Brandon and his guitar

Loved this shoot. Brandon is a musician here in Charleston playing a lot of local gigs. The last place I remember seeing him play was the Village Tavern over in Mt. P. Anyway, Brandon wanted to get some promo shots before he left to go to a worship arts college in Florida so we shot these the day before he left. We had so much fun shooting we didn't realize that we had been shooting for hours. He said it was a great way to spend his afternoon before he left for college, "Time flies when you're having fun."

 

The Theatre Thrives in Park Circle at "South of Broadway"

My friend Mary Gould the founder and producer of South of Broadway Theatre Company keeps us pretty busy here at the studio trying to keep up with her lightening pace of new art events and theatrical presentations. This non-profit performing arts studio has been an anchor of the arts community in the park circle area for the past five years and seems to be even now picking up its pace with at least three new offerings this year as well as growing the reach of past performances. Here is a recent press release from Mary highlighting some of the new offerings to take place at South of Broadway GPC%20Press%20release2.doc.

Musician Ryan Bailey

This is my man Ryan Bailey. If you have been around Charleston for any length of time you have probably heard him play at one of your local hangouts, really I swear the guy is everywhere. 

Ryan has definitely found his voice with his rock/folk style reminiscent of Petty or Young. 

Ryan played a few set for us at the last show in December. He sounded great down there in Aunt Bee's and drew in a crowd as usual. You should check out his stuff out on myspace and his website ryanbailey.com. Thanks for playing for us at the show Ryan! See you at your next gig.  

Oh, by the way this image of Ryan was taken by my friend and fellow photographer Jeanne Browder of Holy City Photography who does some sweet band promo and documentary photography. 

John E. Battles "Chocolatier"

Mmm, I love edible art. Go ahead and try thinking this guy's creations are not art, and I invite you to walk across the street with me to Evo Pizza one night and partake in the mad gastronomic creations such as, star anise and rose peppercorn dark chocolate, maple smoked bacon dark chocolate, or parmesan sweet basil white chocolate. Georges Braque himself could not have synthesized more radical yet cohesive elements. My Liz put it best when asked how I should describe Johnny's creations, "just tell them they are the most amazing truffles in the world". Well said Liz. 

So I have to apologize to Mr. Battles for incorrectly naming his company in the advertisements for the show on Dec. 13th. In an effort to correct my mistake let me list his information (correctly) here.

Johnny Battles

Chocolatier

"SweetTeeth Confections"

Providing single origin, handmade, local, and very, very slow-food! His products are gluten free and vegan by request. You can place an order through his website, by email (ilovejohnnyschocolates@gmail.com, or by phone @ 843-532-6408. Johnny's truffles can be found in many of the finer restaurants in the Charleston area (like Evo and O'Hara and Flynn). You can also pick up his special "six pack" of truffles at the show on Saturday. I have also heard talk of samples the night of the show but don't hold me to it (insert smile here). If you would like some more details about Johnny's process check out James T. Sears article here.

Oh by the way Johnny's cool profile picture above I cannot take credit for but I do have to give kudos to the photographer, great shot! I'll find out who's shot it is and post it later.  

Jewelry designer Amy Brock of Imani Collections

So this is my friend and jewelry designer Amy Brock of Imani Collections who I had to coerce into letting me photograph her for this artist profile. Please feel free to comment on how great she looks in the picture. 

Amy has an awesome story of how she began Imani Collections. I am not the greatest of writers but I will do my best to tell the story of how Amy's design business came to be.

Amy began designing and making her jewelry as a means to fund a trip to Kenya Africa one year. Her attractive and creative designs caught on so well she was able to fund her trip on which she met and became close friends with a little girl in the villiage she was visiting named Mary. Mary attended a school for Aids orphans in Kenya. Mary's father had died of Aids and her mother was HIV positive. There were 8 children in Mary's family that would be left without providers. Realizing that the older children would have to somehow support the others Amy decided to teach one of Mary's sisters Naomi the craft that had provided the opportunity for Amy to come to Kenya. Naomi's natural affinity for jewelry design shown through in her creations. Amy saw Naomi's potential and knew that if the girls had the opportunity and finances to go to secondary school they would have the skills they needed to take care of their entire family. This is when Amy decided to begin Imani Collections in order to raise money to help further the girls education. Imani means "faith" in Kiswahili. Amy says "My hope is to bless the families of others as God has blessed me." Naomi has now begun attending a trade school to further her design career and Mary is attending Christ's Gift Academy.

You can meet Amy and see some of her and Naomi's work at our next show on December 13th from 4-9 p.m. at the studio located at 1050 East Montague Ave. in the old village of park circle.

Lunch Break with Alex Radin

I had the privilege of getting to sit down with painter Alex Radin for a little three hour lunch at Evo Pizza last Tuesday, yeah there was some good conversation going on. Man this guy is on fire with passion about his work. His current series, "Through the Eyes of A Child," was inspired by his four year old daughter Ellianna, a budding artist herself, who is cute as a button and wise beyond her years. Alex recounted of how he was watching Ellianna draw on the kitchen table and noticed she had produced five or six pictures in about as many minutes, drawing everything around her, free of preplanning or concern for the viewer. She just drew what she saw, how she saw it because she like it. This was teh genesis of Alex's new series. You can check out his stuff at www.truthillustrations.com. You can also meet Alex and see some of his work at our next show on December 13th at the studio from 4-9 p.m. along with several other local artists. Should be a great time, hope to see you there!