Last month was four weekends of Open Studios - and what fun it was! Visitors included a number of professionals - an archaeologist, an anatomist, quite a few nurses - who just can't get enough of skeletons! It included people who work in orthopedics, artificial joints and physiotherapy - who had never had the chance to handle a real skeleton! And many members of the public who came because of the unique opportunity to meet real human bones.
I showcased two series of new work at Open Studios - Osteology2 and Maps (which you've seen a small preview of before). Framed prints of the maps are now on show and available for purchase at my favourite hangout, the Book Warren and will be up on Etsy soon.
Osteology2 is based around having to build a skeleton cage to get skeletons to stand straight and not dislocate a shoulder or throw a leg on the floor in the middle of a photo shoot. I decided to NOT hide the strings and support frame needed to get a decent skeleton photo, but instead to make a feature of it. Of course, the skeleton who posed for this has decided to break a leg - or at least for the kneecap to have worked loose in the honeycomb structure of the tibia, so a new round of repairs are needed. No matter what care I give them, skeletons are fragile creatures.
As I've been adding to my artistic work, it has been hard to give it the room it deserves on my website when I was also holding reference and research material for archaeology, anatomy and zoology studies. So I've set up a new website for that stuff. OSTEO PHOTO "for all your skeleton photo needs".It is also to make it clear that I am available for hire as a photographer (IF it is something interesting, so anatomy museum curators are very welcome to enquire, but there's no way I'm doing weddings or kids photos!).
So, for all your skeleton photographic and reference needs (or those of friends or family, or more likely, archaeologists, anatomists and osteologists), direct people to OSTEOPHOTO.co.uk
And, final note, anyone going to the Death, Dying and Disposal conference at the University of Bath in September, I'll see you there - I have an exhibition and workshop!