After the International Print Competition 2020 concluded, I had one goal on my mind - earning the 8 merits it would take to be eligible for my Master Artist Degree. This meant setting another high goal - having all 4 of my Artist entries earn “Imaging Excellence” in the 2021 IPC.

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Over the 11 months between IPC’s, I created. Using a Wacom tablet and Adobe Photoshop, I’d scroll through my photo archives and let inspiration strike. Sometimes it happened while I was working on one project, so I’d start another. I have many unfinished pieces, works in progress, and some semi finished but I was never happy with them. The art that felt done was entered into a print competition. I made a google doc of all the upcoming events via printcompetition.com, and I was able to play different pieces across the country to attain invaluable feedback from the judges. I kept track of how things scored, comments made, and what art judges had seen. Some were complete trash (now available as outrageously expensive NFTs!) others did remarkably well. Anything that scored over 90 went into an IPC possibilities folder. Mid to high 80s went into a folder for an album I had in mind.

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The plan was to create a fantasy field guide with my other creatures. I had started to build stories for each of them, figuring that since they all live in the universe of my imagination, I’d be able to find a way to tie them all together. I hadn’t started designing a page yet the first day of meeting with my American Society of Photographers Mentor Chris Richman. Chosen for a “Print Competition” mentorship, we knew little about one another and seemed a rather unlikely pair. I had never shown anyone the body of work, and it was a bit intimidating to spill my guts, but Chris was the perfect person to take in all the creative crazy I unleashed on her that first meeting. After listening, she said “So, your main goal is the album.” I said “No, it is the Artist Degree.” She was right.

Let me mention here that Chris spent twenty years as a senior research scientist, so thank you universe again for blessing me with an artistic scientist to help guide me!

After getting my artist/portrait open cases on track, it was time to start the field guide. I designed two pages, the red phoenix and flamingo. I had envisioned the pages showing the original stage, at least 1 stage of the change towards the finished product, if not multiple, as well as traits, some detailed close ups, origins, and an ancient rune to conjure the animal. That’s all. LOL. Chris Richman coached my mind into a streamlined presentation, and encouraged the cohesion vs. the chaotic. She helped me focus on details, consistency, and her well trained eye spotted bloops. Chris is a brilliant educator & mentor, she never pushed her style or what she would do on me, she gave suggestions and let me find my way with them, and I am so fortunate for the hours spent with her.

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After finishing a few more pages, I could see it had to be all birds. Some of them had been entered in print competitions throughout the past year, some were created brand new for the album. The names and information on each spread relate to the animal or original plant. The final owl incorporates all the colors from throughout the book.

“Metamorphosis” was awarded “Imaging Excellence” in the General Album category at the 2021 International Print Competition, and will be included in the Professional Photographers of America’s “Imaging Excellence” book, showcasing the best of the best from this year's competition.

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It has also been named a “Grand Imaging Award” finalist, one of 120 pieces chosen out of the 5000+ entries, a highly coveted honor.

Thank you my loved ones that supported, appreciated, and guided me along the way. “Metamorphosis” is a work of love & dedication.