Jennifer B Hudson

Hello All!!

Well, I’m not even sure where to start.  What a glorious, glorious weekend.  It began with the road trip of all road trips.  Three girls empowered by a rented SUV, high tailing it across New Mexico, and into the uncharted, tiny mountain roads of Colorado.  It was the real deal.  Feet on the dashboard, windows rolled down, singing bluegrass in three part harmony at the top of our lungs, laughing until tears roll down our cheeks, roadside photo ops, breathtaking scenery, cheese-its and chocolate, and group hugs.  What more can you ask for?  Ten or so hours of road tripping, and we arrived at the gate of the Motherwell Ranch near Hayden, Colorado…our paradise for the next three days.  A half hour drive up an aspen-lined, windy mountain path delivered us to a grand, proud, exquisite mountain lodge overlooking a glassy lake surrounded by thousands of towering pines. Nearby, along little hiking trails, are the luxury tents and guest cabins.  We were immediately greeted by the amazing staff of the ranch, who have become family to us. We met Brian the director,  Clay the hunting manager, (both resident cowboys turned location scouts and photographic assistants), and Jackson, the (amazing) chef.  Like magic, the car was unloaded and we were jet setting around the property on a four-wheeler to choose locations for our sessions, gasping at the absolute beauty that surrounded us.  Like clockwork, workshop attendees began to arrive at the ranch and were made to feel at home at the lodge as we all met over wine and Jackson’s wonderful homemade stew.  By midnight we were all snug, tucked in to our cabins and tents, anxiously awaiting what the next day would bring.

6 am and I truly couldn’t believe the aroma coming from the kitchen.  It’s been a long time since I got out of bed for breakfast, but this one did the trick.  Incredible spread of meats, breads, eggs, fruits, yogurts, you name it.  I believe Jackson received four marriage proposals before lunch.  Our workshop began with a morning meeting in the lodge, sharing ideas, hundreds of images, motivations, and inspirations.  After an amazing lunch, we piled onto four wheelers and headed out to one of my favorite sessions, the studio in the woods.  We photographed exquisite figure studies under a white canopy, surrounded by gorgeous grasses and mountain landscape.  Our four models lodged with us for the weekend and were just incredible.  Beautiful, unique, and an absolute joy to work with.  After our afternoon break, we all took nature walks, gathering flora for head adornments to be worn in our evening session.  Everyone brought back pieces they had discovered during their walk, and I created wreaths for the models to wear from everyone’s contribution.  On the porch, we made ten minute couture gowns from fabric, pins, ribbon, and binder clamps.  We then headed into the woods for a breathtaking couture session with Harry, a simply amazing horse who must add high fashion modeling to his long list of accomplishments.  We photographed until nearly dusk, then headed back to the lodge for dinner. Dinner, the best meal I’ve had in a good year, a meal that rivals any I’ve had in New York City, I mean, even Boston.  It was that good.  Everyone gathered around the bar and pool table upstairs after dinner, and we had some great laughs.  A beautiful day, and we were all ready for another one.

6 am.  I smell grits, and I can tell they have bacon and cheese in them.  I’m up.  Jackson has now received at a minimum 10 marriage proposals.

It’s a full day.  We began with making dye transfers and in the morning, then off to a beautiful session at the bottom of the mountain in an old barn.  We costumed the models in slip clay, cloth, and volcanic ash and bathed them in natural light. It was a spiritual experience, it was so beautiful.  A lunch to die for, and then the water sessions.  We built our tank below the balcony of the lodge under a lovely cloudy sky and made wonderful images of models floating in shallow water.  A gorgeous afternoon rain shower came just in time for our break, cooled everything down, and the land just came alive.  We boarded four wheelers and headed out for our last session, a sculptural session with magnificent skulls and antlers gathered from the Motherwell property.  It was just beautiful, and such fun.  Photographing out there just made you want to twirl.

Another un-believeable dinner in the cozy lodge, and then together again upstairs for drinks.  It was just joy.  What an amazing couple of days.  Our third day is digital artmaking, photoshop technique, and image finishing.  At 12 pm, the shuttle was boarded, and everyone was headed down the mountain.  It was so quiet, and I instantly missed everyone.

The beauty of these workshops is the people, and discovering kindred spirits I would otherwise never know.  This one enchanted somehow.  I still miss everyone.  This was like summer camp as a kid, it was magical.  Unforgettable.  These folks are family now.  I’m just blessed to know them all.

The biggest, truest, most heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in this workshop.  Thank you to Brian and Clay for the incredible amount of labor you put into making this all come together.  My beautiful friends Aziza and Cornelia glued this whole thing together, and I’m so grateful.  Aziza assisted every session, and Cornelia was our fantastic hair and makeup artist.

