Rose Franzen - Queen of Maquoketa, Iowa!

Rose Franzen is from Maquoketa, Iowa...not very far from where I grew up. In fact, my daughter Jenna and her daughter Caroline Louise live in Maquoketa, where Jenna has been working at the library for over ten years. A few years ago, Rose decided to paint as many people's portraits in Maquoketa as she could. The Iowa Arts Council wisely gave her a project grant. The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC is currently exhibiting Rose's "Portrait of Maquoketa", a collection of 180 paintings. The exhibition can be seen until July 2010. I know Rose Franzen and she is a talented and deserving artist. Calling national attention to her small home town of Maquoketa is making people feel very proud they are from Maquoketa. This project also is helping the town move forward - as the community has been struggling with economic and cultural problems. Rose's portraits are a reminder of the power of the people in a community.

Farnham Galleries - Simpson College

This exhibition will be shown in two galleries. One gallery will have a large body of older work entitled "The Lost Nation Photographs". The second gallery will be a monumental photo installation of new work entitled "Heaven and Earth". There will be an Opening Reception and Gallery Presentation on Monday, January 11th, 2010 in the Farnham Galleries at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. The exhibitions run from January 11th through February 5th, 2010.

More Photos

Originally uploaded by playbsides

The Mill, Iowa City - Art in the Back Room

Originally uploaded by playbsides

Pieta Brown invited three artists to show some of their work at the Mill during her three night residency "This Land is Your Music". The music each night was really special - great evenings! My installation was a mix of old and new. Thanks Pieta for inviting me.

Danny Wilcox Frazier Wins an Aftermath Grant!

Congratulations Danny! I knew you when....(we went to U of Iowa together) Danny is one amazing talented photographer. His first book of black and white photography "Driftless: Stories from Iowa" won the Honickman First Book Prize a few years ago. A few days ago, he was awarded a $20,000 grant for his newest project "Wounded Knee: Generations Endure a Massacre".

DIRTY BIRDIES VINTAGE - new Blog!

DIRTY BIRDIES UNIQUE BOUTIQUE -my daughters are flying in high profile. Check out their brand new blog!

Talia Leman - HERO in United Airlines Hemispheres

I drove to Des Moines one pretty gloomy and chilly fall day to photograph Talia Leman. Talia is a very special young woman. When she was only 10 years old, she started a project called TLC to help the people who were hit by hurricanes, Katrina & Rita. She raised ten million dollars. She then founded RandomKid.org. Talia is featured in United Airlines Inflight Magazine - Hemispheres-- in a section they call HERO.

Joan in Her Turquoise Dress

Joan in Her Turquoise Dress, near Bellevue, Iowa was selected by Aline Smithson, the juror for an On-Line Gallery of the PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont. BLUE: An Exhibition of Photographs About a Color will be shown in their On-Line Gallery Annex and also included in a forthcoming exhibition catalog.

Minneapolis Photo Center - PORTRAITS

Susan and the Red Tomato, near Andrew, Iowa was chosen by David Little, MIA Curator of Photography and juror for the Portraits exhibition to be held from January 2nd through February 14th, 2010 at the Minneapolis Photo Center. The reception will be held January 8th, 2010 from 6-9 pm. There were over 1,500 entries submitted and David Little chose 79 images.

Bo Ramsey In the Weeds

Video featuring Bo Ramsey - made in 2000.

Iowa City People

Katie Roche, creator and director of "Iowa City People" interviewed me for a brand new program on our local government channel 4. You can see it in pieces on youtube. Katie Roche is a musician and friend of mine - an artist I admire. You can watch the interview on youtube in three parts or go to the government channel for local time schedules on TV. Iowa City People - Sandy Dyas part one, two and three all on youtube.com

The 50 States Project

NEW WORK - SEE the latest edition of the fabulous 50 States Project. My contribution is a photograph of Jamie Elizabeth - my youngest daughter.