As reluctant as I am to admit it, I am a small town girl. I grew up in Southern Mississippi. It really doesn't get farther down south than spending 19 years of your life at one of the southern-most parts of the US, wandering the beaches and rivers.
Of course, Memphis is only a six hour getaway, but it is still completely different. Compared to Chicago and New York, Memphis is not a big city. Compared to Biloxi, Memphis is an enormous city. I plan on living in a big city one day, any time I've ever been to anything resembling a big city I've wanted more. Right now, during my four years I'll spend at the Memphis College of Art, Memphis is the perfect size. It's also very relaxed compared to the hustle and bustle of somewhere like New York. Yet, you will never run out of things to do or places to go. I especially love that most of the city is dedicated to art, everything from the local coffee shops to the boutiques, the malls, and high end restaurants feature some time of art, most of it local. The art scene is wonderful here.
I went to my first ever gallery show the other day. It was incredible. It was all young, local artists who each had something to say. The art was so different than what I was used to back home. I was standing there in front of an amazing painting that was twice my height thinking "This is art."
Where I'm from, we have a city called Ocean Springs. It is where you can find all the local art. It's all mostly paintings of the area, the ocean, sea life, things like that. Or pottery that had to do with the same subject. Nobody really had galleries, and art supply stores were scarce. When I mention to anyone where I'm from that I'm going to art school, they immediately want a painting of a crab, or boat dock.
Please. I don't even paint. I'm a photographer, I capture the beauty in everyday life. I know hundreds upon thousands of people have said that before me, but I stand by it. Fashion Photography is my favorite, distorting the everyday beauty and making it intriguing to the human mind and interest.
Art is a form of expression, art has meaning, it tells a story. You may not always know what the meaning is, or what story it's telling, but it's there. If you're at a gallery staring blankly at a painting, ask the artist what it's about. I'm sure they'll gladly tell you, unless it's something very personal.
There was a painting the other night of a huge black and white hand catching a red sheet with mannequin legs wrapped in it. I loved it. There was also one display with actual grass, on one side was a tv displaying photos of the sunrise, the opposite side had a tv with photos of the sunset. Behind each tv was a news headline painted in huge blue letters. My favorite at the show.
She's a fabulous fashionista from Brooklyn with a knack for clothes, makeup, and music. She's an aspiring singer. Her music is poppy and very Lady Gaga-esque. Her style is impeccable. She recently started her own cosmetics line called Lime Crime. 
