by johnnoltner
We are easing into this new lifestyle of being mobile and gathering new stories. Our month-long residency in Parkersburg, West Virginia was a model for what I hope we can do more of going forward. Of course, COVID is going to have to play out and it will impact the way we are able to engage with programming, but in this case, we were able to operate safely and remain distanced as we did our work. We spent four weeks […]
Categories: Uncategorized
by johnnoltner
Our village showed up this week, and it was amazing. To say that our 2020 Christmas tree harvest was a shit show (pardon the language) would be an understatement. Everything that could break…broke. Everything that could quit…quit. There are a few choke points in a tree harvest that if they go down, the whole operation falls apart. I say this like I know what I am talking about, but every year I learn a little more about how much I […]
Categories: Blog
by johnnoltner
Many of you know that a few years back I had a small cancer scare. As if there is such a thing. I got off easy. We caught the bladder cancer small and early. It was removed with a brief outpatient procedure—like a polyp in a colonoscopy—and I didn’t even need chemo or radiation. We remain vigilant, with screenings every six months at first and now once a year. Truth be told, I hate those screenings, but it is a […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: community art, connection, election, patience, waiting
by johnnoltner
It’s been two weeks since we left our home in Bloomington. We had a few days of planned down time with family in Wisconsin and then a few more days of unplanned down time when a small college engagement in Pennsylvania cancelled due to last-minute COVID restrictions on campus. During the last two weeks, we’ve learned to slow down a little. We no longer have any rooms to paint. No punch lists of repairs to do before selling the house. […]
Categories: Blog, Project Updates • Tags: a peace of my mind, community, community art, parkersburg, storytelling, weaving community, west virginia
by johnnoltner
Over the past few weeks, I’ve produced a series of remote portraits with Ithaca College and gathered stories around the question, “What does community and belonging look like for you in this time of pandemic and protests?” It’s something I’ve thought of a lot lately, as we all learn new ways of navigating the world. As Karen and I leave our home of 20 years. As we put physical distance between us and the relationships we cherish. What does it […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: belonging, black and white, community, connection, Ithaca College, photography, portrait photography, storytelling
by johnnoltner
Why would you jump out of a perfectly good airplane? That’s the question people ask you when you announce that you are going skydiving. And in a sense, it’s what we are doing now. Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. We love our community. I can walk across the street and help myself to a beer out of Dan’s fridge whether he’s home or not. Ashley would watch our dog any time we needed it. I can ask for […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: change, moving on, new chapter, saying goodbye
by johnnoltner
We found out last week that our travel trailer will not be delivered from the factory in time for our October 3 departure. We thought this might happen. COVID-related supply chain disruption, they said. When we signed the papers, the sales person was confident the timing would work. In a follow up phone call, the business manager sounded cautiously optimistic. But starting a couple weeks ago, that optimism started fading daily for all of us. Now we are certain it’s […]
Categories: Uncategorized
by johnnoltner
When I was shooting a lot of travel assignments, I noticed a predictable—if mildly uncomfortable—process unfold. As I drove to the location, whether it was an autumn fly-fishing stream in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota, or a grain truck sunset tour of the Kansas wheat fields, I worried. It was hard to see the potential in the shoot. I could feel the anxiety well up. The light was no good. Power lines traced the length of the trout stream. Billboards marred […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: a peace of my mind, creativity, cry out, listen, patience, pay attention, prayer, storytelling, travel
by johnnoltner
They say 40 days is what it takes for transformation. 20 days to shed an old habit and 20 days to establish a new one. A few months ago, I couldn’t see a path forward for A Peace of My Mind. The public programming that supported it had vanished with the pandemic. Everything we had built the project around had shifted and at times I wondered if this lovely voice we had cultivated over the past decade was going to […]
Categories: Blog, Project Updates • Tags: 40 days, crowdfunding, cry out, Indiegogo, storytelling, thank you
by johnnoltner
The creative process isn’t always tidy. My office certainly isn’t. Nor is my handwriting. I’ll often vision about project ideas and future plans on a scrap of paper. I’ll tape rough notes to my office wall and see how they hold up over time. Some of them never happen. Others could not be stopped if you tried. As I struggled through packing up 20 years of photo memories in my office, I came across this note, imagining what my third […]
Categories: Blog, Project Updates • Tags: creative process, crowd funding, cry out, fundraising, listen first, memories, photography, plans, social issues, visioning, weaving community
