OUR COMMON HOURS

Kelli Ann Wilson April 7, 2015

artist // roxanne copeland

A lot of photographers, when asked who their influences are, might name someone like Ansel Adams or Dorothea Lange. What’s interesting to me is that I’ve never really been drawn to the work of “famous” photographers; my biggest photography role model has always been my own mother, Roxanne Copeland. I decided that I wanted to do a feature on her work, and so I started looking back through some of her earlier pictures that she did on film. I was amazed, stunned, and completely in awe of her talent! And, the funny thing is that, looking back at these photos (a lot of which were taken during my childhood), I can so clearly see the influence of her work on my own picture-making efforts. Some of these pictures I’ve knocked off without even knowing it! I hope you enjoy seeing this little slice of my mom’s talent — which, I might remind you, was all done on FILM — and I’ll be back with a follow-up of her digital work sometime soon.

Kelli Ann Wilson April 6, 2015

our week // vol 6

Because I love the world
I think of grass,
I think of leaves
and the bold sun…
– – –
Teacher, what do you mean?
But faith is still there, and silent.
– – –
And who else could this be, who goes off
down the green path,
carrying His sandals, and singing?
— from “Spring” by Mary Oliver

(you should really read the whole poem; it’s wonderful)

Kelli Ann Wilson April 3, 2015

13 // 52

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2015.”

Lillia: This week you were really excited about April Fool’s Day. On Monday afternoon, you and your friend spent a long time thinking up ways to prank your classmates (all of your ideas were good-natured fun, not cruel tricks). My favorite one was the “quarter nose trick” in which you color the edge of a quarter ahead of time with a pencil, and then ask your unsuspecting victim to roll the quarter down his or her nose, thus making a graphite line on their nose. I hear you fooled many people with that one! You’ve always had a goofy side — you really take after my mother in that way 🙂

Zane: This week you’re sick again, but I am just so completely done with writing about illnesses. So, I’m going to share some conversations that we had this week instead. Three year-olds are the perfect mixture of burgeoning intelligence and sweet naivete.

[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]Conversation #1:
playing with a Duplo garbage truck
Zane: I’m doomed!
Me: Doomed?
Zane: Yes, that’s another way to say you’re full of trash.
[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Conversation #2:
listening to birds singing
Me: They are all trying to find mates.
Zane: I’m a bird mate!
Me: You’re a bird mate?
Zane: Yes, I LOVE birds!
[/ezcol_1half_end]

Kelli Ann Wilson March 27, 2015

our week // vol 5

I wonder if the sap is stirring yet,
If wintry birds are dreaming of a mate,
If frozen snowdrops feel as yet the sun
And crocus fires are kindling one by one:
Sing robin, sing:
I still am sore in doubt concerning Spring.
— Christina Rossetti

Kelli Ann Wilson March 27, 2015

12 // 52

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2015.”

Lillia: This week you have been working extra hard on your homework and other school work. You got your report card last Friday and you got all A’s and A+’s, except for one B+ in Science. That B+ really bothers you, and I can understand that. When I was your age I was definitely very concerned about getting good grades. But, the important thing is really to learn the material. Grades aren’t always an accurate reflection of what you know, and the learning is more important than the letter on the paper, for sure. We were all impressed with your grades, but the bit that impressed me the most was your math score on your most recent standardized test. You went from the 80th percentile in September to the 95th percentile this month — that is a HUGE jump! I know you weren’t thrilled about being in math remediation, but clearly it has been helpful. Your hard work has really paid off and I hope you are very proud of yourself. [Note: Lillia is holding a drawing she did of Joseph Stalin for a research paper — she’s doing an oral report on him today.]

Zane: This week you got the tummy bug that has been going around at your school. Thankfully, it was a one and done sort of situation, and now you are feeling much better. The snow is starting to melt and we took a walk around the block so that we could check each and every drain to see how the water was running. You really need some rain paints because you’ve been coming in from outside just absolutely drenched from head to toe! The best part of your week was when the kids down the street invited you to ride your tricycle with them; they are 7 and 9 years-old, so it was a real treat to hang out with the “big kids.” Right now the age gap seems massive, but in a couple of years you’ll have no problem keeping up with them.