Upcoming Artist Residency and Time Away

Obligatory Grand Canyon Arizona photograph, circa early 1990's from an archive that I had forgotten that I had

Just in case you haven't heard about this in my email newsletter last month or my other sites, I will be going on an artist residency at Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona in November. Because of this, I will of course not be here next to my printer and able to make prints for clients or collectors during that time.

I'll be gone from next Wednesday, October 28th, until November 17th. If you have prints you need made before or during that time, please contact me as soon as you are able (and definitely by this coming Friday) and I will do everything I can to get them completed before my departure.

I'm very excited about this opportunity -- a time of dedicated focus on my own photography, and in a part of the country I've never seen. I can't wait to see what comes out of it.

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

"Untitled #1"

I'm excited to reveal one of my new projects this year -- East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I've included the first twelve images from this project in a gallery on my website.

As for what it is about, please find my project statement below:

Stories of distant and mysterious lands have stirred my imagination since I was a young child, curled up each day with some type of escapist literature, whether it be mythology, fairy tales, or fantasy. In these stories, the best and most interesting worlds were those that were difficult to reach for the protagonist. Even now, when I am immersed in the natural world of this planet, I am still seeking glimpses of those alternative worlds with my photography.

A famous Norwegian tale talks of a young woman who sets off in search of her prince, who has been banished to the castle of his wicked stepmother. The young woman knows only that the castle is located east of the sun and west of the moon and, after many adventures and false steps, she reaches this difficult-to-find castle and rescues the prince. A place that is east of the sun and west of the moon has been known since as a place that is effectively part of another world and notoriously hard to reach.

In this project, I seek out landscapes that are evocative of another world, that seem to be of a different universe, time, or place than our own. Like those stories that fed my imagination in my own youth, these landscapes are portals to lands that lay east of the sun and west of the moon.

Critical Mass Finalist

I've also been remiss in mentioning my recent selection as a finalist for the 2015 Critical Mass Awards. Congratulations also to other finalists, including Christopher Chadbourne, Kathryn Oliver, and Ralph Hassenpflug!

More about this tomorrow, but I submitted a new body of work for this competition. Stay tuned for more details...

Abstract Exhibition at Filter Space in Chicago

Pyrotechnic #141

I'm a bit late in announcing this, but I'm very pleased to be included in current Abstract exhibition at Filter Space that is part of the Filter Festival in Chicago. The exhibition was jurored by Debra Klomp Ching. 

The exhibition extends until October 22nd, 2015. I wish I could see it in person, but if you are in Chicago and want to forget about the Bears season, the show should be great.

Two New September Exhibitions in Maine

"Autumn Moon I"

I'm excited to announce two new exhibitions that include my work. Already open in Portland, VoxPhotographs has its Timber exhibition up, and it continues through October. The exhibition includes work from a wide variety of artists and one large piece from my Adventures in Celestial Mechanics series. You can also view the exhibition online from their website.

Three large prints from my Adventures in Celestial Mechanics series are also included in the upcoming "Focusing on Natural History" exhibition at the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley, ME. The exhibition extends from September 15th through December 30th, 2015, with an artist reception on September 19th from 2-4 pm.

Artist Residency at Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, Copyright Jim Nickelson

I'm honored to have been selected as one of the 2015 Artists-in-Residence at Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona. The park, situated in southeast Arizona, is well-known for its dark skies, and I can't wait to photograph a landscape that is pretty much the opposite of the Maine landscape I've come know so well.

My residency is the first half of November, roughly speaking. I've never been to the park so I definitely look forward to checking out that area. I've include a photograph from many years ago in Utah -- not to be misleading, but it is the closest photograph I have to the landscape that awaits me in Arizona.

Making Meaning at Drift Gallery

"Pyrotechnic #185"

I'm very excited to announce an exciting and imminent exhibition at the Drift Gallery in Portsmouth, NH. Eleven pieces from my Pyrotechnic series will be on display along with pieces from three others artists (drawings, sculpture, paintings) in the Making Meaning exhibition.

