The Artist's Eyes by Jenn Lee

When we bought our home, I was absolutely excited about this project…creating a Koi pond. I had always said when I had a house that I owned I wanted one. Thankfully John was in total agreement with me!

It took us awhile to get to this project but in the end it was the artistic vision we had imagined. We slowly collected the rock from various places around our city which served dual purpose in doing so. It was an ECO friendly way to re-purpose a natural resource, as well as giving us something that meant more to us than a trip to the local rock quarry.  Being able to say “That came from the riverbed by Johns parents.” or “That came from that spot we love to take environmental photography.” personalized it way more for us.

Our good friends let us have their old pond liner, the rocks came only with sweat equity and the little long finned goldfish were also donated. In the end we paid for the waterfall pump equipment to the tune of $200, a few small succulents planted around the edges $35, and the small Japanese Maple we picked out for it’s character $20. Every bit of the energy and time put into the creation of this small artistic project, will forever imprint on us memories personal to us.

As an artist and John, a photographer, the enjoyment we get from visual stimulation is as good as gold. We enjoy going out every evening to watch our little fish and listen to the waterfall as we sit and talk about the days events…..pure heaven and priceless….in this artist’s eyes.

My eldest daughter is about to become a mother herself. With the impending due date coming in a few months, John asked Jess if she was ready to pose for some maternity portraits. We had a great time with the shoot, mind you, how could you not with such a beautiful mother to be?Over the years as I was creating my own family, I have often been amazed at the entire process of pregnancy. Okay not the morning sickness, back aches or excessive bloating as the babies pushed all my internal organs around to make room for themselves. But honestly, the process of something so minutely tiny to be seen only under a microscope, forming into a complete little person…simply amazing.

In a way…it’s not unlike an artist’s sculpture. You start with something so basic and unshaped and over the gestational period, see arms, legs, hands, feet, etcetera create an amazing mix of mommy and daddy. Natures sculpting can be seen through everything around us from the growth of flowers and plants, to the birth of animals as well as babies. How amazing life is in it’s ability to sculpt such beauty. Life and the creation of new life, is truly art…in this artist’s eyes.

Everyone loves food, from meals to desserts, fine dining to hors d’oeuvres. Food can be art for the eyes as well as the taste buds. Our eyes are immediate sensors to our brains, as much as what we smell. I know, you’re probably thinking I’ve lost my mind but seriously, food can be art too!

How many times have you gone to a restaurant and seen a waiter walk by taking a meal to another table and said, “Oh wow, I want what they’re having!” or looked at a cookbook and said, “I want to make that!” or even watched a a cooking show and got inspired to cook a meal you saw? I admit I have done that a lot. Especially when one of my Mother’s Day gifts I received was A Korean Mother’s Cooking Notes by Chang, Sun-young. I confess I don’t know the least about cooking Korean food, even though I am Korean! I definitely will be trying out some of these recipes now though!

©Marvelous Recipes by Emily

Dr Seuss wrote a childrens book that I am sure everyone has read, Green Eggs and Ham. Remember that character did not find the look of green eggs and ham appealing. He told Sam he would not eat them here nor there or anywhere. The visual aspect of the green eggs and ham did not stimulate his hunger. Eventually, of course, he found that the green eggs and ham were just as delicious as the normal color palette.

©Marvelous Recipes by Emily

I follow a wonderful food blog called Marvelous Recipes by Emily Lee. It’s definitely a food blog you would bookmark. Emily shares with her readers many of her wonderful recipes she’s created over the years. The key here besides the recipes sounding good, is that she photographs the finished product. Immediately upon pulling up her website, your eyes see the meal or dessert and your mind thinks, “mmm..that looks so good!“  It entices your interest to read the article and find out exactly how she made that yummy looking meal. In my opinion, this is palatable art…in this artist’s eyes.

Last night we went to see the Great Balloon Glimmer at the Waterfront. What a fantastic spectacle, as the evening fades into darkness, to see the many hot air balloons spread across the Waterfront Park lawn, puff up and light up the darkness from the bright flames shooting up into the balloons making all the colors glow.

Every year during the weeks before the Kentucky Derby, events are held all around the area. Before this weekends Great Balloon Race, the public gets a chance to see the competitors and their balloons up close during the Great Balloon Glimmer at the Waterfront, which was last night, and the Balloon Glow tonight at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center.

The actual race will begin from the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center tomorrow morning. All across the Kentucky skies, 50 or so hot air balloons will race against each other, sprinkling the skies with colorful custom hot air balloons.

While we walked around visiting with each of the competitors and took pictures of their balloons, we of course had to make a visit to the many vendors selling puffy, powdered sugar covered goodness, mmm…funnel cake and wash it down with a refreshing Lemon Shakeup. We could have enjoyed many other treats from the Chow Wagon, as they were all very tempting and smelled of heaven, but one must choose wisely when trying to keep within the budget! Let’s just say my kids had no complaints with the choice we made!

Once total darkness set in it was almost dizzying spinning around each time you heard a balloon fire up to hopefully catch a shot with your camera. In the end it was a total blast, the kids loved seeing the massive balloons up close and the artist in me appreciated the craft and custom details in all the balloons with all the colors aglow. It was a truly beautiful sight to see…in this artist’s eyes.

Starting your own business in a new area can be daunting. It is chalked full of so many challenges from licenses, permits and legalities to zoning in on your target market and what you have to offer. It is an upward climb to say the least.

Artist Jenn Lee, climbing the artists ladder

No matter the dream, you can make it a reality. It truly is like climbing a ladder. Climbing a ladder???? Yes, climbing a ladder. Let me explain what I mean when I liken it to climbing a ladder.

The first thing you do when you get ready to climb up a ladder is make sure you have it set up level and sturdy. You don’t want to fall do you? This is the same with starting your business. You must first outline your business plan and make sure you have all your plans straight.

Once your ladder is stable, you grab a hold and climb up rung by rung. Just like a ladders rungs, each step of your business plan is a step you need to take. You can’t just jump from the ground to the top of your ladder can you? Well you need to think of your business plan the same way. You must first get all your licenses and permits together then move onto the next step.

Once you are legally a business, you can step up that ladder to marketing. Marketing yourself to your target market is crucial. You can’t get clients or customers if you aren’t putting yourself in front of them. How does John Doe know you sell those things he likes so much? How does Jane Doe know that Store Generic isn’t the only place she can go to get that beautiful item she wants? You have to throw yourself in their path via your marketing strategy.Pass out those business cards, get out there via the internet, join network groups, send out mailers etc.

Moving up that ladder, you notice you are getting higher. You’ve put yourself up there, you’re legal, you’re out there where the public is seeing you, so now what? Sell yourself! Show them what you’re selling and why they need to come see you instead of Store Generic down the road.

The more customers that know about you, the more your name gets spread. The more customers that come to you for your services or products, the more your work speaks for itself via other people seeing your work. The feeling of completing a great job, service or selling an awesome product, is like being on the top of that ladder. You feel like you can touch the sky!

So if you are considering or working on a business, get out that ladder. It’s an upward climb but a climb worth making….at least in this artist’s eyes.