I have ignored this page for some time now. Not on purpose, but because life has gotten in the way. Today is April 17, 2020. We are all in quarantine due to Covid-19. That is just the way it is. I have some time to play catch-up these days. As there are no photo shoots going on right now in my world I thought I would share with you some of the reasons I adapt to quarantine so well. I am a “nester” by nature and my spirit animal or bird is the Bower Bird who builds a very interesting nest to attract the opposite sex…It’s all about procreation I am pretty sure. I, on the other hand,  do my nest building because I can’t not do it. Come along on my tour……feel free to ask questions. The tour is free.

Living Room area turned into a shooting space some days.

Our hang-out, “Netflix” space….our dog Ella likes it as well.

Below is what I call my “South Office” in the kitchen area..for when I don’t want to be in my upstairs “North Office”.

Below is my “North Office” upstairs!

Kitchen…not very big, but I manage…see sourdough starter on shelf over sink covered with a cloth…it’s pretty happy there.

One of my favorite things about my kitchen is this wall I designed for our ephemera as well as for cooking magazines.

I have always loved hallway spaces. The are the segues to other areas and should be “nested” as well.

My tabletop-scapes are collections of art, books, flowers, leaves and beehives found while walking. They can change with the season and week. There is so much to find out in the world.

My long-time partner is Dutch…we always have flowers in vases and bottles about the house even if we have to cut random things from our yard that are often not thought of as “blooms”. The picture below is the last of my “Bower Bird Tour”. I hope you enjoy and tell me sometime about your own nest.

2019 has been very busy….I’ve worked on 4-5 cookbooks which are always a joy…there was a peach, a keto and a mix of Brazilian-American and an iron skillet cooking themes. These all called for lots of thoughtfulness, research, props and collaboration with photographers and authors as well as art directors. Here are some of the props and images from all the projects…

…simple fresh flowers…..

…little porcelain bowls and pewter from local flea and antique markets……

..very special hand made cake servers and ceramics from Fracture Goods…..

….incredibly versatile  and fun goods from Salt Ceramics….

…and a hand painted canvas background done by me with a pewter plate from Amsterdam and just a few antique spoons collected over the years filled with salts. More to come about 2019 photo shoots soon.

Latest 2017 props…beautiful old silver from a friend….these will definitely show up in some future blog posts! Love the “berry spoons”. Thanks Terry.

This all happened in one week! I had lots of help and we had fun…but lordy mercy…

Working on a shot in my living room window! This happens a lot.

Speckleware ceramics from Handmade Studio TN .

There are times when a good hot espresso with milk is all that will keep us all going. Thanks Wouter.

I got these jewels from Jess Cheatham, ceramicist who makes wonderful, usable art object like these...Salt Ceramics is where the find her here in Nashville.

A gathering of colanders for an upcoming shoot.