Be an Opener of Doors

“Be an opener of doors” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

A few weeks ago, as I neared the departure time for a long-anticipated, long-planned for journey, I thought about doors and portals and thresholds. I chose the traveling theme “DOORS” and planned to take a photograph and/or write a few words with that theme in mind whenever the opportunity felt right.

Doors and thresholds and portals – to new and exciting places. Stepping through bus doors and plane doors and hotel doors; past doors that have witnessed centuries of human existence– some moments heartbreaking, some humbling, some honorable; through doors that lead to all sorts of mystical, magical places.

I like the thought that going through the threshold of a door takes only a single step. And that is what every journey is — a single step at a time.

Through an architectural passage or embarking on plane or train? Yes. But also a step into the unknown, through fears and all sorts of unnamed resistance. Every passage through every portal is a small victory, stepping from the known into the unknown, experiencing the ordinary which is at the same time extraordinary.

Closing one door and opening another to a whole new adventure, to a new discoveries of meaning and beauty in unusual places and things.

There are times when beauty reveals itself slowly. Human culture seems to build its temples of meaning in the wrong places, in the garish marketplaces of transient fashion and public image. Beauty tends to avoid the siren call of the obvious. Away from the blatant center, it prefers the neglected margin. Beyond the traffic of voyeuristic seeing, beauty waits until the patience and depth of a gaze are refined enough to engage and discover it. In this sense, beauty is not a quality externally present in something. It emerges at the threshold where reverence of mind engages the subtle presence of the other person, place or object.” ~ John O’Donohue, Beauty

Here are a few of the doors/portals/thresholds I either passed through or passed by on my recent travels:

  1. My door at home, taken as we passed through on our way to a two week adventure, our first travels across the pond to Europe.
  2. The door to the Van Galder bus which took us on the first leg of our trip — from the Memorial Union at University of Wisconsin Madison to O’Hare International Airport.
  3. The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, an hour’s train ride north of Copenhagen. One of our first experiences with the vast and efficient public transportation system in Europe. By asking lots of questions and getting the train station’s information guide to write out the destination (unintelligible to my ears because of the Danish accent) we arrived where we wanted to go. Amazing!
  4. Very red tunnel with sun-light “doors” which led to the Van Gogh exhibit at the ARKEN Museum of Modern Art. The ARKEN was a 30 minute ride from Copenhagen’s Central Station and gave us our first opportunity to experience train travel in Europe.
  5. Jeppe Hein’s Cage and Mirror stands near the bridge entrance to the ARKEN Museum.
  6. Passage from the Constellation Room to the Winter Garden on the ship Viking Sky.

  1. Door leading to the soldiers’ quarters at Kastellet (Citadel) in Copenhagen, the installation dates from 1663.
  2. The Norway Gate of the Kastellet with guard and entry gate, now more of a park and historical fort than an operating military installation, although it still has its own soldiers quartered on the grounds. Built in 1663.
  3. Amalienborg, the royal family’s residence in Copenhagen. Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary live here with their four children. Whenever they are present, the guards protect the residence. They carry automatic weapons; the changing of the guard is not just for show.
  4. Gothenburg, Sweden. Gate to an overlook of the city proper.
  5. Side entrance to the Masthugget Church in Gothenburg, Sweden. Built in 1914 on a high hill close to the city, it’s a striking sight from afar.
  6. Guard entry to the Akershus Fortress, still a military installation though it is open to daytime visitors. Parts of the complex date to the 1290s.

  1. Gate at Akershus Fortress, Oslo.
  2. Interior courtyard door at Aalborghus Castle in Aalborg, Denmark. Half-timbered castle built by King Christian III from 1539 to around 1555 as a fortification.
  3. Door to the dungeon where a woman of noble birth, accused of witchcraft, was held until trial. An Aalborg legend.
  4. Door of the house built in 1624 by Jens Bang, a wealthy merchant, and for more than 300 years, the building had been the home of Aalborg’s oldest pharmacy.
  5. A peek into a garden courtyard in one of the oldest residential areas in Aalborg.
  6. Pretty houses/doorways in historic Aalborg.

  1. Decorated door in Fredericia, Denmark. Neighbors and friends decorate doors for memorable occasions, typically a 25th or 50th wedding anniversary, though this door’s decor celebrated newlyweds.
  2. Kiel Maritime Museum. Interior door.
  3. A peek into the courtyard between the Hamburg (Germany) City Hall — more like a state capitol as Hamburg is a city-state — and the Hamburg Stock Exchange. Fountain of Hygenia, an important goddess who’s a symbol for hygiene. (Dating back to when sewers were open and flowing in the streets, she was of great importance…)
  4. Doors of St. Peter’s Church, parts of which date from 1100s. Hamburg Germany.
  5. Entrance to Hamburg’s City Hall building.
  6. A home on a canal in Amsterdam. Shiny white walls, red bricks, and a black door. In this historic area, these are some of the “allowable” colors for buildings.

