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March 2024

from Nancy Ori and New Jersey Media Center

my candid Umesh

Dear Fellow Artists,


I am focused on getting some things done before spring when I will want to be outside. I am thinking we will have an early spring. Good to have my Nature book finished. Time to start the next one. Check it out: Nature as Inspiration for Art at www.amazon/author/nancyori. You can see the previous books there as well on a variety of topics.


Great photography exhibit up at Overlook right now by the NJ Photography Forum. Our color shows are always the happiest. The Auxiliary group is hosting a reception on April 12, 5-7pm with lite refreshments.


Mark your calendar for early April to go to Reeves Reed Arboretum in Summit to see their daffodils. It is amazing and free.


I encourage you to continue to find ways of being inspired and to keep doing your art. Do what ever brings a smile to your face. A smile can change everything. Celebrate the best of what is right with our world, acknowledge it to those around you, and be safe. This is time to take stock of all the positive and truly great things and especially important people in our lives. Spread the love!


All the best for a great new year,

Contact me with any questions. Workshops make a great gift!


nance


nancyori@comcast.net

www.nancyoriworkshops.com

Give the gift of education or artwork.
Support your local artists or art organizations.

New Book Launch


Check it out. Great gift for any level photographer. In-depth discussion of all the elements involved in creating a great composition. The images are of nature but the content is about any type of image. Go to Amazon and check out my other book offerings:


www.amazon.com/author/nancyori

In-person & Zoom workshops at the Nancy Ori Studio:



All in-person workshops are at my studio and include a comprehensive handout that is yours to keep for future reference and to follow along with during the workshop. Sometimes if the group is small enough and everyone agrees, we can make a workshop happen on Zoom instead.


My groups are generally small so there is a lot of one-on-one time and I can tailor the info to your needs. Photo Encaustic and Hand-coloring Your Inkjets next spring and my 4 workshops with Heidi all include the use of my tools and necessary materials so you do not have to purchase anything else to attend. Contact me for workshop details. Payment is currently through PayPal with credit card or by snail mail with a check. You do not need to have a PayPal account to pay through them.


Private Tutoring: is ongoing with Personal Projects and Portfolio Development for photographers, critiques, and college prep applications for art students. 6 hours: $395 Makes a great Gift!

2024 Workshops with Nancy, Umesh and Heidi


March 10          The Art of AI for Artists with Umesh 11-4     $195

March 17            Hand-coloring Your Inkjet Photographs   11-4                $165

April 7                 Photo Encaustic                                           11-4            $165

April 14               Garden and Flower Photography               11-4              $150

June 23               Mono Printing with Nancy Ori and

Heidi Sussman 10-1   $125

June 30               Lighting for Portraits, Products, Still Life and

Food Photography 11-4  $150     

July 7                  Designing a Composition for Painters and

Photographers 11-4  $150

July 21                How to Photograph Your Artwork and

Other Photography Tips for Artists 11-4 $150

July 28                How to Create Collages with Nancy & Heidi 10-1         $125

August 4             Framing and Tips for Artists                       11-4         $150     

August 11           Image Transfers with Nancy and Heidi  10-1        $125

August 18           How to Write an Artist Statement and

Other Important Documents for Artists 11-4 $150

August 25           Visual Journaling with Nancy and Heidi 10-1         $125

October 27         Using Mixed Media Techniques               11-4               $150

November 10     Seeing in Black and White                         11-4               $150

December 1      Developing Photographic Style                11-4               $150

AI Newsletter


If you want to get on board with AI and follow someone you can trust, you might want to subscribe to the newsletter that Umesh and I are putting out this year. You already received the free one. The rest is up to you to see how you can use it with your art.


The AI Newsletter is a great way to start slowly and build on the info the same way we did when digital first appeared. We will definitely do the workshop again in the spring. By then there will be a lot of changes. It would be good to be ready for them. Contact me if you are interested in getting the newsletter or signing up for the workshop. nancyori@comcast.net

AI Workshop March 10, 11-4pm

on Zoom with Umesh and Nancy

The first AI workshop was a total success. Here’s what they had to say:


  • Enjoyed this so much. What a great foundation of info for AI, which was just what I was looking for. I had no idea how much there is to know.-- Donna M.
  • Eye opening indeed! The material was thoughtfully prepared, well organized, and professionally presented. Umesh is patient and generous while sharing his knowledge. --Evie M.
  • The hands-on, step by step instructions for everything and saved me a great deal of time and frustration (priceless). -- Evie M.
  • Learning how to create and manage the prompts was the key. Appreciate getting the slides and handout. --Sharon H.
  • The workshop time just flew by! --Dot K.
  • This was really wonderful. I can't wait to dive in. It opens a whole new world.-- Paul W.

CONTACT ME TO PURCHASE PREVIOUS MATERIALS OR TO REGISTER FOR MARCH 10

Hand-coloring Your Inkjets

March 17, 11-4pm


This workshop is designed to expand your knowledge of different art mediums and how to combine them with your photographs to create one-of-a-kind mixed media pieces. No previous painting experience is necessary.


Demonstrations, examples, and discussions will include a wide variety of mixed media techniques followed by a stressless hands-on opportunity with watercolor, colored pencils, and several types of pastel. All the art materials will be supplied except for the prints of your photographs. You will need to prepare them in advance.


This workshop is for any level artist or photographer and will offer a social and fun experience that is a bit like Paint-by-Number that we did as a kid. You will receive a comprehensive handout describing all the techniques and how to use them for future reference. 


Our goal is for you to come away with a new appreciation of painting and how to see color better. Instructions on how to prepare for the day will be sent upon registration. 