Below are images I created during the workshop, and a group image of us all.

Thank you, everyone, for the joy.  I really needed to twirl again.

Hi All,

I thought it may be nice to share a few images I created with my beautiful friends a few weeks ago. I’ve been wanting to experiment with ash and powders on the face for a while, so here’s a few from the session. These were just made for joy, I hope they can find their way into someone’s heart out there!

Jenn

So, I suppose I’ve sort of been in hiding for, well, nearly a year.  What on earth have I been up to, stranded in the middle of the desert, wandering aimlessly in New Mexico?  Well, I’ve made some things, I’ve tried some things, and despised them…enough that I haven’t shared them.  But I figure it’s time.  Now that I’m able to circle around and look at these from afar, I can see that there is something in here, like a jumping off point.  I’m working on a large scale installation now.  I’m covering an entire room and all of it’s furnishings in white fabric, strip by strip. My heart is starting to feel all swelled up again.  I’m getting somewhere with it.  I just needed to fail first.

Installation photographs, coming soon.  For now, a few struggles. Maybe there is something here for someone out there.

 

 

–SOLD OUT– PLEASE EMAIL TO BE PLACED ON THE WAITING LIST.

Uncover your voice, immerse yourself in rich creativity, and find courage, surrounded by a magical, spiritual place. This is a place of strength and community, respite and enrichment. Join us for an intense and invigorating workshop experience that promises to refresh, enliven, and challenge you, and inspire you with incredibly beautiful and personal photographic, styling, crafting, and printing techniques.

Find warmth and serenity at Motherwell Ranch, a private breathtaking mountain paradise. Enjoy luxury accommodations, a personal chef, open bar, fishing, horseback riding, hiking trails, and exquisite mountain views.  This is a place to re-center, refresh, and create.

Become inspired by four unique sessions featuring stunning models photographed amongst breathtaking landscape.  Explore Jenn’s unusual photographic methods and artistic processes, as she guides you through each session, asking and answering questions, and creating images interactively. Learn some of Jenn’s artistic processes in posing, lighting, styling, costuming, set design, and fine photographic technique. Learn to create a portable outdoor studio, a hauntingly beautiful set with a shallow tank of water, and digital tintypes as we costume and photograph models amongst horses, wild elk, and inspiring natural surroundings. Monday, learn interactively as Jenn shares her digital finishing and styling methods for antiquing her images and preparing them for printing.

Come relax, refocus, and energize your love for this incredible craft in this intimate, personal, and resonant climate. We are excited for a wonderful new group of photographic artists and thinkers, and truly look forward this great adventure together.

Cost for the workshop is $1500 and is all-inclusive.  Tuition, luxury accommodations for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening, all meals and cocktails for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning, ranch activities including horseback riding, and transportation to and from the airport are included. Tuition is collected at the time of reservation, and is non-refundable.  If you are unable to fulfill your reservation and we are able to fill it with someone on our waiting list, we are happy to reimburse you.

Motherwell Ranch is located just outside of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  Guests may fly into either Denver International airport, or Yampa Valley Regional Airport.  A shuttle will be provided from Denver International on Friday evening prior to the workshop, and to Denver International on Monday afternoon at the close of the workshop.  Yampa Valley Regional Airport is minutes from the gate of Motherwell Ranch.

Space is limited to 15 students, and is filled on a first come, first serve basis.

Please email us to make your reservation at olivegirl@me.com

www.motherwellranch.com  www.facebook.com/motherwellranch

 

 

 

Hello Friends,

Well, it’s been an awfully long while.  I have been a shamefully un-attentive blogger.  My new-year’s resolution is for a life less frantic, though, and so far, so good.  I’m re-ordering life a bit, catching my breath, and putting things back in place that have fallen by the wayside a bit.  So I’m writing here, I have missed it a lot.  I’ve missed sharing images and thoughts and experiences and things.  So I thought I’d start by catching up and sharing some things that were left behind, and we’ll kind of go from there.

Here are some images from this summer’s workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico that I captured of our stunning, stunning models. Thank you again to the class who made the journey out to Santa Fe for this workshop…even braved a monsoon with us.  It is a joy…or a mystery sometimes to turn back and look at images photographed a while ago and stand in the shoes of the old self that made them.  These are a special lot I think.  What an incredible group of women I had the opportunity to photograph.

Stay tuned if you will, I will be writing soon about a women’s portraiture weekend with a few slots for portraits, if you’re interested in having your photograph made as an individual, or with a friend, mother, or daughter.  There may be a workshop in the mix too…that over-committing thing is a problem for me…so I’m working all that out.  Thank you for all of your interest in them!  I’m ironing out the summer schedule.

Happy Happy New Year, everyone!  Tons of Blessings to you all!