So... It's only 40,000 People.

I have spent the past week pondering the twists and turns of fate or choices in life that have led me to this particular point in my life. Don't we all sometimes?

I mean... as a teenager, I originally set out to be a veterinarian. I wanted to go to University to study to be one and suddenly in my last two years of high school there was a HUGE graduation of vets from colleges and universities from around the country (I am from Australia). So I changed my mind. To biochemical engineering. Like this made any sense at all. But I was 17, and when you are 17 and people tell you that you are really good at something and praise you and tell you that you can make good money in a certain job it definitely influences your decisions.

Yeah, okay. That wasn't my greatest decision I ever made with a sane mind. But at Sydney University I met some of my best friends, and met my American boyfriend who was a (shock) History Major. He ended up becoming my husband. Two kids later, an great and useful associates degree in Marketing, a lot of self-discovery, and (hopefully) a bit more wisdom... here I am.

And in Professional Art Photography.

Which somehow I feel like I always knew I was meant to be in. I came from a very artistic family (on my Mother's side). She is presently writing a novel and sketches and does oils. Everyone did something. They painted (oil, watercolor, and acrylics), carved, clayworked, worked on porcelain, crocheted fine lace, sketched... and much more. It was just assumed that if you were family, you were creative.

But I was into science. So, my Mother gave me a Brownie Box and began to teach me about balance and light and stuff. It was an old camera that had been around the house for a while and one that a small child could "play with". And I began to photograph. I started with my geranium pot plants. I loved my plants when I was little and over-watered them every day. Perhaps that is why they didn't do so well.

And after I started school there was a new camera. That one went everywhere in my pocket on trips with me. I took photos of everyone and everything I found interesting.

And then another camera... always bigger or more convenient ones.

And so the love story continues.

So the day I told my Mother that I was going to be a Professional Art Photographer, after years of her critiquing my work, it came as no surprise to her. It was only one to me. It was a long journey to find the artist I had always been (and kept hidden), within me.

Really, it started with my Doorways photos. The one I marked as my favorite was taken in SoHo years ago. I love that photo. That photo was the first picture I took that made me think that I could become more than just a casual photographer. And I still photograph interesting doorways to this day.

Now, I have a huge opportunity ahead of me. I have my photos on display in the CharityWorks GreenHouse which opens October 10th to the public. They are expecting about 40,000 people to pass through their doors. It is just a LITTLE scary! I have my golf shots and the woodland shot framed beautifully in the virtual golf room. You really have to see this room to believe it. It is just like playing a REAL round of golf! I kid you not!!!

And I must admit... I am scared, but so excited. The sale of my photos I'm donating back to the charity, anyway. Its a great charity to work with. And the publicity (hopefully) will be good for my work.

John Lennon wrote "Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans". (I think I have it right). But he was right.

And Life and Art, presently, couldn't be better.

My new Blogspot... and Looking at golf balls.

Summer is quickly passing in this part of the world. My two kids are back in school. I am eternally behind in updating the lovely webpage I have. My Mother has flown back home to Australia after spending some time with us in the USA. My husband is educating undergrads at the University of Maryland in the ways of sociology.

And I am looking at golf balls.

And you are probably wondering by now... after a Summer of great travel through Midwest visiting landmark cities and finding scenic old drive-in theaters, and then going half way around the world with 25 members of my family on a tour to photograph fabulous wildlife in South Africa.... Why golf balls?

And it all comes back to old friends. I met Lynni Megginson for the first time, three houses ago when I was looking for a sofa. I didn't know one sofa from another (and still don't) and couldn't fit furniture into any room I ever had. I had moved into a great house and wanted to redecorate and got stuck with one room, my living room, and how to decorate the troublesome spot. And I didn't much care for other colors in the house either. A neighbor of mine sent me to her shop (at the time) and I met Lynni, a very energetic and upbeat woman (and Ellen too), whom I immediately took a liking to. She took care of me like a sister and found my sofa (which I still have) and decorated my living room the way I wanted it, but better. And we found colors for the drab house.... and so it began.

Several, several years later (and two more houses which she has decorated for me), we are still friends. Her company, L&M Design, has grown to be a reknowned company not just in this area, but nationally. And now Lynni is working on a project of a lifetime... the Charity Works Green House. (www.charityworksgreenhouse.com).

All my readers MUST look up this project. It is a basic idea of building a "green" house in McLean, Virginia, using several noted decorators and designers that is a serious touch of luxury. I mean... If you can prove that a bigger house than the usual-sized green houses can work and look great and be (Did they say 80% more efficient than the average house per sq footage?), then this would draw some BIG attention.

And golf balls?

Oh? Lynni decided to ask me to provide some photos for the fun "virtual golf" room (you have to read about this!). These will be four small themed shots and a larger shot to go in the room.

And me... my friend, Lynni, I am having a ball!