POST-ELECTION RETROSPECTION

The people of this country could  stop iconizing people like Obama and Romney or anyone else coming along in the future. Government is made of laws and we have to look to those in Congress to make the changes we are all wanting. In our particular scenario, there needs to be earnest bi-partisan efforts by those in the House of Representatives and Congress to make the changes which will dig us out of the hole Government has dug us into. I think that Governments of yesteryear were more true to the Americans they served because there were no lobbyists, politicians served their people with pride and honor and there was no hatred, greed, personal agendas and an allegiance to their parties which works against the betterment of this country.

As a general overview, Romney and his party did the best they could in this past election. For me, I was appalled that they singled out women as one of the important issues they ran on. At the time this topic was introduced, my immediate reaction was why are they singling out women and who gave them the right to do so? Why, for example, did they not include men. Men are subject to risks of STDs, HIV, Hepatitis A,B,C, not to mention parenthood which could all be a result of sexual behavior. Men could, and probably are, depending on Government funding to pay for their healthcare needs which are a result of risky sexual activity.   So why only women?  I felt this to be very unfair and in its subliminal message it reminded me of how we grew up in South Africa in a white, privileged society. We had everything we could dream of and more. We were blissfully ignorant that there was a whole other side to everything which we knew. It wasn't our fault - we just didn't know. So, when Romney (with the Republicans and the Tea Party bending his ear) singled out women, it smacked of the same old South African scenario in which I grew up. It gave me a small window to look into the male Republican mentality. Subliminally I felt that they considered women to be made of lesser stuff than men.

So our laws are what should govern this country. Those laws should not infringe on anything other than our national security and the welfare of the aged and infirm. As a woman on the street, the only way I can make a change is to elect good, solid and well-qualified people to represent me in any party. 

Going back to Romney and President Obama. Both men stood on the promise that they would make America a better place. They would correct as many of the wrongs as they could. Of course, until Republicans and Democrats learn to work together for the future of the people they serve, neither post-candidates would be able to accomplish this. It will be interesting to watch how successful Obama will be during his second term in office and whether he and his party will be able to move 'FOREWARD'. He has a deadline - November 2016

A MOTHER'S LOVE - AFRICA STYLE!

If you have ever lived in Africa, this is a sight we grew up with and regard as a phenomenon we hope that only other people have to to deal with - and not us. What I see when I look at this picture is a woman who probably struggles every da...

y to walk any kind of distance and when she sees herself in shop windows or bathroom mirrors she is probably distressed by the disproportion of her body. Other than her booty, she is not that large. I suspect that her condition is not only the result of "past the lips, onto the hips". When I look at the photo, I see something which is truly heart-warming. Here's a woman who is not only carrying her own weight but also the additional 25 to 30 lbs of her child. Funnily enough, I think this would make an amazing dipiction of the love of a mother. They are wearing similar clothes which are the same color, she is putting her child's interests before her own comfort, and the way they are holding hands definitely depicts the relationship of mother and child. Of course we all look at this photo in disbelief because it's not something you would see every day. I like this photo and I hope whoever took it was not being demeaning. Whoever took it actually has an eye for capturing something special.

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ARTOBERFEST

 

20TH AND 21ST OCTOBER 2012

 

GALVESTON, TX.

 

 

 

Well, its finally here!    Sometime ago I was accepted as a vendor in the annaul Artoberfest held in Galveston this next weekend.    There will be some 125 different art vendors participating next Saturday and Sunday in downtown Galveston.   The market runs from 10am - 6pm on Saturday and 10am - 5pm on Sunday.    Check it out on the web at www.artoberfest.com for directions and admission fees, etc.

 

In the past nine months a lot has happened and bears testament to the fact that God does help those who help themselves.   Starting conservatively, I joined the Imperial Farmers Market  in Sugarland with my refraction photos.   Pretty soon I decided to introduce my butterflies and although I have pretty much moved away from framed art into photo mattes, butterflies still sell well.

 

 

Over the past few weeks I have been building up inventory of landscapes, butterflies, refraction photos, mineral crystals, beautiful photos of the mission buildings at the Alamo, reflection photos and many more for the Artoberfest. There will be 2013 calendars, variety packs of notecards, photo mattes in 5 X 7's, 8 X 10's and 11 X 14's. Also 4 X 6's refraction photos for collages, sold in sets of five. Large 16 X 20 framed refractions will also be available.   All my own photography.  

 



 

 

 

 

The mineral crystals above are part of an internationally acclaimed exhibition of mineral crystals at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.**  

 

About four months back and totally be chance, I discovered that wonderful reflections can be achieved with the help of sea water.    It wasn't long before I was spending a lot of time on the shores of the gulf photographing my kitchen range.   Essentially I took photos of the exotic and not so exotic fruits and vegetables as the gulf waters washed past them.     I love these shots and have assembled them as collages so customers get more bang for the buck.   Where merited, I have them available as singles as well.

 

 

 

 

Whenever I get to the stage when I think I've come to the end of ideas, another one always pops up. Here's a sample of my new work. Great for diningrooms and kitchens.

These beauties are available in 8 X 8 square frames and 8 X 10 mattes.







 

 

 

 

 

Finally but most important of all, I have been offered a publishing contract for a gift book comprising wonderful quotes from famous people and the best of my photography.      The book is in the editing and layout phase at this time so I don't have too many details.     The publishers are shooting for a Feb/Mar/Apr 2012 launch - so watch this space.  

