It’s the first day of 2012. Inspired by Molly Crabapple’s post, I decided to write my own post about 2011. At the end of 2010, there was a giant thing I could point to and say, “I helped make that happen.” Since 2011 was a year of many smaller projects, it feels important to take the time to recognize those things.
This was my first year with a digital camera that actually makes me happy – the Sony Alpha 850. I decided to get it after Neil Girling let me play with his. The physical UI was incredibly intuitive, and felt similar to many of the film SLRs I’ve used. I spent the end of 2010 saving up for it, bought it on New Year’s Eve, and received it in early January.
The Post Yule Pyre was one of the first things I shot with my new camera.
That same night, I got a tour of the Defenestration building. I see this wonderful piece by Brian Goggin every day. Getting to walk around the space was really cool.
I made a ridiculous dress for the The Edwardian Ball. The skirt ended up being a gigantic fractal thing made of small triangles of fabric. The construction method made the hemline get longer every time I added another triangle. I haven’t made many dresses, so it was a Learning Experience. Neil Girling took this photo of me wearing it at the ball.
I took photos at the ball as well. This is one of my favorites:
I took a trip to NYC and NJ to visit family and friends. I reconnected with some important people in my life, and walked around one of my favorite cities. Here’s Jim Campbell’s Scattered Light in the snow.
On my trip to the east coast, I read all of Warren Ellis’s Transmetropolitan in preparation for a photoshoot to be done immediately upon returning to San Francisco. I was invited to contribute to a Transmet art book called All Around the World. This is the first time my work has been published in a book, which was really exciting.
In March, I participated in a Syzygryd run at Beyond Wonderland. With the Ardent Heavy Industries crew, I helped with repairs and improvements to the sculpture, and went to San Bernadino for setup and teardown. During the event, I took photographs of Syzygryd and the other art pieces.
I did a shoot with Meredith Yayanos and Dan Cantrell of The Parlour Trick.
My first solo show, Dancing With Invisible Light opened on April 1 at Pictopia.
I leveled up in fabrication skills by taking a welding class and learning to use a laser cutter at TechShop.
At the end of April, I photographed the box trucks of Lost Horizon Night Market in Oakland. This photo is from a western saloon.
At the Bay Area Maker Faire, I shared a table with Meredith Scheff. I showed Dancing With Invisible Light prints and explained the process of creating the images with a Kinect and an infrared camera.
In June, I projected lace shadows in a staircase for a shoot with Jill Tracy. Mike Estee and I designed and built a slide projecting device to use with a flash. Jill later used some photographs from this set in her new website design.
June 18 was the 5 year anniversary game of Journey to the End of the Night. I helped out with checkpoint 2B where the players created a graffiti wall.
In July, I did a shoot with Jill Tracy and David J. These photos haven’t been posted publicly yet.
In August, I danced in a crowd for a Sleepytime Gorilla Museum film called “The Last Human Being”.
Nicole Aptekar created a series of laser-cut paper artworks for a show at Satellite 66. I photographed these pieces for her.
A group of us in San Francisco came up with a plan to bring Hannah Hart of My Drunk Kitchen to San Francisco. She hosted a gameshow, “My Drunk Iron Chef Kitchen”. I photographed this event at Chez Poulet. A blog post about this is coming soon. Until then, the full set of photos is here.
When Sleep No More was scheduled to end in the first week of September, some friends and I came up with a plan to see it. This involved throwing the Coilhouse fundraiser party, the Black and White and Red All Over Ball, in NYC. I helped out with some planning and setup, and took photographs during the event.
I made another ridiculous dress, this one for the Black and White and Red All Over Ball and inspired by the Constructivist theme of Coilhouse Issue 6. That’s me in the back on the left. I also made Nicole’s dress. (photo by Steve Prue)
At Burning Man, I camped with Death Guild and photographed fights in Thunderdome.
Back in San Francisco, I signed up for an Intro to Aerial Skills class at Circus Center. The class ended in the beginning of December. I’m stronger now than I’ve ever been, and I’m capable of doing some interesting things in the air.
I did a glittery shoot with Kim Boekbinder when she was in San Francisco for her Impossible Tour. The photos from the shoot aren’t posted yet, but here’s one after we joined in with an Occupy San Francisco march down Market Street.
I taught myself python and got involved in a few software projects.
Myrrh Larsen came to San Francisco for a show, and we did a rooftop photoshoot with costume and photo assistance by QTRNevermore (she’s helped me with many shoots this past year).
Frustrated with the quality of articles about women artists on Wikipedia, I finally created an account and started editing.
2011 had the usual assortment of event photography, with quite a bit of burlesque (primarily Hubba Hubba Revue), concerts, and circus performances.
Among other Occupy Wall Street solidarity events in the Bay Area, I participated in the West Coast Port Shut Down, marching to the Port of Oakland on December 12.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten to include some things, but this is a pretty good review of the year. I collaborated with many amazing people. I did things that were new and difficult for me. The year was wonderful and terrible, sometimes both at once. In the last moments of 2011, Eden Gallanter gave me a tarot reading with the beautiful deck she made. It was the perfect way to end the year and give me hope for 2012. At midnight, I stood on the roof with some of my closest friends, watching fireworks in the distance, feeling the pulse of a living city. I’m excited about another year with these people who inspire me constantly
Lots of people helped make 2011 what it was. Thank you to all my collaborators, friends, and family. I love you all.
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