the photos I'd been taking that I created the book in the first place, so their response means the most to me.<br />
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But you know, every part of a photographer's life must satisfy the photographer him or herself. You can't be in it for recognition from the outside. You must truly love the process in and of itself. And I do. I love the late-night editing just as much as the out-among-them time shooting. And playing with sequencing is like eating peanuts to me; I can't get enough of it.<br />
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I have to admit, though, this time I am as pleased with the product as I was with the process. The book looks better than I ever could have imagined. Yes, my friends, mother and child are doing very well indeed!Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-5896892962009554142011-11-29T13:21:00.000-05:002012-04-25T10:43:30.764-04:00The Chicago Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<p>As promised, I am giving you an update of opportunities that came my way at the Filter Photo Festival portfolio review in Chicago in October. Today my self portrait project, Falling Into Place, has been added to <a href="http://edelmangallery.com/chiproject.htm">The Chicago Project</a> on the Catherine Edelman Gallery website. This project is described as "an online gallery devoted to new and established photographers in the Chicago area who we feel deserve recognition."</p>
<p>During our portfolio review, Catherine asked if I had heard of her Chicago Project. I said I had, and when I'd heard her say in a panel discussion the other night that she had opened it up to photographers across the Midwest, I had decided to submit this project as soon as I got home. Catherine, who is known for speaking her mind, replied. "I'm not asking you to submit anything, you're already IN!"</p>Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-41367273771975898582011-11-15T23:40:00.011-05:002011-11-16T00:40:23.245-05:00Occupy Detroit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdghOpHJCwww4Ltn8ufr42aJOeos4C1vKoaI5RT0cf2922fGSQPgnXuHGmiJGMthqjWn4pd3q2tNIcQN8ChZymx3QoSsCdouPKwOe9VRwAFadhVH7mJIB5hY4QuEpkNbSVAZUHtK-tI7kB/s1600/lay-dorsey_occupy_detroit01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdghOpHJCwww4Ltn8ufr42aJOeos4C1vKoaI5RT0cf2922fGSQPgnXuHGmiJGMthqjWn4pd3q2tNIcQN8ChZymx3QoSsCdouPKwOe9VRwAFadhVH7mJIB5hY4QuEpkNbSVAZUHtK-tI7kB/s400/lay-dorsey_occupy_detroit01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675447121032750530" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Patience facilitates the daily camp meeting at Occupy Detroit on November 4. There had been a violation of the Community Agreements the night before and the community was making a consensus-based decision on how to handle it. Click on image to see it larger.</span><br /><br />I first started photographing Occupy Detroit on October 23, Day 10 of their encampment. My original intention was to find images to add to a project on Detroit’s people that I had been working on for some months. But after eight hours with these amazingly committed folks, I was hooked. For the next three weeks my camera and I spent every free minute down at Grand Circus Park where Occupy Detroit made its home.<br /><br />I knew that history was being made and I wanted to document it, mainly for the occupiers themselves. That was why I started making 8.5 x 11 inch prints of selected photos and, with the help of Todd and Bob down at the camp, put together an ever-expanding photo album. It eventually contained 127 prints. Todd and Bob kept the album at the Info Tent so the occupiers could see a tangible record of what they were contributing to this worldwide movement for economic and social justice.<br /><br />It was only this week that I found time to post a portfolio of images from Occupy Detroit on <a href="http://www.patricialaydorsey.com">my website</a>. A nasty cold and the fact that the encampment is in the process of moving to an inside location helped me see that my part of the project was coming to an end. <br /><br />What had especially interested me was the encampment itself and how they created an inclusive society that met the needs of its people like any small city, while expecting mutual responsibility and accountability. This was not an easy task as the encampment included homeless as well as homed, young and old, diverse races and religions, students, the employed, underemployed and unemployed. But they did it through hard work, listening to every voice and making all decisions using a consensus model. And unlike most other big city occupations, Occupy Detroit has had a good working relationship with the mayor, city council and police. All sides deserve credit for that.