Sheila Bocchine, Photographer

During a wild storm this summer in Phoenix, a very old Saguaro cactus was struck by lightening and fell to the ground in Papago Park. Gary and I went to document and pay farewell to this giant desert dweller with memorial photographs. It had over 14 arms and 46 holes (home to many desert creatures)… and those numbers are just what we could see, who knows how many more arms and holes were on the other side. Farewell gorgeous beautiful cactus! You will be missed!

Wow, there are so many amazing things happening right now! It’s a very exciting time for this pinhole photographer!

OPENING THIS FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK, OCTOBER 3rd:

*I curated an exhibit that is opening on Friday October 3rd, 6-10pm, at the Bragg’s Pie Factory on Grand Ave (just south of the Roosevelt/Grand/15th Ave tri-section). It’s called ‘Mysterious: simultaneously arousing wonder and inquisitiveness’  and features 10 local photographers, an installation and day of the dead alters. A jazz band will be playing and Ashley Celeste will be giving readings. I hope to see you there!

*Also opening this Friday is Chaos Theory 9, at Legend City, 6pm to Midnight. 521 West Van Buren, just a few blocks south of the Mysterious Exhibit. I look forward to this exhibit every year! I’ll have a HUGE pinhole portrait in the exhibit! I’ll be getting to this opening around 10pm.

Two neat things that have happened in the last week:

*We photographed a wonderful event at the Polly Larsen Gallery in Scottsdale last week for Envita and Fullness of Life Foundation. I really love those two organizations. There is such a wonderful energy when you’re in a room full of people who love helping other people. If you’re sick and you’ve been told there is nothing else you can do besides die… don’t listen to them!!! GO TO ENVITA!!!! Their alternative practices give new hope to patients. We’ve been donating our time to their organization for 2 years now and will continue to support them. If you check them out and like what you see, they are having a benefit concert at the Orpheum Theater on October 25th. Gary and I will definitely be there!

*Rainbows From Heaven a fabulous little shop on the NE Corner of University and Rural in Tempe, has an Oxygen Bar! Yes, an Oxygen Bar. Gary and I have been twice since Friday night. On Monday’s from 3-7pm they have Oxygen Bar Happy Hour and you can get 15 minutes of delicious, fresh, flavorful (or plain) Oxygen for only $5!!! We’ll be going every Monday. After 15 minutes you feel so good and the energy boost is quite nice.

During a wild storm this summer in Phoenix, a very old Saguaro cactus was struck by lightening and fell to the ground in Papago Park. Gary and I went to document and pay farewell to this giant desert dweller with memorial photographs. It had over 14 arms and 46 holes (home to many desert creatures)… and those numbers are just what we could see, who knows how many more arms and holes were on the other side. Farewell gorgeous beautiful cactus! You will be missed!

What a wonderful weekend I just had! It actually started on Thursday evening when I went to see my friend Allison Gee give a lecture on Art Appraising at Art on Boston, an art gallery in Chandler. Allison is amazing. If you have art that needs to be appraised, she is definitely the woman to call! Her knowledge of art is astounding and I always learn something incredible from her. Even her thesis work was fascinating, it allowed her to be alone in the conservatory in the Metropolitan Museum of Art with one of Michaelangelo’s earliest sculptures. The best part of her lecture was that she gave me new hope! People are buying art… maybe not so much in the United States right now, but the rest of the world is buying art!

Friday night was equally beautiful when an Intenders Circle happened in my apartment. Thank you friends who were able to make it. I hope you had a blissful experience and that I’ll see you at the next one. I was also gifted the most incredible massage by Ashley later in the evening.  I also learned how to breathe a new way, which I practiced all weekend!

I spent Saturday and Sunday, really doing nothing. Thinking, breathing, daydreaming, relaxing, and watching some television. Today I am refreshed and feel wonderful!

Phoenix!  I just wanted to let you know that First Friday (October 3rd 6-10pm) is coming up and there are two not to be missed exhibits!  I will have new pinhole work in both exhibits.

*Bragg’s Pie Factory – ‘Mysterious: simultaneously arousing wonder and inquisitiveness’. I curated this exhibit and it features 10 local photographers, an installation and day of the dead alters.  Opening night will be complete with a fantastic jazz trio and readings by Ashley Celeste.

*Legend City – ‘Chaos Theory 9′ Quite honestly one of my favorite exhibits of the year!  It’s a wonderful mix of the best local artists, in a gorgeous space!

I don’t know if you can tell what this is without an explanation. I saw a bunch of bugs floating in some water in one of the cactus holes. So naturally I wanted to pinhole them. I think this pinhole is so neat with the bugs and the reflection of the sky in water….