 

I hope that many of my local friends and followers will be able to make it down to Galveston next weekend.    I will be at booth # 67.   Look forward to seeing you there! 

 

  

 

 



 

** Published with the permission of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. 





 

 



 





THE KITCHEN COLLECTION

Here are the first photos I am including in my Kitchen Collection.    I decided to develop this collection of photos because there just isn't enough stuff out there to decorate our kitchens.    These roosters are available in 5X7's and 8X10's prints with black mattes.   I'll be adding more when they are available.  

In addition to the roosters, I am busy developing a very exciting range of fruit and vegetable reflections.   That's about as much as I want to say right now but most of you know by now that I steer right away from the normal stuff - so watch this space.    I'm excited about the new material.   This collection should be ready around September so visit the Imperial Farmers Market around that time.

Also a hot item is that I have been accepted to participate in the Artoberfest in Galveston 20th/21st October this year.   I'm really excited about this and I think it will be great venue to showcase all the new photography I am working on.   Visit www.artoberfest.com for location and artist information (it might not be available just yet but should be on the website soon).

Finally, due to quite a lot of interest being shown in the refraction photos, I am making the best of the range available in 16X20 prints.   These photos are only available in frames.   This should make some of you happy!

Stop by the booth soon and let's stay in touch.

JO COHN



SUMMERTIME BLUES!

There's been a resurgence in the interest in my Refraction Series of photos - so here's some old and some new pics.   These photos are available in 8 X 10, 11 X 14, 16 X 20, 20 X 24 and poster size.  

Great photos for beach houses, bathrooms, patios, spas or even offices.

Have a great week!

JO COHN





INTRODUCING FABULOUS NEW PHOTOGRAPHY

I've been keeping most of this work under wraps for a while.   Following my refraction and butterfly series, I took a lot of my work inside under indoor lights and using glass and water, did new reflection and refraction work with flowers.      Using the best quality flowers, the images are bold and lovely.

Myterratree's presence at the Imperial Farmers Market in Sugar Land, TX is starting to pack a real punch.   Original water refraction work is still available framed and unframed in 11 X 14's and 8 X 10's.  Butterflies are fluttering all over the booth.   Butterfly collages are available as prints or framed.   New to the butterfly range are my round, yellow frames - ideal for little girl's rooms or really great in sets for that empty space in your guestroom or cloakroom.    For smaller gifts, I have developed a small range of stationery, using my photos.     There are two different butterfly notecard packs and for those totally in love with my water refraction photos, I have journals with refraction covers.

From this weekend, a whole new range of photography will be available for sale in ivory colored 8 X 10 mattes or 11 X 14 mattes.    I have released a number of photo's not seen before.   Trees, sea-scapes, gypy musicians, flowers, one real nasty alligator and many, many more.  

Remember to visit Myterratree between 9.00am and 1.00pm tomorrow to check out new inventory.

Seeyasoon

JO COHN

FACEBOOK IS GOING DOWNHILL .... FAST

By nature I've always been someone to give the benefit of the doubt and this is what I've done with Facebook for three to four years.   Although some people use it as a forum for their every move and thought(bless their hearts), I think it has a place and is a fabulous meeting place for friends and acquaintances.

Lately I've noticed something is changing and doing so at a rapid pace.    I'd like to know why, despite having all my settings in place, that my wall is smothered with photos and messages from people I have never heard of.    How did that happen?   And ......... more to the point, are my postings appearing on the wall of total strangers as well?    The fact that it is happening is evidence that supporters of Facebook are placing themselves in a vulnerable position.    Or, more to the point, Facebook is placing it's supporters in a vulnerable position.   I thought at one time that I could limit my exposure in Facebook to those people who, by mutual agreement, wanted to be my Facebook friends.   Well, it seems those days are over and now every single posting is no longer exclusive.   Not good, not good at all.

Today the financial news is smothered with Facebook's  public offering for a allegedly staggering $100 billion.   http://marketday.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/15/11703181-poll-shows-most-users-distrust-facebook?lite.      I would say that it should be a cold day in hell before they get that right.    Investors have to look at short, medium and long term return on their money and by all accounts, Facebook's future growth could be more than a bit iffy if they are growing at the expense of the integrity of their product and the security of their supporters.

So I probably sound like I got out of bed on the wrong side today - but here's the thing that really has made my snarky.   Up in the top right hand corner of my home page is a little gold tab that says
"1 COUPON".   Everytime my cursor goes near this tab, a drop down window pops up announcing Savings Slider.   It seems that this tab is here to announce to me - without my asking - what coupons I can make use of today.   Lord have mercy!   This drop down has a settings option which allows you to select to not see it for 1hr, 4hrs, 24hrs or forever.   No guessing which one I selected - and guess what, it won't go away.  

So, not only do I have a bunch of people I don't know crashing my Facebook page, I now have to battle some coupon promotion drop down and I DON'T DO COUPONS!    

So what to do, what to do.    I don't have the time, energy or interest to attempt to contact Facebook.    Taking a cold, hard look  at this situation, I do use Facebook to promote my photography.   If there are a bunch of people on my wall whom I don't know, at least the message is reaching them - not an entirely bad thing.    In the interim, though, there's these other things going on - so it's a tradeoff.   I'll have to think about this...........