​My first formal introduction to photography skills was provided by a couple from Omena, Michigan, who formed the organization “Saving Birds Thru Habitat”.  The classes took place in 1998 in the Art Center across the street from my office in the five-story State Office Building at the Traverse City Commons.
 
The most memorable thing I learned in those classes is now obvious to me.  Readers of English text read from the upper left hand corner of a page to the lower right corner.  A visual tracking of visual art, such as a photo or a painting, that follows this direction will generally be less interesting to a viewer than a photo that draws one’s attention in the opposite direction.  For an example, look again at the photo of the Hurricane Ridge Trail on the Introduction page of this website.
 
Ten years later when I was a few weeks from retiring in 2008 I attended a photography lecture by Wayne Pope.  It took place in the Leland [MI] Library, as I recall.   At the conclusion of his talk, Wayne encouraged those in attendance to participate in a several day workshop in Presque Isle across the state.  Wow.  This was exactly the location where I was to move in a couple weeks.
 
It proved to be a fantastic workshop and I learned more than I could have hoped.  Further, Wayne has become a personal friend and a great photography mentor.   I might have remained a photography novice were it not for Wayne’s encouragement and advice. 
 
Before I began learning from Wayne, I had become aware of scanography.  This is the art of creating digital images using a flat bed scanner that I will explain in a subsequent blog post.  When one of my earliest scanographs was juried into a Besser Museum Fine Arts Exhibition in 2009, Wayne was there to capture the moment.  It was the first time a photo or scanograph of mine was publicly recognized. My gratitude for Wayne’s photography assistance and his friendship is beyond measure.  

​Notes on seven archived photographs appearing under the FINE ARTS title   
 
1.  I visited John Lopez’s studio in Lemmon, SD on a return trip to Michigan from Portland, OR.  What a fantastic experience!  Definitely off the beaten path, Lemmon is 90 miles southwest of Bismarck, ND (as the crow flies) and 125 miles northeast of the Black Hills in South Dakota.  This little town has a fine small museum (with includes examples of Lopez’s metal art) and enough “Old West” photography subjects to last a couple days.  Maps are available which direct visitors to the many locations of Lopez’s art in the outdoors of the West. 
 
2.  Andy Goldsworthy is my favorite artist!  I was glad to see one of his arches at the Frederick Meijer Garden.  My personal favorite work of art created by Goldsworthy is “The Wall” at the Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, NY.  I am still looking for my photos of it taken several years ago.  There are hundreds of them displayed on the Internet. 
 
3.  I have visited "Chihuly Garden and Glass" in Seattle several times.  You will not regret making a journey to wherever in the country his work is displayed.  And while you’re in Seattle take advantage of reduced fares if you choose to take an elevator to the top of the recently renovated Space Needle while also visiting Chihuly’s gallery on the same day. 
 
4.  ODS, the Olympic Driftwood Sculptors……what a fun group in which to belong!  Members reflect all ages, all ability levels, and all motivations for belonging.  Take a class from the group’s leader and certified “Driftwood Sculptor”, Ms. Tuttie Peetz!  It is interesting (to me, at least!) to note that the Seattle area has  ~TWO~   Driftwood Sculpting clubs.  The expected protocols are quite different between the two groups.  For examples, one group insists on using only wood bases for the art while the other group permits use of any material, including metal and stone.  One group allows inlays of substances, e.g. ground coral, for decorative purposes while the other group finds this anathema to a more exclusive wood-only art.
 
While on a visit to India, Washington’s Lt. Governor presented to the Dalai Lama one of Tuttie’s sculptures as a symbol of Washington’s dynamic arts communities:  https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/from-sequim-to-dalai-lama-tuttie-peetzs-driftwood-gifted-during-international-trip/.  I had the honor of attending two of Tuttie’s classes and assisting with the ODS’ annual "Art Show" conducted in Sequim, WA, in conjunction with the Sequim Lavender Festival.  My driftwood sculptures……ahh…..uhh……not yet completed. 
 
5.  Port Townsend has been named the “Paris of the Pacific Northwest” by Sunset Magazine.  Residents and tourists agree!  It is a mecca for learning, creating, and exhibiting fine arts of all types.  An example: memoir writing.  Rob Sullivan, retired geography professor from UCLA, teaches a six week course in “Autogeography” at the City of Port Townsend Public Library.  I attended this course and it jump started a memoir using a model different from the usual autobiography forms. 
https://ptpubliclibrary.org/library/page/create-your-own-autogeography-six-week-workshop

For a few years I spent one month in Port Townsend twice per year and I long to return. 
 
5.  I have been intrigued by moss ever since I learned that the Boy Scout premise that moss primarily grows on the north side of trees is a myth.  A visit to Olympic National Park where the rainfall in different parts of the Park varies from 40” per year to 140” per year proves that moss can grow prolifically and completely around trunks and limbs of trees.
 
My go-to expert is “Mossin’ Annie” Martin, author of The Magical World of Moss Gardening.  I consulted with her while in Brevard, NC, south of Asheville, a few years ago.
 
