Hello Dear Blog!  I couldn't let the month end without a quick recap.  Just returned yesterday from a weekend away with Mom, my oldest brother, Brian and his adorable girlfriend Renee.  We went for the Grand Opening of the Mardi Gras Casino and Resort in Cross Lanes, WV and had an absolute ball!  Hate to say it but this was a first for all of us to go together somewhere out of town because we rarely can get our schedules to jive.  Brian and Renee flew in from Atlanta so Brian could play in the poker tournaments and it all worked out perfectly.  After a busy week of jewelry making, a breakfast shoot for the American Cancer Society's Breast Cancer Walk and selling art at the Blues Festival in Huntington, WV, I was due for a little fun!  We arrived early Saturday so we had the entire weekend to play.  Saturday night I had a surprise bonus by running into one of my besties from high school!  She was there with her husband and daughter so we spent the rest of the night reminiscing about 80's rock stars we met, great concerts, old friends, big hair and completely laughing our heads off!  We spent practically every day and night together the year before I moved away for art school.  We have so many amazing memories together...friends like her are priceless and timeless, you pick up right where you left off and the love never fades, only gets stronger.  I'm blessed on that level.

Well, now into the week ahead...Proofing sessions, Etsy orders to ship, jewelry to make, First Friday at the Pendleton, Tri State Arts Association Exhibit... :)

This Summer has been an incredibly busy, incredibly fulfilling one.  Doors have opened I had no idea I would be able to walk through.  I have been working harder and harder and really pushing myself into new directions with both my art and photography.  Being an artist is all about producing work, pushing yourself to be more creative than the day before, the week before, the year before.  The weeks are going by quickly but I am certainly making the most of every single day.  I've said this before and it's so true, losing Tessa has given me this incredible surge of creativity, the strongest drive to work now more than ever.  After the initial grief and that painful sorrow eased its grip a little, I tapped into a different energy.  We have no promises for tomorrow so as long as I get a new day...I'm going to make it count, just like T did.  She worked so hard to reach her goals in the 27 years she had on this Earth and accomplished more than most of us will in a lifetime.  I loved her so much and love her still and the love she gave in return is my strength...she's my patchwork quilt.

A dream come true job for me happened last Friday.  I got to photograph Gov't Mule at Harris Riverfront Park in Huntington, WV.  Warren Haynes is one of my favorite musicians so when I got the call I was getting to shoot the show you better believe Angy was doing the happy dance! :)  It's one of those bucket list items for me that I actually got to check off.  I can't describe the joy it has brought.  Almost a week has passed and I'm still smiling about it.  Now I can always look back at the images and relive it over and over.  I love my job and I love my life!

It's a Sunday inside and thought I'd have a little blog time while I'm waiting for it to cool off outside before watering my garden.  This has been a very busy, very productive Summer so far and I'm feeling good again.  My art and photography have kept me occupied with lots of fun new projects and that's just the way I like it.  Since losing Tessa in April, I have found my groove once again and it seems the creativity is pouring out of me.  I see her beautiful smiling face watching over me and in everything I do right now.  I've added a lot of new pieces to my collection with small ready to frame prints, paper flower magnets, glass marble magnets and jewelry.  I've wanted to make jewelry for a really long time but wasn't sure what I wanted to do so I'm doing whatever inspires and basically letting that be my guide.  I've always been drawn to collage type artwork and I think that's what has made me such a "mixed media" artist.  I may paint something but then glue paper flowers or words to it.  I've been making a lot of pendants with my artwork and I love the look of vintage brass and using little embellishments like bees, swallows, dragonflies, engraved charms with words, locks and keys, old buttons, etc.  I am fortunate to have my girlfriends, Amy, Libby and JBird who are also artists and jewelry designers.  It's wonderful for creativity and brainstorming, I always learn something new when I'm with them.

I had a great family session this week with a part of my own wonderful family, The Ross Family ~ Bryan, Holly, Haileigh and Clifton!  We've been trying to schedule it for quite a while so I was really looking forward to it.  We had a great time in spite of having to change locations at the last minute (rain came earlier than forecasted!) and got a lot of great images.  Hope you all have enjoyed the weekend and have a great new week ahead.  Take time to count your blessings, tell those dear to you that you love them and make the most of every day.  Until next time...

This past Friday night in Huntington, WV the V Club was the place to be.  It was a packed house for a tremendous night of rock of roll with Black Stone Cherry, Split Nixon and Stitch Rivet.  As Split Nixon's front man, Jason Mays, pointed out, "Three bands from the state of Kentucky...how often does that happen?"  It was great seeing Black Stone Cherry and Split Nixon together again.  It's been a little while since they last shared the stage (Sound Factory in Charleston, WV) but when they do, you better believe you are guaranteed an amazing night of awesome talent, energy and true musicianship.  I remember the very first show these two bands played together many years ago before BSC got signed and took the rock world by storm.  They were so young (and I mean young!) and super talented.  I knew that night I had seen rising stars.  Friday night's show was full of that same adrenaline charged energy.  It's absolutely incredible watching them play!  I wouldn't be surprised if John Fred's drums would just burst into flames.

Split Nixon's set had the addition of four new tunes that will be on the highly anticipated new album.  They added a pretty cool remix of Mama I Tried, too.  Ahhh...another amazing rock show notch in the belt!

Sorry, Dear Blog, for neglecting you this long.  Change came into my family the worst way imaginable...the tragic and sudden loss of a family member.  I haven't been able to focus on much of anything since and am finally getting the strength to write about it.