 

5th Annual Photo Alphabet – Part V

R is for Ritual and Routine.

Early Morning Coffee in the Desert

Early Morning Coffee in the Desert © 2011 Bo Mackison

I have an unusual ritual in the Sonoran Desert. Some might think of it more as a routine – brewing the early morning coffee – but when I brew my first cup of coffee after a night of desert camping, it truly is elevated to the level of ritual.

The assembly of the tiny backpacker stove. The measuring of water from my water supply. The finding of the matches — which usually provides a modicum of panic. The boiling of the water. The measuring of the coffee grounds, safely stored in the bottom of my coffee cup/coffee press. The boiling water poured into the coffee press, the cup tightly closed, plunging the press, waiting the ten minutes for the coffee to brew. And finally sipping that first early morning coffee.

If any one is wondering why I might need coffee while camping in the desert, keep in mind early morning in the winter desert is usually 30˚ to 40˚F, often even colder. That first cup of coffee is like a bit of heaven. Routine, yes. And ritual.

S is for Shadows and Self-portrait.

Shadow Photographer

Shadow Photographer © 2012 Bo Mackison

I have a fascination with taking photos of shadows. They might be photos of leaf shadows on a wall, a repetitive fence shadow on a sidewalk, an intricate wrought iron table and chairs casting an abstract shadow on a patio. I constantly look for shadows to photograph.

And sometimes I photograph self-portrait shadows.

I like these self portraits in shadow. Sometimes I am long and stretched out, as in the above photo taken late in the day. Sometimes there is just a head shot, my hat on my head, protection from the desert sun, hiking stick leaning against me, as I balance and set up the shot.

I always have my camera up to my face. I may be alone or with a companion. I like to study these portrait shadows.

They tell me a bit about the photographer I was at that moment in time. By the clues in the photos I can decipher where I was, who I was with, the time of the year or the time of the day. I may even be able to tell my mood by the way I carry my body. I may remember a conversation I had with a person in passing or a particular event that happened that day.

Another way I capture bits of my life as reminders. Like words on a page of a diary or journal, a photo holds that space for me.

T is for Thresholds and Transitions.

Window, Bench and Door in White

Window, Bench and Door in White © 2010 Bo Mackison

Transitions. I think that very word, and a lump forms in my throat, an ache develops in my chest. No matter what type of transition I face, it takes me awhile to focus and gather my equilibrium before I carry on. The transition can be one I dread or one I look forward to — no matter. The very act of crossing a new threshold, or a threshold I am re-crossing, causes me to stop in my tracks.

I’ve discovered that I can approach transitions in different ways. And that is okay!

I may choose to move towards a threshold, decide I am not quite prepared.. OK. I can sit down — that bench is handy — and pause while I consider my next step.

Maybe I approach the threshold and find I need more time to study the new, do a bit more research or soul-searching. Maybe a look through a window, visualizing the next step is helpful. OK.

Or maybe I am ready. I have considered my options, I know that the next step needs to be taken, or I am simply ready. OK. I open the door and walk through, across the threshold.

This photo is a pretty good summary of me working my way through life, whatever it takes at that moment. Approaching transitions in different ways.

U is for the Universe.

Three Self Portraits

Exploring the Universe © 2011 Bo Mackison

The Universe — worlds upon world upon worlds. Bright and shiny — new places to explore.

In each shiny ball representing part of the universe, there is a tiny self-portrait of me, both looking in and looking out.

V is for Vision.

Double Vision

Double Vision © 2011 Bo Mackison

I like this photo – the one I call Double Vision – because the branch in the foreground still has berries and a leaf hanging on it, the branch slightly behind it is bare. It’s a double branch. But there is more. Look into the background, extend my vision deeper into the landscape and I notice the snow-covered river – the river a conduit for travel.

Will it be an easy trip, perhaps on a flowing river in the early summer on a small skiff with a companion? Or will the trip take place during a drought, the water is low, my boat keep getting snagged. I must keep getting into the water to dislodge it, push it along, even portage it? Perhaps the journey is a cold, lonely trek in the winter, traveling alone on skates or ice cleats, or along the side of the frozen river, pushing through the deep snow?

I look at this photograph and I see the past captured — dried fruits and leaves. And it foretells possible vignettes of the future in metaphor — travel on the river. But all the while, it capturing a moment in the present.