<br /><br />It is clear that <a href="http://www.occupy-detroit.us/">Occupy Detroit</a> is as much a cultural as a political movement. What started as an encampment has become a deeply connected community that will continue to forge new ways of living and working together as equals. I feel honored to have documented its origins. As history tells us, change always comes from the bottom up.Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-76131280630468389622011-10-19T17:49:00.005-04:002011-10-19T18:17:09.796-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ixfv45NgIse1FZV2RyaZwq6VPllZJxvtbYhSKmPv-rVMG7WFjTp781G4QbhdvOQIY9RTlqCrzxi0M_YWo1MYmaIgnhJ9vokI0_Gm575KzpNMgBQCshtYrqu9t4RY3pVf6dvMjL-g2mWX/s1600/lay-dorsey_filter_photo_fest_group_portrait2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 334px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ixfv45NgIse1FZV2RyaZwq6VPllZJxvtbYhSKmPv-rVMG7WFjTp781G4QbhdvOQIY9RTlqCrzxi0M_YWo1MYmaIgnhJ9vokI0_Gm575KzpNMgBQCshtYrqu9t4RY3pVf6dvMjL-g2mWX/s400/lay-dorsey_filter_photo_fest_group_portrait2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665327093922283250" /></a><br /><br />My oh my, two posts within three weeks of each other! A first for sure. But I have to share just a bit about the 5-day <a href="http://www.filterfestival.com/">Filter Photo Festival</a> I attended in Chicago last week. <br /><br />All I can say to other photographers is: DON'T MISS IT IN 2012!!! And yes, I am shouting. This one of the best organized, people-friendly, informative and community-building photography events around. Not that I'm an expert -- it <span style="font-weight:bold;">was</span> my very first Portfolio Review, after all-- but it's hard to imagine anything much better than this. My only concern is that it will get too popular and possibly lose the sense of intimacy and family that we experienced this year. But I'm sure the wonderful organizers and volunteers you see pictured above will work it out no matter what happens.<br /><br />I have just written the Filter Photo Fest organizers an email in which I described how the festival was for me. This is what I said:<br /><br />"Oh my, what can I say about those five days and nights?!! It is simple. My life as a photographer will never be the same again. I will mark my photographic journey as pre-Filter Photo Fest and post-Filter Photo Fest. I came to Chicago as a passionate photographer and that has not changed. What has changed is my confidence in my work as worthy of being seen, my sense of being part of a loving and supportive community, and the knowledge that my work has wings that will soar to places I cannot imagine. <br /><br />"The responses by my sister and brother photographers and portfolio reviewers to my self portrait project, Falling Into Place, let me know that I have created a body of work that touches people deeply. It is now up to me to see that it gets out there in every way I can. And, thanks to Filter Photo Festival, I have companions at my side who are as committed to having it seen as I. I am no longer alone. And that is priceless. <br /><br />"Thank you, dear Filter Photo Fest organizers, volunteers, reviewers, workshop, panel and lecture presenters, and especially each and every participant. I will be forever indebted to you. May your lives be as rich as you have made mine. And may we meet again...<br /><br />in loving gratitude,<br /><br />Patricia"<br /><br />What I don't say is what they already know: Doors were opened for me as a result of the Portfolio Reviews and I am now on the threshold of a bigger, broader world than I could ever have imagined. To mix my metaphors completely, as the seeds bear fruit, I will post here and let you know so you can taste the juicy richness with me. <br /><br />Oh my, life is so good.Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-65156487565152662112011-09-30T17:46:00.008-04:002011-10-01T10:09:18.123-04:00My Detroit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4d3Wc8SOtgSvrrUhaKqt9X0eWOk3UMqU14jva7AU-z7rK_Wcx9ml2i8FexMesDDj2Hq0Hg1bkDYf9mPVs-TMDuPTAtdKFYgPYewFefzlaInHnZCXd2QbvIictutBmy077LbBixRg7b09/s1600/IMG_3772b-resized.