Last month I went to Ocean Isle, NC to attend a beach wedding, not just any wedding but a real life "love story" wedding.  Two of my best friends from high school (Kym & Shawn) started dating after our 20th Reunion.  Neither have been married before and the circumstances surrounding them even getting together had everything to do with our reunion.  A group of us friends who have remained close since high school all went to the beach for this celebration.  What's ironic is that when we graduated this same group went to the beach for our senior trip.  I actually drove down with the couple who were now getting married!  We were together at 18 celebrating our graduation and now here we were celebrating their wedding!  How incredible is that?  Everything was perfect that day.  There we were, all of us girls taking our time getting ready just like in high school.  Hair, makeup, everyone's outfits worked out, not a single mishap.  We walked out to the beach and I started taking pictures to try and avoid crying instantly (*didn't help) and was thinking in my head as I took it all in, "Thank you, thank you so much for this wonderful day..."

After the ceremony we popped back up to our room to freshen up the makeup we cried off, get the sand off our feet and head over to the reception.  I grabbed my phone out of my camera bag and saw that my fiance had called twice so I called him right back.  Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.  He called to tell me our niece was killed in a car wreck...our beloved, beautiful Tessa was gone in an instant.  The whole world stopped right then and there as I fell to my knees.  I have never experienced anything like this in my life and I won't pretend for a second it's any easier a month later.  This sadness has been overwhelming for me.  She was only 27 years old and had so much ahead of her in this life.  Tessa was a dancer from the time she was a little girl and grew to be an AMAZING dancer as well as a very gifted, award-winning choreographer.  That night was going to be the debut performance at UK of her latest creation.  She never made it.

I wouldn't have believed that one minute a person could be so full of joy and happiness and in the very next minute be completely destroyed, it just doesn't seem possible.  I've now lived it so I know you can.  Now is the hardest part of all...learning to live without her.  The only thing I can do at this point is take it one day at a time as I continue with my own journey.  There isn't a way for me to describe how much I loved her, how much we all loved her or all the hope I had for her life and what she was going to share with the world.  As hard as it is right now I know life has to move forward because time doesn't stop.  My life is going on but I'm going to miss her every day for the rest of it.

Tessa Anne Harris
July 15, 1982 ~ April 24, 2010

So happy the snow has passed and Spring is finally here!  It's a beautiful sight outside to see my tulips popping through the dirt, the moss beginning to climb and the sprouts all through the garden.  I love this time of the year when everything is new again!  It's all about fresh starts and new goals, kind of like New Year's resolutions for me.  This is the time of year when I get energized and full of ideas.  The only drag is the sneezing, coughing and runny nose...oh my!  I am excited for all the new art I'm thinking of and the direction my photography will go.  I'm currently one of the featured artists at Art on the Levee in Newport, KY.  The exhibit is called "More Than Ink" and it's all about tattoo art.  It's hanging for the entire month of March so if you happen to be in the Cincinnat/Newport area, check it out.  There's a lot of cool stuff to see along with this show.  My exhibit is photography of tattoos on people I photographed at concerts, including crowd shots and band members.  One of my favorites is of Eric Bass from Shinedown.  I remember at that show I would get caught up in reading the phrases on his arms while looking through the lens and then have to be like, "Snap out of Angy, focus!!"  I had everything printed as metallic gallery wraps and metallic float wraps and they are gorgeous!  The colors look so amazing.  I probably will be doing more wraps in the future rather than framed prints...just gives it such a nice texture and looks great the way it hangs on your walls.

The studio is about to get a major overhaul, too, time for fresh paint and some new cabinets and chairs.  Since I'm there more now than I used to be I see a lot that needs to be changed...again, the whole Spring thing!  Oh, and just to clarify (I get asked this a lot) my studio is where I work and paint but it's not a photography studio.  I photograph strictly on location.  I'm ready for a busy season, hopefully a lot of fun sessions with the 2011 Seniors and some AMAZING concerts on deck.  I'm ready to get busy.  Can't wait to share all the upcoming fun with you all!  Happy Spring and as always, PEACE~LOVE~ART!

Here we are already into the second month of the New Year (Groundhog Day!) and I'm just now getting to take a few minutes for reflection.  This is my birthday month and it's quickly approaching!  I'm hitting a milestone this year but I'm not dreading it at all.  I was seriously hurt after being hit by a drunk driver when I was 26 so I count my blessings every day to still be here, be healthy and using the talents that God gave me.  The end of 2009 was extremely busy and in spite of doubling up on the Vitamin C and taking extra care to NOT get sick, I managed to catch a nasty bug the WEEK before Christmas...seriously??  I fought it hard and had to work around the clock to hit my deadlines but I pulled it off.  That's all that matters! ;)

I had the pleasure of photographing one last concert for the year, Stephen Salyers' Sounds of Christmas Benefit Concert.  This is a spectacular fund raising concert with proceeds going to the Billy Ray Cyrus Charities Foundation to benefit children in need.  I am so very proud to call Stephen one of my dearest friends.  Not only is he extremely talented (not to mention quite adorable!), he is one of the hardest working musicians I know.  He's burning Nashville up right now and I hope 2010 is going to be a huge year for him!  Along with Stephen, CMT's Can You Duet winners, Steel Magnolia, performed.  WOW!  If you closed your eyes and listened, you would not have known that was only two people and an acoustic guitar!  They are amazing and so much fun to hang out with.  Ashland had been hit with a nasty snow storm right before the event so I was worried about the turn out but it all worked out perfectly.  It was a beautiful night and nothing warms your heart more than giving back to your community.

The new year has started off well, I have had a couple of fun sessions the past couple of weeks and I'm excited for what the year has in store for me!  No complaints...except for Punxsutawney Phil saying we have six more weeks of winter.  Be well and I'll talk to you soon!