The exhibition opens this Saturday, August 1st and extends through September 13th, 2015. I'll be at the opening reception from 5-8 pm this Saturday. Hope to see you there!

CMCA Art to Collect Now Exhibition & Auction

Pyrotechnic #47

A photograph from my Pyrotechnic series will be included in the upcoming CMCA Art to Collect NOW: 38th Annual Auction and Exhibition. This fundraiser for the Center for Maine Contemporary Art kicks off with an opening reception this Wednesday, July 15th, from 5-7 pm at the CMCA's temporary Bicknell location (see the website for more details).

The exhibition will be brief, extending until the 25th, and then will be followed up with the auction itself on July 26th. This is always a big event, and with pieces from 100 artists involved, you'll get to see lots of great art (and hopefully bid on some as well)!

Shaw in Northeast Harbor

Shaw Contemporary Jewelry in Northeast Harbor, ME, is a well-known location to see great art of all types. My work will be included in this summer's shows (all featuring Mount Desert Island, or MDI to locals). If you are in that neck of the woods, make sure to drop by to see what they have up.

Here's the flyer (with an image from my Adventures in Celestial Mechanics series featured) for the summer shows and the next opening reception on July 30th (4:30-6:30 pm).

Buddha Moon

Buddha Moon I

I recently released my newest photographs from my Adventures in Celestial Mechanics project. I'm quite taken with these photographs of May's full moon and I chose the name Buddha Moon for this group of work amongst names from many traditions. May's full moon is considered the most important in the Buddhist tradition as the full moon of Buddha's death and rebirth.

Buddha Moon II

Buddha Moon III

Art Meets Science 2015

"Pyrotechnic #90", Copyright Jim Nickelson. All Rights Reserved.

I'm excited to be included in the upcoming Art Meets Science 2015 exhibition at the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, ME. Four of my Pyrotechnic photographs are included in the exhibition. There is an opening next Thursday night, July 9th, from 5-7 pm. I'll be attending the opening reception, and I hope to see some of you there!

Vacationland Exhibition at VoxPhotographs

Just opening up yesterday, VoxPhotographs in Portland has their Vacationland exhibition up now. The exhibition features 7 of my Pyrotechnic photographs and will remain up until August 20th. It looks to be a great show and I look forward to seeing all the included work!

Landscape Exhibition at Center for Fine Art Photography

"Rice Moon I"

...and in another upcoming exhibition, my photograph Rice Moon I is included in the upcoming "Landscape" exhibition at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Ft. Collins, CO. The opening reception is this Friday night (6-9 pm) and the exhibition extends until July 18th. I won't be able to make the opening, unfortunately, though I'd love to be out visiting Colorado.

PhoPa Opening Tomorrow Night, June 4th, 5-7 pm

"Codex Natura #1"

Tomorrow night at Portland's PhoPa Gallery, I'll be joining five other photographers at the opening reception (5-7 pm) of a brief, but exciting, exhibition. The exhibition features the work that all six of us completed for the Maine Media Workshops + College Projects class. I've seen this work develop over the past 10 weeks and the included photographers have produced some amazing work, so if you get a chance to see this exhibition before it closes on the 6th I highly recommend it. Hope to see you there!

Portfolio Walk this weekend at Boston's 555 Gallery

"Pyrotechnic #128", Copyright Jim Nickelson. All Rights Reserved.

I'll be heading down to Boston this weekend for a portfolio "walk" at 555 Gallery in South Boston on Saturday, 2-5 pm. The current exhibition at 555 Gallery is The Personal Portfolio, featuring work from each gallery artist.

On Saturday a group of photographers, including myself, will be there to show portfolios and answer questions. I can't wait to see the portfolios of the other artists, and I hope to see many of you down there.

