Sarah R. Bloom Photography

Four Weeks

Yesterday I dropped my 13-y.o. daughter off at an overnight camp. A totally kick-ass, co-ed, arts-themed overnight camp, true, but still--an overnight camp. Her first. She wasn't ready before this summer and when I asked in January if she was interested and she was eager! Each month as it got closer I'd ask her if she was nervous. "Nope," she'd say, confident.

The last few days as we went through her list and shopped and packed, I'd ask her if she was nervous. "Nope," she'd say again. And she wasn't.  As we wove our way through the registration process, it was glaringly obvious to me (again) that she is nothing like the nervous, insecure girl I was at her age. I could feel my heart racing just remembering past anxieties. I'm sure she had made friends within moments of her father and I leaving (she couldn't wait already). And you know, I always made friends too, even when I was scared to death I wouldn't.

I totally cried on the way home, though. She's never been away from me for this long before and that didn't really sink in until I was leaving and all of a sudden I already missed her!

Sigh. She's getting so old!!

Fruits & Vegetables

It started with a bit of garlic I couldn’t resist. It looked like a tree out of a fairytale book—I could see it as a woodcut illustration. I loved the photo so much that I decided to try and shoot other organic matter in the same window light and try to process it the same way. A series began to take shape, something I knew I could add to over time. I created a new set on my Flickr called “Fruits & Vegetables.” When I got to just the third item I decided to photograph, juicy plum tomato slices, I couldn’t dare go black & white.

Today I realized I had 9 items in the set, so figured I’d showcase them in a mosaic here. These are in the order they were shot, so I am fascinated to discover that in every third image, I chose color. I shoot in color and after uploading I go through all the shots from the camera and mark a few to work on. During this process, choices are made as I go, depending on what looks best and even my mood at that moment. There were color versions of many of these b&w shots and vice-versa, but these were the “chosen” images for the day I posted (these served as my daily photo for the particular day).

I hope that at some point I grow this set to a place where I can then pare down to the best of the best to present as a cohesive set someone would want to purchase—a restaurant, perhaps. ☺

In Bloom

I am happy to announce that my work is on display at La.Va Café, located at 21st and South Streets in Philadelphia!

I was very fortunate to have a friend connect me with the owner here. She had contacted my friend for help when an artist backed out at the last minute, and he thought of me. It was the day after we said goodbye to Pansy, so it was a good distraction and a much-needed one. I still had a lot of pieces framed and ready from the show in February, plus a bunch of small TTV's from a December show so I was good to go.

My husband and my mom helped me hang it on Monday and I have to say, it looks great in the space. It is a lovely establishment; a very comfortable and welcoming atmosphere with a large and loyal following. I quickly ordered 5 more prints that I'm framing tonight to hang in the morning because there was still some good wall space left, as it turned out! I am glad to put up a few newer things (and some things other than self-portraits).

The opening reception is Friday June 5th from 5pm to 8pm (or so)! If you are local, please do come by and say hello. If you can't make it Friday evening, the show is going to be up for TWO months, all the way up until my 40th birthday (July 31st), so stop in and grab coffee and some grub (yummy and cheap food there) anytime. If you'd like to arrange a time to meet me there, just let me know and we'll work something out.

[If you're on Facebook, here's the public event listing]