This video is the first of many that will constitute the "Creative Kirkwood" video series. The series aims to showcase different Kirkwood creatives working in a variety of media. 

At first, when yarn art appeared on a few small trees in downtown Iowa City along with late autumn chills, it warmed my heart. I was familiar yarn graffiti known as "yarn bombing" and felt special for catching a glimpse of this stealth art. Then, as more and more trees became swathed in intricate and beautiful knitted and crocheted pieces, I became concerned. Clearly, a large group of organized knitters must be sending some kind of message. Are their intentions pure or nefarious? Is the threat contained? My paranoia quickly dissipated after a couple people commented, "Oh, yeah. The trees have on their winter sweaters." What? This operation is City-sanctioned?

Apparently, the Iowa City Downtown District helps organize the installation. The unique and beautiful tree "sweaters" are the most elaborate yarn bombs I've ever seen, which is saying something considering my previous residence is known for Webs, America's largest yarn store!

If you'd like to know more about Iowa City's downtown tree yarn bombing project, check out this article from The Gazette or this one from KCRG News. 

Here are my highlight reels for the 20th Anniversary Iowa Women's Music Festival. Being part of the Festival was such an amazing experience. It was a huge privilege to have the opportunity to meet women changing the world with their music. The positive vibe that was generated between the performers and audience was powerful, and I will hold that feeling with me as I move forward with new work and new projects.

The video below features a clip from each of the Festival performers:  Jillian Noah, Summer Osborne, the Iowa Power Women (Natalie Brown, Lojo Russo, Gayla Drake, Kimberli Maloy, Laurie Haag, and Kim-Char Meredith), Claudia Schmidt, God Des and She, Andrea Gibson, and the Annie Mack Band. 

The 2013 IWMF fundraiser featured Summer Osborne, Zoe Lewis and comedian Julie Goldman.  Julie Goldman had me in stitches for the entire hour plus of her jokes. I especially loved her description of the Los Angeles "affect" and of the camping-workshop-wedding she attended in the Bay Area. 

The heavy rain that started and stopped with the Iowa Women's Music Festival on Saturday dampened wool socks worn with Tevas, but not spirits as talented artists from all over the country rocked the Johnson County Fairgrounds. The performances were empowering, fun, and inspiring. It came as no surprise that as the cool blues of the last set by Annie Mack Band faded from the barn, a full double rainbow flickered into being. 

For me, one of the highlights of the festival was riding the roller coaster of Andrea Gibson's spoken word performance. Her poetry is at once deeply personal and universal, emotional and visual, striking and soothing. I found myself alternately weeping and laughing, sometimes laughing while weeping. She broke us to pieces with poems like "Ashes" and put us back together again with "A Letter to My Dog on the Human Condition."

The highlight of my week was learning that a video clip I put together was posted on a site Andrea and her tour manager, Kelsey Gibb, created called Stay Here With Me.   The website aims to generate community around how art can play a critical role in helping to live with depression. In the clip below, Andrea and Kelsey talk about why they created the site and Andrea performs "The Madness Vase." 

Stay tuned for a highlights reel of the festival! 

Client: Knack: the art of clever reuse. 
Location: Signature Sounds Parlor Room, Northampton, MA
Gear: Canon 60D HDSLR, Canon XH-A1s

Knack is about community, creativity, sustainability, and education, making a perfect Pioneer Valley venture. I'm excited to be producing a video for Knack to kick off their crowd-funding campaign. This piece will help raise the money necessary to find a permanent home for this great start-up. 

We had the pleasure of shooting at Signature Sounds' Parlor Room, which is a concert venue/multi-use space (it hosted Knack's Holiday Pop-Up Shops in November and December). The big windows, handy shoji screens, and awesome red walls made a nice backdrop to the shoot. 

Amber and Macey's enthusiasm for Knack as well as the amazing visuals to work with made for solid material. In addition to Macey and Amber, I worked with Emily and Guy, two local artists who embody the Knack spirit, using at least 75% upcycled materials (materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill).  With the help of my lovely assistant, Lauren, the morning was productive as well as fun.