Stress relief.

Impact.

Reunuion.

I need a reunion:

That's not my shadow.

DIY is the new black.

I'm trying to build on the process of making pinhole cameras. The juice box served as a great starting point, and I am continuing to manipulate that knowledge. I want to incorporate different types of materials, I want them to look different, and in the end I want the images to be effected by the changes in the construction.

Here are a few that I made recently. I am trying to break down the functions of the materials in a way that I can use and reuse what I have around me.

I bought some small mirrors and the next camera will contain mirrors on the inside. I want to see how the reflection of the light effects the photo. I still have some brainstorming to do, but I can't wait to construct one!

The new black:

December Show.

In December I am participating in an all female show, with 3 very cool women. More details will surface within the upcoming month. A collective is growing, and it's gonna be something that our community will appreciate. I have a lot of very artistic female friends, why haven't we gotten together sooner and established a space of our own? It's about time..

I can't wait.

I am working on a self-portrait series with a theme. I found this image today and it excited it me, it provided direction. I love Cindy Sherman.

Haiku.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

by: mari hernandez

I got a new job

A job that many would love

Adapted not yet.

The Juice Box Pinhole Camera Show.

With word of mouth, some FB invites, the lure of beautiful fotos, and a fab and fitting promotion on behalf of The Current, our first Juice Box Pinhole show was a great success. In the spirit of San Anto it was good people, good vibes, outstanding art, and above all, for the Ninos/as.

Nothing seems more exhilarating than a smile of satisfaction and impression of success exuded by a room full of youth. They are so many steps ahead, they are gaining a knowledge that I hope will open many doors for them, and they are artists of the most praised and desirable kind. Art is something natural for them, it's something untainted by the realities of being an "adult." This is why I thank these kids, why I see them as my mentors, because they remind me that life doesn't have to be so strict, that in fact, it's meant to be lived opposite of that. What an accomplishment for these young artists, another amazing art show under San Anto's belt, and another step towards towards my dreams.

Special massive THANKS to MadHatters for granting us a space, for providing delicious food and drink, to JJ Lopez for being the best man in the world (hehe) and for composing the eveving's soundtrack, to all of our special guests, and to San Anto Cultural Arts' for helping to change this world for the better (I love you). The show will be up for one month at Madhatters, 320 Beaureguard. Check it out!

Enjoy the atmosphere:

The Cardboard House, a photographic response.

After reading early 20th century Woman's Literature for days and trying to figure how to respond, this is how I feel about the stories. This is what the oppressed lives of the female characters solicit from me. What a horrible existence, especially because their characters encompass truth.

I hope my professor doesn't mind.

I can't draw.

I can't draw. But on the flip side, I have been told on multiple occasions, by some well known local artists that anyone can learn to draw. There is hope. I have often thought about what I would be willing to sacrifice in vain, for the ability to draw really well. I settled on the right pinky. The conclusion being well thought out, meticulously, and I won't bore you with the details or process.

I started thinking about this futuristic, indigenous combo many years ago. I started sketching people, and adding word bubbles. This is a practically miniscule drawing. I read this book on tattoos and adornment. I imagined a society full of alterations, steeped in a beautiful aesthetic.

What kind of world would we inhabit if we woke up every day to a physical body full of art, decided that day to string a bone, a tooth, or a shiny bottle cap through our stretched ear, and hang feathers from the other. If we all saw piercing, scarification as proud body marking, or a means to communicate something important.

These details I continue to work out in my head. I find certain things beautiful, and appealing, and they happen to pop up in sub-cultures, and within small communities that I am a part of. Although it is a trend now, I wonder how many actually know the history of body art and it's importance. Hmmmm.

There is a certain type of world I have configured in my head, a world that would be so outwardly creative and inspiring that no one would have to search for it.

I am cataloging these thoughts and images, they are a part of the series of portraits I have started (see below). This world is set against music, and a cool vernacular.

I see it in my head, I see daily events and interactions. I see a world of inclusion (but, I also know who and what I would exclude).

I'm not sure how to put down what this is, or means, but I think it is coming together.

I will take your famila foto.

I will photograph your familia, under certain conditions. We must make some funny and creative.

I was asked to take some family fotos for some friends. Up until know the only family I have really photographed was my own. I was excited to do so, especially since they are of the creative kind, and I knew they would be open to something different. I think family photographs should reflect daily dynamic. I hope to stay away from dry tendencies produced from manufactured images. There is a certain Japanese photographer whom I love, and he has some of the funniest family photographs I have ever seen. Inspired by him I set out on my first family photography shoot with an itch to do something different.

I haven' t finished photographing them, but I love what I have so far. Here is one I chose at random.

They were perfect. They are a creative, artistic bunch.

Welcome, Pslam...your family is great.

The Juice Box Pinhole Camera Project.

