• Canon EOS REBEL T1i
• Photos for local store
• 2013

A Continued Return to the Past

Previously, I wrote about the old photoshoots for the store where I had worked for nearly 9 years of my life. This store was like a family and many of my closest and dearest friends came from my time at the store on Hawthorne Blvd. Sarah, the model in these photos and some of the previous blog photos, was willing to pose in the new arrivals for the website. She was also a muse for fun meaningless pictures that were never used for the store’s purpose.

In the first photograph, Sarah is reading Joyce Johnson’s Memoir, Minor Characters. If you don’t know who Joyce Johnson is I shall enlighten you. Joyce Johnson, born Joyce Glassman dated Jack Kerouac in 1957, right before the publication of his book, On The Road. Her book Minor Characters, meaning all the women of the Beat Generation as that was how they were often treated, is about that short time before Jack’s catapult to fame, the public rise of The Beats, and her own personal desires to be a writer, along with the pitfalls of being a woman in 1950’s conservative America. Although, The Beats are generally remembered as more freethinking and barrier breaking, they were still men that had the same patriarchal upbringings of their father’s (that they so desperately wanted to escape). Change is difficult. It takes time.

During this time in 2013, I was really into the Women of the Beat Movement. I had been collecting as many books written by them and books written about them. In between the photoshoot for the website Sarah picked up the book. I had really liked how the colors of her dress coordinated with the book cover, so I snapped a picture. This is the only photo remaining of Sarah and this dress.

My roommate, or the owner of the house in which I had rented a room, had all these amazing sculptures in her backyard. Two of her close friends from high school had studied art, one of them went on to continue art and has become a ceramic sculptor in New York City. If you want to see some of her work or read about her check out this article from Sculpture Magazine, October 6, 2020 , her portfolio, or instagram. At one time, while everyone was young, they had all lived, at various times, with my friend and had left their artwork behind. I loved the seemingly randomness of the sculptures and their placement in the backyard. I had taken so many photos of the shark, horse head, eel sculpture next to the empty baby doll dress, but most of those photos are long lost.

What I loved the most about my old house in Portland, aside from my friend who I lived with and consider my sister, was how she decorated and constantly changed the house. At times it was like living in a museum of independent art. When taking photos there was so much to work with and play with like this record player on the cabinet that my friend refurnished. My friend had a talent of her own, and now has a little store with her refurnished midcentury furniture and more. If you’re interested in seeing her work you can check out her instagram at The Reclaimory. If you happen to live in Portland, Oregon stop by and see if there is anything you like.

I’ll most likely continue on this journey through my photos of the past with the Canon EOS REBEL T1i, and then get back to some photos from overseas with a not as nice camera.