Join in, help out

This is my "sticker" for the pledge that I'll be doing today at Starbucks. I'm pledging to put in 5 volunteer hours in my community. What do I do already? I volunteer to do videotaping for a group called The Black Pioneers of Niagara Falls. They are a group of African American citizens of the Niagara Falls area who have incredible stories to tell of their migration North in the early 20th century. I've done some editing of the dvds and a presentation with some of the co-founders of the group. I also bring food to our church food pantry and my kids love to get involved in this. It really has brought about some discussions about having and not having "enough". My kids now realize that some people in our city don't have enough to eat.

I need to do more, though. Of course, I should put in more volunteer hours, but this will get the ball rolling. You have until the 26th if you would like to get involved, too.

my young photo assistant

I started my shop on Etsy, jenniferdennispotter in March and since then, my kids, especially my son (pictured) have wanted to get in on the fun. Etsy has given me a way to be with my kids, create my work, and have it seen. My latest body of work has been my toy series. I've been using small toy animals in studio or realistic settings to create little scenes. A typical afternoon for us may be: taking the dog and the little toy animals to the park for a hike and to take photos. My son will clear away little sticks, brush and other things that impede the look of the photo at my request, feels like a big helper and learns some things about photography as we work. We look for just the right moss, just the right light, just the right pose of the deer. After he is asleep at night, I edit the image in Photoshop and post it to Etsy, if it's worthy. If not, we've still had a great hike and the chance to work together.