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4d3Wc8SOtgSvrrUhaKqt9X0eWOk3UMqU14jva7AU-z7rK_Wcx9ml2i8FexMesDDj2Hq0Hg1bkDYf9mPVs-TMDuPTAtdKFYgPYewFefzlaInHnZCXd2QbvIictutBmy077LbBixRg7b09/s400/IMG_3772b-resized.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658346055267072546" /></a><br /> <span style="font-style:italic;">A wedding at the Belle Isle Casino. Click on image to see it larger.</span><br /><br />Oh my, this is when I know that life is good--when I haven't had time to update my blog for over two months! Yes, friends, all is well. Better than well. Spectacular! I'm immersed in a new photo project even as I try to pull together the thousands of photos I took last winter and spring of the hundreds of young musicians who participated in Detroit's Civic Youth Ensembles 2010-11 season at Orchestra Hall. I've promised the kids, their parents, the conductors, staff and donors to create a Blurb book that they can order online, but I've gotten bogged down in the task of transcribing the 110 interviews I recorded and want to use as a basis for the text. Trust me, this is not as much fun as taking and editing photos, but I'll get it done.<br /><br />Of course, I'm having a wonderful time with my new project! I always do. Nothing makes me happier than jumping into a subject with both feet, hands, heart, mind, body and spirit. Oh I do LOVE photography!!! This project especially. It is my love letter to Detroit, a city that photographers from around the world are showing as a place in ruins, but that I know is full of life, energy and people who never give up. And I should know. I've lived either in the city or within a mile of the city limits for 46 years. I adore Detroit and its people.<br /><br />So I've been going through my last 5 years of photos and have been out on new photo shoots several times a week since mid-August. What a rich harvest I am gathering! And I have a wonderful deadline to work towards: the Portfolio Reviews at Chicago's <a href="http://www.filterfestival.com/">Filter Photo Festival</a> in mid-October. It will be my very first Portfolio Review and I've been choosing and printing images for weeks now. I'll be showing 13 x 19 inch prints from my self portrait series (Falling Into Place) and my new project that I am calling "My Detroit." Over a two-day period I will be spending 20 minutes each with one museum director, a museum curator, one gallery owner, one gallery curator, two online magazine editors, one book publisher, and one creative consultant who is considered an expert in marketing and the business end of photography. Each reviewer will look at my prints (and if we have time, my book too), give feedback, answer questions, make suggestions, give critiques and, hopefully, want to see my work gain greater exposure. It is a bit scary and very exciting. I feel ready.<br /><br />Regarding my precious body, I am fit as a fiddle. In the summer I was regularly swimming a mile of laps three times a week, and now that we've gone indoors, I'm swimming more than an hour four days in a row every week. This is in addition to working out at the gym once a week with Matt, my trainer. I am feeling GREAT!!!<br /><br />I'll post a photo later. Now I've got to go put our quiches in the oven for dinner. Ta ta...Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-11271240283310059702011-07-16T00:24:00.004-04:002011-07-16T00:48:32.163-04:00Visura Magazine, Issue 12<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirk_bsYhfsOOTZeIRaR4kP7fgggB4xCHoiB2m-1GFRDcxxhjhoTkC-FaciFv9H7fgPZUpsBzPCDblgA4q7hqoJO-aYE8dv_8HsRQkIrYDCeZMsSqWhmvpuSETapDNiGgytPomBrcH1IlE_/s1600/IMG_0833a-resized2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirk_bsYhfsOOTZeIRaR4kP7fgggB4xCHoiB2m-1GFRDcxxhjhoTkC-FaciFv9H7fgPZUpsBzPCDblgA4q7hqoJO-aYE8dv_8HsRQkIrYDCeZMsSqWhmvpuSETapDNiGgytPomBrcH1IlE_/s400/IMG_0833a-resized2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629800391239228674" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.visuramagazine.com">Visura Magazine, Issue 12</a><br /><br />Once in a long while life deals you the perfect hand. You didn't deserve it. You didn't expect it. It just happened. All you can feel is grateful. That's where I am tonight.