How are Chinese gardens different from more well known Japanese-style gardens?  Visit the "Lan Su Chinese Garden" in Portland and find out.  While at it, visit the "Innisfree Garden" in Millbrook, NY which combines characteristics of both Chinese and Japanese gardens.  Is the green in this photo moss or algae?  

I'll never forget my visit to the Lan Su Garden.  I have carried a Chinese coin I bought at its gift shop in my pocket every day for the last nine years.  
 
6.  Black and white photos are not usually published in calendars.  The Presque Isle Calendar of 2013 included my photo of the huge maritime chain on the February page.  A color photo of this scene was giving me a great deal of conflict.  That is, until I consulted one of my photography mentors.  She took one look at the color version and suggested B&W.  I Photoshopped it and that’s the way it has stayed ever since! 

It is three days after the 4th of July today.  Please excuse my delay but I want to share this photo.  It is the only photograph I have "sold".  It had been juried into the annual Photography Exhibition of the Crooked Tree Art Center in Petoskey in 2012.  Actually the CTAC sold it, providing  me with a 40% commission.  I believe it sold for $125.

The photo was taken at the July 4th celebration in 2011 at Bay Harbor, a resort community just a couple miles west of Petoskey overlooking the Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan.  The celebration is always scheduled a couple days prior to Petoskey's own celebration which occurs on the 4th.  I have attended only this one July 4th celebration at Bay Harbor and was with a harpist friend who is now deceased.  It was so late when I returned home from the fireworks that I was bleary eyed and slow to articulate anything.  I was pulled over by a sheriff's deputy at 2:30AM.  He looked at my drivers license and commented, "Why, you live only a couple miles from here!"  I explained that I was "returning from the Charlevoix [not even a little correct] July 4th Fireworks."  That's how clearly I was thinking.  If he realized it was only the night of July 2nd/3rd, he didn't ask me to explain and let me proceed with a gentle warning.  I suppose I could have asked him to explain why he was out driving around at 2:30 in the morning in our little, quiet, peaceful community.

I had little hope that the photo would sell after I examined all the other photos in the exhibition. Many had been submitted by professional photographers.  The exhibit ended at noon on the last day of the exhibition.  I appeared in the early afternoon to pick up my photo.  I walked through the double doors to the exhibit hall and looked to my right since I had seen the photo proudly hanging there on a couple previous visits.  Imagine my shock when it was not where it was supposed to be while all the other photographs appeared to be untouched.  This was about two hours after the exhibit ended!  I hurried out of the hall to tell the receptionist that someone must have already taken the photo by mistake....while not thinking to ask myself how likely THAT would have been!  The receptionist calmly explained that a man had been there around 11AM to buy it.  Unbelievable.  And to this day, it is the only photo I (have had) sold.

The first recognition I received for my writing was from officials of the Michigan Hemingway Society.  They decided to offer the Society's first short story contest in conjunction with its 1995 Fall Conference, held annually in Petoskey, Michigan.

I crafted my story which was actually about 90% non-fiction without telling any family members.  What a surprise to be notified that my story was awarded first place.  And how surprised I was about ten years later to be sitting next to Hemingway's nephew during the banquet at a subsequent Annual Conference to learn that his short story that year came in second place!  I was obligated to read my short story at the Reception for the Annual Conference within the hallowed interior of the Perry Davis Hotel in Petoskey that year.  

A Hemingway fan since college, I had visited his sister at her Walloon Lake cottage to have her sign the biography she wrote about her brother.  Somewhat later I found out that she participated in many local book signings and that there must be hundreds of similarly signed copies.

Unfortunately, there is a typo in the story created by the person entering the text of the story in the MHS Newsletter.  "Fiesta" should have been italicized and bold since it is the name of the Spanish language translation of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.

                                      "Lauren's Dress - Boro Style"   - John Porter, April 2022

My first exposure to Boro and Sashiko occurred during a workshop offered by the Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network on Bainbridge Island, WA.  I belonged to BARN when I lived in WA a few years ago and was glad to see its announcement of a virtual workshop taking place in February and March, 2022. 
 
Wikipedia has explanations of these two art forms.  Briefly, Boro began as a functional practice in northern Japan to repair apparel so as to lengthen its utility.  Adding patch upon patch to apparel generally used in industrial clothing from generation to generation served a practical end.  Sashiko is a stitching technique used in Boro that utilizes specialized threads and needles. Eventually Boro and Sashiko caught the eye of artisans and these products began to be valued as works of art.

The BARN workshop was led by nationally recognized Sashiko experts Jason Bowlsby and Shannon Leigh Roudhan (Boro & Sashiko, Harmonious Imperfection:  The Art of Japanese Mending & Stitching).  It was designed to take the artistic elements of Boro and Sashiko to a different artistic level as students created wall hangings using these techniques.
  
My second formal exposure to Sashiko took place during two days one week apart at the Glen Arbor [Michigan] Art Center.  Ms. Alyssa Brieanne Spytman (alyssabrieannedesign.com) was the instructor for this workshop which took place in April 2022.