If you can't make the portfolio walk this weekend, the exhibition extends until June 20th.

Kingman Gallery in Deer Isle

"Kindly Moon II", Copyright Jim Nickelson. All Rights Reserved.

The lovely Kingman Gallery in Deer Isle opened for its second year over Memorial Day weekend. My work, along with that of many great photographers, will be on display there throughout the summer. It is definitely worth a visit!

The Night Sky at Acadia National Park

"Nightsong #15", Copyright Jim Nickelson. All Rights Reserved.

The Night Sky at Acadia National Park is the name of an exciting new workshop I'm teaching with Maine Media Workshops. The workshop (September 20th - 26th) will be a destination workshop and will take place in its entirety within Acadia. We will be based out on Schoodic Point in the same facility where I had my 19-day Acadia National Park artist residency last year.

So, a night photography workshop located in one of the most beautiful places in Maine, at the perfect time of year for being out at night, and with some of the darkest skies on the East Coast? This should be a perfect opportunity to shoot the night skies.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, and you can find out more and sign up here.

The course description is below:

The night skies of Maine await. Learn techniques and timing to create powerful images at night from one of the darkest locations on the East Coast, Acadia National Park. Acadia National Park (and Schoodic Point, base for this workshop) provides many of the best night photography locations in Maine, providing dramatic mountains, forest, and coastline combined with dark skies.

This course is designed for students interested in exploring the possibilities of photographing the landscape at night as well as the night skies. Night landscape photography provides students with an exciting new perspective on the landscape, allowing students to create photographs that have a mood and look all their own. By expanding their repertoire with night photography, photographers can push their technical and creative limits, and thus learn techniques and skills that can be applied to all of their creative work.

Photographing at night presents many challenges both in technique at the time of shooting, and in unique aspects in processing the images in the digital darkroom and creating fine prints. Students will gain an understanding of how to use the best techniques in the field to maximize the possible quality of the resulting photographs, both technically and compositionally. Students will also learn how to properly process and prepare night photographs, with all their subtleties and characteristics, for display and print.

The class will combine significant time in the field in the evening and at night with the remaining time being spent either in the digital darkroom or in a workshop setting discussing technique, composition, and reviewing and discussing images.

The New Masters

I'm a bit late in mentioning this, but I was very honored to be included in the recent list of the New Masters from the Maine Home+Design 2015 Art Issue.

The list, put together by Susan Grisanti and Bruce Brown, highlighted artists in Maine "who are beyond being newly discovered and on their way to becoming the next group of Maine masters". All such lists are of course subjective, but I'm pleased to be in good company with the many fine artists on the list.

Work on Display in Portland & Boston with VoxPhotographs and 555 Gallery

"Dog Days Moon I", Copyright Jim Nickelson. All Rights Reserved.

You can see my photographs in person at two locations this coming weekend. At VoxPhotographs in Portland, a new exhibit, Natural, opens Thursday night and includes a 24"x24" print of Dog Days Moon I above. There is an opening reception Thursday night from 5-7 pm and the exhibition extends until May 26th. I unfortunately won't be able to make it, but they are always a good time.

555 Gallery will have a booth at this weekend's Art & Design 20/21 and The Boston Print Fair (March 26th-29th). The Gallery will have a large selection of my photographs available, both framed and unframed.

Grand Prize with the New York Center for Photographic Art

"Pyrotechnic #141", Copyright Jim Nickelson. All Rights Reserved.

I'm quite honored to have my photograph Pyrotechnic #141 selected as the Grand Prize winner by juror Debra Klomp Ching at the recent Wandering Curves exhibition with the New York Center for Photographic Art. My Pyrotechnic #35 photograph was also selected as an Honorable Mention.

The exhibition is an online one so you can peruse all the selected images. These look so much better in print, of course! You can see my Pyrotechnic series on my website and if you'd like to see it in person, please contact me and we'll set something up.