During a wild storm this summer in Phoenix, a very old Saguaro cactus was struck by lightening and fell to the ground in Papago Park. Gary and I went to document and pay farewell to this giant desert dweller with memorial photographs. It had over 14 arms and 46 holes (home to many desert creatures)… and those numbers are just what we could see, who knows how many more arms and holes were on the other side. Farewell gorgeous beautiful cactus! You will be missed!

TODAY is a great day, I can already tell. I woke up in the most marvelous mood, so full of life and energy. I rested well last night. Before I went to bed I started re-reading a book I started a few weeks ago ‘The Code’. A super powerful book indeed, already I can feel a difference by just recalling what I read. The first 40 pages alone answered so many questions for me.

If you’re into intentions and manifestations, join me this Friday!! I belong to this wonderful group, The Intenders Circle, we get together every other Friday evening for delicious vegetarian food (potluck style) and then to share our gratitudes and intentions. I promise you’ll leave with a smile on your face, with new friends and renewed energy. Words cannot describe the experience, you’ll just have to come with me!

During a wild storm this summer in Phoenix, a very old Saguaro cactus was struck by lightening and fell to the ground in Papago Park. Gary and I went to document and pay farewell to this giant desert dweller with memorial photographs. It had over 14 arms and 46 holes (home to many desert creatures)… and those numbers are just what we could see, who knows how many more arms and holes were on the other side. Farewell gorgeous beautiful cactus! You will be missed!

Gary, Emily and I drove out to see the fire that was burning on the west side of Phoenix this past summer. Gary was daring and jumped the fence and walked towards the fire. Emily and I stayed behind, keeping our feet moving due to the GIANT ant hills and equally giant ants.  Check out the blog he wrote this summer! 

SO! I am back and totally refreshed from my vacation. I even took an extra week off. It feels good to be back in Phoenix, although I totally feel in LOVE with Santa Barbara. What a gorgeous city. I am making plans to go back as soon as I can! Radiohead was unbelievable, I am so glad to have shared that experience with Gary, who recently became a Radiohead fan… thanks to moi! Watching their show was like watching a video game, the lights and effects were techno-tastic! San Francisco was gorgeous, but way too cold! I always wanted to move there, but I think I’ll pass after visiting. I’d definitely like to stay a week or longer to fully experience the coastal city, but I would freeze to death if I moved there.

We met some really neat people in California. We couchsurfed with Dawn in Oxnard, spent quite a bit of time talking and photographing One Feather’s art piece in Santa Barbara (photos to come), spent some time with my friend Samantha and her family and went on a photo stroll through Golden Gate Park with Erin Malone.Oh Yes! We also ate at Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco. Some of the best raw food I’ve ever had! I even bought the recipe book and already made the I AM LOVELY apple cobbler! So Yum! Today I’ll be making a strawberry milkshake! I would eat there every day if I lived in SF!

Next stop on my trip was Concordia, Missouri! I spent a wonderful week with my family during the only excitement of the year: Street Fair. Went to my 10 year high school reunion as well… was a little disapointed in the turnout… and then, well, a tornado warning happened and after it was over, half of the people that showed up didn’t return. I did get to see Sarah! I haven’t seen her since her 21st birthday! Liz, Tracy, Sarah, Joel, John, Erin, Melanie…. there were a few more that showed up, but I didn’t even get the chance to talk to them. 

I spent a lot of time at The Hanger, the most awesome music venue in our country, run by my brother. I am so excited for his place… I see great things happening in there. I had the pleasure of listening to some great acoustic music and playing with his white kitty and 6 turtles. I also took a lot of pinhole portraits of my family. I cannot wait to get my film developed, I have about 20 rolls to develop!

All in all, it was a wonderful 3 weeks and now it’s time to get back to work! Daily blogs! Daily flickr photos! Booking wedding jobs! Booking pinhole portraits! Getting work into galleries! Getting great PR in magazines and blogs! I am so grateful that I get to spend all my time doing photography! It’s a pretty powerful feeling!

Oh Yes! One more thing before I forget! On Saturday Gary and I went to Angel’s Serenity, a beautiful store in North Phoenix for their Healing Health Fair. I had a reading by the super gifted Ashley Celeste. You can’t help but smile when you’re around her and her reading was eye opening. The few things I learned I have already started working on. I intend to get weekly readings from her. Then Gary and I had our toes read… Yes, we had our toes read! It’s pretty amazing what your toes can tell you. It was an unforgettable experience, that is for sure. During our toe reading I was also asked a very MAJOR question and have spent the weekend thinking about it. It was so major that every time I open my mouth I stop and think before I say something. I’m not going to tell you what I learned but if you know me well enough, you may notice a slight change!! A very positive change!