——————-

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. The 5th Annual Photo Alphabet ends with  Wonder thru Zen!

On Printing House Row in Chicago

Doors on Printer's Row

Doors on Pontiac Building ©2012 Bo Mackison

It feels appropriate that while I am at a photographers convention in downtown Chicago, my hotel and many of the buildings within sight of my destination are part of the Printing House Row Historic District. It isn’t that much of a stretch to connect the early days of newspaper and book printing with the printing of photographs.

I’ve taken just a few photographs. All day workshops and lectures in the evening limit my ability to get out there for a long shoot, though I am anticipating some camera time this weekend. I’ve done my homework and know which of the nearby buildings have historical merit. I did a few morning shots just as the sun was peeking over Lake Michigan, and again when the sun lit some of the buildings.

And I’ve discovered a favorite haunting grounds from my college days, just in a new location. I spent more than a few evenings, studying gross anatomy while munching on Gino’s East pizza.

I’ll post about the conference after I’ve had time to pull my notes together into more cohesive ramblings! And check out the building on Printing House Row.

——————

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She is attending the Filter Photo Festival in Chicago the week of October 15.  My take on this marvelous conference and learning experience coming soon.

Door’s Open to Adventure

Evening Time

Door's Open © 2012 Bo Mackison

Art is alive. It puts energy into the world…as an artist, respect your art and think not only of success but of your mission to provide opportunities for your art to grow and expand and touch the hearts of others. ~ Lisa Jill Allison from “Art from the Heart

ART SHOWS — PART I

I’ve been doing art fairs and festivals on a frequent basis since June, 2010.

In 2010, I did about 10 shows. All of the shows were small shows in the Wisconsin/Illinois. Sherpa accompanied me to all the shows and did most of the work in the earliest shows. I have painful memories of my first show – an non-juried show at a smaller university in Wisconsin. I was in such a state of panic that I sat about 50 feet behind the booth, perhaps whimpering a bit, while Sherpa stayed in the booth and talked to the few customers that wandered in. The show did not have much fine art, but it did have stenciled skeleton tee shirts and crocheted Barbie clothes and anthropomorphic ceramic turtles wearing ballet costumes, firemen outfits and such. Even though the mark was not high, I could not quite reach it — I was out of my league, even at this level. I wondered how I would ever be successful in the art show business.

The rest of the 2010 shows were not quite so disastrous, though I never really was comfortable in the booth by myself. If Sherpa was not available, one of my kids who were in college would help me out. We made it through the first full year, and decided we had learned a lot in a year and we would continue.

And so I continued my on the job training in 2011. I also moved up in the art fair world and applied to many shows that were well-juried and had a national reputation.And I even got accepted into some of these top notch art festivals.

I did a couple of shows in Spring 2011 in Arizona, but I still had a fair amount of trepidation and depended on Sherpa for set up and company. In the summer we did 12 shows, including four area shows, but mostly I did shows in the Chicago/Michigan area. By August, I had mostly conquered my fear of “being an artist” and talking about my photography with strangers.

I could, and did, do artist talks about my photography and what it was like being an artist on the art fair circuit. I had stuck my head of my introverted shell and found the world to be a rather nice place.

My two Holiday shows in 2011 were my best shows ever, and I did much of the set up and some of the booth time solo. Sherpa or one of my kids never left me on my own for long, though, which was fine with me.

And so I began the 2012 season with two big shows scheduled in Arizona. No problem. Sherpa and I drove the car and art trailer to the Tucson area in November and flew home after getting settled in our new condo. I flew back to Arizona after the winter holidays. Sherpa planned to fly out a few weeks later for the first show.

These plans were carved in stone as far as I was concerned. Carved deeply in stone.

And then Sherpa became involved in a difficult problem at work. The figuring-out-a-solution job quickly took precedence over Sherpa’s visit to Tucson.

Here I was, 1,000 miles from any family members who I could call on for an art fair fill-in. The only solution at this end was for me to do the show on my own. I would have to drive to the show, set-up of the booth, and do at least the first two days of the five day show by myself. Sherpa thought he could come in for the long weekend, but there were no promises.

I’d already plunked down my booth fee, I had my art in Tucson, and I was in Tucson. There really were no other alternatives. I needed to set up my booth for the festival and do the show by myself.

This was new territory. Scary territory. I wasn’t sure I could manage. I was, in fact, quite certain I could NOT manage. But even in the art show business the motto is “the show must go on” and so I started planning in small steps.

How would I make the transition from Bo doing weekend art shows with Sherpa’s support to Bo doing weekend art shows solo?

Tune in tomorrow for Part II for the next part of the story.

——————–

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo is discovering that every day provides opportunities to learn new and amazing things.