Photo Encaustic Workshop

April 7, 11-4pm


Join Nancy in person for a fun day of learning how to work in this creative and forgiving medium. Students are invited to layer their photographs with exciting and simple mixed media techniques to create new work with incredible diversity from your current portfolio. There will be a presentation demonstrating several key techniques, a discussion with examples from contemporary artists, and a look at how abstraction, composition and wax can create amazing new pieces with your photographs.  

Fee: $165, includes all the materials and use of all tools necessary

Contact Nancy to register

flower

Garden and Flower Workshop

April 14. 11-4pm


Have fun and learn the art of composition, close-up photography, lighting, white balance, and metering techniques in regards to garden and flower photography. Includes a lecture and time for shooting and practice in the field with Ori.

This workshop is open to beginner or intermediate photographers and any other artist using photography in their art with cell phone or larger digital camera.

Fee: $150

Contact Nancy to register

Scotland Orkney Islands, Inverness and Cairngorms National Park Tour

September 8-19, 2024


 Tour through the less traveled parts of the Northern Scotland

• Photograph and explore the diverse landscape of the islands, friendly people, prehistoric forts, spectacular cliffs, beautiful sandy beaches,

Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness.

• Inverness, the Capital of the Highlands with castles, mountains, and the River Ness. (and maybe even Jamie Fraser!)

• Cairngorms National Park offers awesome landscapes in the mountains, valleys and streams of Northern Scotland.

• All accommodations are central to photographic locations.

• Flexible itinerary to take advantage of opportunities along our route.

• Maximum of twelve participants. Private van with guide.


Contact Nancy for a brochure: nancyori@comcast.net. A deposit will be required to hold your place.


For more info and to register: https://phototc.com/tours/scotland-orkney-islands-inverness-cairngorms-national-park/

Norway Tour & Northern Lights

September 20-28, 2024


• Eight days with accomplished photographer and tour leader Nancy Ori.

• Tour limited to 11 passengers.

• Experience the diverse landscape of Norway.

• Jagged mountains, grand vistas, colorful fjords, and soaring eagles.

And a chance of experiencing the greatest show on earth, the Aurora Borealis, aka Northern Lights.

Editorial: Why do you do your art? 


My easy answer to this question is: because I have to. There are so many other questions that bog us down and sometimes keep us from moving forward. Like: how is the gallery model changing? Do I need to move and create within that change in order to sell my work? How do I continue to find flow and inspiration? How can I create value for others? What if I get burned out? Can I overcome it?


So many things seem to be changing in our world these days. Frankly, it is not easy to keep focus, not just with our art. There might be some answers in meditation in order to turn off the distractions. It takes discipline for sure. Over the years, I have learned to choose a reasonable sized task, have intension, and protect my focus. I cannot let the outside voices get to me while I am working. I literally turn off the distractions.


What might help is to define your why. Define what you think is your success and not let galleries or social media dictate what is good. We should decide as artists what is good and what success looks like for ourselves. Are you doing it for the art market, for yourself, or for art history? Maybe it is a little of all three. Just don’t be manipulated into thinking that you must sell. If the gallery approves someone’s work, it makes them money. That does not mean that it is meaningful art. We have certainly seen enough horrible work with red dots on them in galleries. I would prefer to make work that is important to me. If the galleries like it and it sells, fine. If it can stand the test of time in art history, that would be great too, but I don’t think that is likely nor necessary. I am doing it because I like it. I have made the decision to take the risk, confront and question myself and what I am doing. All I can say is that when you decide your direction, stick to it. Your personal discovery is what is the most meaningful part of the process.


Use whatever platform you have to reach out to people who feel the same way. When your work strikes a chord with others, the feeling you will get is inspiring. Knowing that you created a reaction or feeling in someone else is why we do this and takes the importance away from the sales. But if you can do this, the sales will come. You are being true to yourself as well as creating influence. Word of mouth is trustworthy within your sphere of personal contacts. It is a privilege to create art for them, to create value for them. That one-on-one communication and direct promotion has so much value. It is a deeper connection. This might sound old school, but those relationships are more inspiring than any anonymous comment on social media.


Go to openings, have conversations, create relationships and mentorships. Instagram will never deliver this. It is a bottomless pit. Make yourself valuable to real people. That is where not only where you will get satisfaction and inspiration, but also where good promotion begins.


I never want to lose track of what makes me happy. Things that I thought would make me happy as a young photographer turned out to be misleading sometimes. Happiness and success means different things to different people. I have gotten real about what that looks like for me. It has always been healthier to base my success on things I could control. I kept my focus on how much was enough. There are always going to be other artists out there who are better than what I can do. I cannot dwell on that. What is enough for me? What can I control instead of letting others control what I should be thinking and doing. I have learned that working hard and living cheaply put me in a place where I had enough money to do my art and pay my bills. I made sacrifices and choices to get me to a place where I could prioritize my actions. Finding balance comes with experience.


I did a lot of shows to get name recognition, but always understood that my focus needed to be on making the best work that I could. Then what happens will happen. It becomes about why I am doing this, the quality of my work, my relationships, my community, and my intensions. I set my goal posts properly. Just understand too that those goals can change at any time for something different with a new priority. Obligations arise, interests and priorities change, but I still need to own my time. I own my decisions.  



Invest in yourself and your needs. Find people you can trust, maybe a mentor, to help shape your work. Define your why and commit to it. Understand what is enough. What does success look like for you, remembering that Instagram influence does not need to be part of it. The prize is the journey. Control it without letting your emotions dictate your actions. Put in the work. Know that you are worth it. Stop dabbling and commit.

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AI images by Umesh

"You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” ~Ansel Adams