Hope to see you there!

When I first starting thinking about making pinhole cameras with the students at San Anto, I envisioned a proper ending. I thought it would be great to display their work. I wanted them to see their photos on a wall, presented to the public, as a mark of their creative brilliance and strong intelligence. I created the workshop, and I put a lot of time and love into it. The students did the rest of the work. They created beautiful images, that contain abstract stories, and signs of their artistic abilities. I wanted them to add making their own camera to the list of their accomplishments, and to take pride in it. Who knows where that will take them.

This is the result of the first workshop I have ever done, of something I produced from a small vision. It makes me very happy, but the students deserve all the glory.

I was asked to put together an "artist statement," and this is what I wrote:

The juicebox pinhole camera is made in the spirit of DIY (Do It Yourself). Taking common, everyday materials the students we're able to make a camera by hand and produce images.

The process promotes unbounded accessibility to creative outlets, and concentrates on the idea of recycle and reuse. The workshop promotes and secures artistic awareness for the community, by the community.

More light.

I'm really interested in working with different light sources .

Produced in conjunction with a headlamp and digitally unmodified.

Light.

Marisa.

With just a slight change in lighting and reflection, the entire image is affected. Light has some crazy abilities, to enhance, to distort, to rearrange. Without it, the medium wouldn't exist. I think a good photographer must have the ability manipulate light, natural or unnatural, to build it and assist it's direction with tools.

I enjoy constructing images without professional environments. I haven't worked within a studio too often, but the experience leaves me feeling dry.

This photo session was done in my front yard. I had a homemade reflector, a foam core background ( I bought at Walgreens), and my camera. We used eye shadow mixed with water for her make-up, and nothing else. She has a natural beauty that doesn't require assistance.

I can't figure out which one I like more.

My portfolio.

Marisa.

I don't have much formal photography training. One PHOTO 101 class has proved helpful so far. I hope for some heavy formal photography education, because technical knowledge is important, and environment is inspiring. For now I read, I research, I teach myself. I love lighting, how it works, the fact that it bends and bounces...and the endless possibilities and combinations of it.

I have decided to start working on some sort of portfolio. I have been told that a good strong portfolio contains 10-12 shots.

I don't know if I am willing to compromise to meet certain standards. So, I'm gonna attempt to produce my vision, and version of things. If my portfolio, in the end, defines my vision, then I will feel accomplished. I don't even really know what having a portfolio means...I just want to take photos.

I wonder what a people would be like if they hadn't been colonized, or eradicated. What would persist over time? How would we look? How would we differ? What would a gente with an ancient aesthetic placed within the future look like? I see it in the faces of my community. It takes my breath away.

There are forms of enhancements that have been carried through time, tattoos, piercings, and other forms of body art. Some women, and/or men, apply their makeup every morning in order to appeal to someone, or something, to fit into an ideal, or simply because they think it makes them beautiful.

This is my first portrait. And the start of a series.

(thank you to my friend Audrya who helped me, she's the best)

Lucy is a star of the Westside.

Un Estrella of the Westside.

Little projects.

I love magnifying lens.

Creativity.

Creativity is a way out (or in). I had a small workshop at San Anto a couple of months ago. We made masks, listened to scary music, gorged on candy, and talked about "la llorna," "the tracks," and all kinds of San Anto myths and legends that are passed down through the generations.

Each person made a mask, without any direction. Here are a few. Looking at them now, it's funny how their personalities come through..

Awkward....

I don't like the way you are looking at me Miss Fiesta San Antonio....

A homemade camera out of a jewelry box.

The pinhole juice box camera has turned out to be the first check on a list of experiments. I am truly in love with homemade cameras. They are the perfect tool in which to teach the most basic, fundamental concepts of how cameras work. In making these cameras you are able to fully understand how light, film, time, and space create a photograph. It's absolutely amazing that you are able to construct an object that permanently records images without the use of technical gadgets and pricey tools.

I took what I learned about making a camera from a juice-box, tweaked it a little bit, and made another one. I used a small jewelry box I received a gift in, and these were the results:

This is the box I used to make the camera.

This is the completed camera.

A view from my balcony.

Another view, slightly darker, which means I exposed the film for a smaller amount of time.

Me! Over-exposed?

Me II! Centered.

ME III! to the right.

My head is swimming with ideas. At the moment, I want to hold on to this and use it to teach young adults how to understand and appreciate basic means of taking a photograph ,without pulling out their camera phone, and without snapping away on their new digital dx1000ksuperduper10000billiontrillion camera.

I want people to know how photography first started, how an image is magically recorded on a light sensitive surface, and how, more than a century and half later, it has evolved.

YIPEEEEE!

Rico's Trunk.

Rico's Trunk was my favorite. It got lots of attention. Don't just a book by it's cover.