I’m overwhelmed by the outpouring of support around the release of Still Life. I consider my online “family” central to my journey. What I have learned is that grief is best dealt with in community. It is not a solitary pursuit. I have a vivid memory of being in Japan, alone, in excruciating pain. When I shared with my online community, the pressure valve opened.
When I posted photographs, I received so much support and affirmation. It was a big deal. It still is. So thank you. “It takes a village” rings so true, not only with our personal losses but with what is happening in the world today. There is comfort in solidarity and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there for me, encouraging me and believing in me.
Here are my book signings thus far. I hope to thank you personally in the coming weeks. What a journey it has been.
#booksignings #newbeginnings #newbook #bookrelease #stilllife
“There is something about being able to capture incredible moments of fleeting beauty that is so satisfying. Photographing the garden is another dimension of the creative act, allowing me to freeze a moment in a garden that is in constant change.” — Jane Fulton Alt
Jane Fulton Alt (@janefultonalt ) transforms grief into renewal in Still Life: A Photographer’s Journey Through Grief and Gardening. After the sudden loss of her husband, Alt turned to the native garden he left behind, discovering in its care a language for mourning, resilience, and love without end. As the artist reflects via link in bio, “The garden and the camera have been my loyal and constant companions.”
Read the full article by Aline Smithson and explore how photography and nature become acts of healing.
I’m thrilled to share that my book, Still Life:A Photographer’s Journey Through Grief and Gardening has been shipped. I’m compiling a list of book signings that I will share soon. I’m packing my bags. Berkeley, NYC, New Orleans and Chicago, here I come! Beyond excited and grateful.
#bookrelease #earthday #aipad #newbook #laboroflove
Savoring the last few days in New Orleans to the soothing sounds of Tom McDermott’s
tickling the ivories.
#neworleans #music #piano @tom_mcdermott_music #concert
Thank you, @alinesmithson for such a beautiful and comprehensive spread in Lenscratch. Link to the review is in the bio.
#bookreview #garden #nativegarden #grief #photography📷
It has been an intense spring with the book
launch. I am grateful for all the support I received along the way. I am rounding the corner and focusing on the transition to Evanston, reminding me of the importance of letting go and the impermanence of everything (giving myself a pep talk).
📷Queen Ann’s Lace, a flower that I associate with my mother….
#queenanneslace #blossom #illuminated #lace #garden
Today! Photo London interview with @wmhuntdbear for @photolondonfair at 12:30 CST. Webinar registration link in the bio. Hope to see you there!
#photolondon #grief #gardening #author #art
I treated myself to a Mother’s Day Jazz Service at the Second Free Mission Baptist Church featuring the one and only Doreen Ketchens, following by lunch at Turkey and the Wolf. It was sublime.
@doreensjazzneworleans #jazz #mothersday #neworleans
I came across this incredible post, Seeds As Antidotes, by @planted_journal and @vivivigliar which I’d like to share. It got me thinking about the miracle of all life forms. Nothing happens alone, it takes two to tango, as they say….
“A seed is the world within itself, I promise of the future, a womb of life, an encounter of elements coming together. In this journal, @vivivgliar reflects on seeds, is metaphors of relationality and reverence. She proposes relationality as the antidote to separation, a way of living grounded in respect, connection, and mutual recognition.
A seed separated from its soil does not become a tree. It simply disappears. If separation is the condition, then relationality is the medicine. At the basis of relationality is a sense of profound respect – a reverence and recognition of the ways in which we are connected.” -Virginia Vigliar, writer and curator.
#connectivity #seeds #connection #nature #seeded
I finally got around to watching the award winning film Hamnet. It was stunning on so many levels. There was a primal immediacy about how the story unfolded and it resonated deeply. I so appreciated an online review by Roger Ebert (dot com) that stated “And the staging of “Hamlet” at the film’s climax provides a powerful argument for art as an opportunity for healing.”
Another outtake from Still Life : A Photographer’s Journey Through Grief and Gardening.
#shoes #grieving #loss #mourning #stilllife
This book seems to have found its wings. I’m trying to keep up with it. Today at 12:30 I will be interviewed live on Wisconsin Public Radio.
On Monday at 12:30 CST I will be in a webinar for Photo London:
Jane Fulton Alt: Still Life, in conversation with W.M. Hunt.
Photographer Jane Fulton Alt joins curator, collector and writer W.M. Hunt to discuss Still Life: A Photographer’s Journey Through Grief and Gardening, a deeply personal project shaped by loss, stewardship and renewal.
Following the sudden death of her husband Howard, Alt took on the native garden he had begun as a response to the climate crisis. Through gardening, image-making and close attention to the natural world, she found a new language for grief and transformation.
The conversation will explore how photography can hold absence, memory and resilience, while considering the garden as both a living ecosystem and a site of emotional reconstruction.
The book was also selected for the book of the month by the Photo London Book Club. It is a gift that keeps on giving. The link for Monday’s webinar is in the bio under links.
This is a photograph of my dear husband, Howard, from May 14, 2017. I am posting it because I am seeing so many posts from the opening of the Venice Biennial today on Instagram. We had a fabulous time there and the art was, well, really memorable. If you have a chance, you should go. So grateful for all the memories❤️
#venice #venicebiennale #memories #love