<br /><br />Yes, I knew my self portrait project "Falling Into Place" was to be featured in Issue 12 of Visura Magazine. How could I not know? The editor Adriana Teresa and I have been fine-tuning this particular photo edit and text for five months. But there's something about seeing the magazine as a whole that makes me shake my head in disbelief.<br /><br />How could it be that my work is in the company of such powerful photographers as this? It is hard to believe. I spent hours today reading every word and viewing every photo in this issue of Visura Magazine and came away feeling as though I had been taken on journeys to other times and places. In some cases I felt like I'd been socked in the stomach, leaving me gasping for breath. In others, tears welled up and threatened to fall on the keyboard of my laptop. None of the features left me unmoved. That is Adriana's gift: to bring forth from her contributors depths they might not have known were in them. I know that is what she did with me.<br /><br />I go to bed tonight breathing in a sense of wonder and breathing out gratitude. Now I know why they say it takes a village to raise a child. The same is true for a creative endeavor. So many people have helped me come to this place. I am indebted to them all.Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-21308314363126587142011-07-02T23:16:00.009-04:002011-07-02T23:49:47.642-04:00Mother Nature shows off<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5a5giEeY6Cv3QHcApYGaykwf-wDI_Nymzj0gsI3WY28YsMLFDM6GO66E7qVF-JLEKOHwM9Qza2FQA2ygACv0nyebBDv0tC6ezbykd17ZZuARHx3OXn8lvKFgLtL8DMUZVTIY3FfjwkY6q/s1600/IMG_0767-resized.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5a5giEeY6Cv3QHcApYGaykwf-wDI_Nymzj0gsI3WY28YsMLFDM6GO66E7qVF-JLEKOHwM9Qza2FQA2ygACv0nyebBDv0tC6ezbykd17ZZuARHx3OXn8lvKFgLtL8DMUZVTIY3FfjwkY6q/s400/IMG_0767-resized.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624959922970645378" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(Click on this photo to see it in a larger size)</span><br /><br />One of the best things about living in the Midwest is its magnificent summer storms. We had a stunner tonight with more thunder and lightning than Ed and I can ever remember seeing. Actually it was two storms back-to-back. The first came in from the north, and the second from the west. Both brought wind and rain but it was the electricity that made tonight special. One brilliant flash of lightning and deafening clap of thunder struck simultaneously right over our house. It is moments like this when we are grateful for the mobile phone tower at the police station next door. Our own personal lightning rod.<br /><br />Ed and I sat out on our screened porch and watched Nature's fireworks for at least 30 minutes. And then came the most extraordinarily colored sky I've ever seen. This photo of our house in that strange light is untouched by Photoshop. That is exactly how it looked. <br /><br />An hour after the storm, our community put on its annual July 4th fireworks display. Sorry, folks, Mother Nature stole the show this year!Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321615066445234541.post-64698338494199713882011-06-24T23:08:00.005-04:002011-07-18T11:56:10.338-04:00Happy 90th birthday, dear Magi Mooney!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0h4VqQjaJAuhu37wCPvwjhs2tWbX1DayDsSwqNpgcP-8RuXx4YSG8CR3uhglpr4arqRWGIGcWOOazUiQi13MPtjJgwvD9TCTIgwJn82Wtiwa4AT1sPzL3iHmBmFrT3mf7hJetcwymrk9o/s1600/IMG_0447b-resized.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0h4VqQjaJAuhu37wCPvwjhs2tWbX1DayDsSwqNpgcP-8RuXx4YSG8CR3uhglpr4arqRWGIGcWOOazUiQi13MPtjJgwvD9TCTIgwJn82Wtiwa4AT1sPzL3iHmBmFrT3mf7hJetcwymrk9o/s400/IMG_0447b-resized.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621995754069337058" /></a><br /><br />Fem Libber from the start. Outrageously honest. Politically liberal former candidate for Mayor of Detroit. Member of the Raging Grannies of Metro Detroit since it formed in November 2002 to protest GW Bush's build-up to his unprovoked attack on Iraq. Longtime volunteer at St. Patrick's Senior Center in midtown Detroit. Beloved great-grandmother, grandmother and mother of six. Fighter for women's justice and ordination in the Roman Catholic Church. Involved in just about every women's local and national organization, especially those relating to women's reproductive rights. And tonight a redhead again after years with a white braid hanging down her back.<br /><br />Detroit's own Magi Mooney. One of a kind!Patricia Lay-Dorseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043429707977383577noreply@blogger.com2