Art by Elly

YT Photo

Played with some lighting the other day with the camera and the girls. Here is a little preview.

Art by Elly

I am currently working on some projects that I have had on my to do list for months. This is a scanned image of one of Elly's watercolors. Hope to get some more up here on the blog and eventually have them available for purchase some time this year. You can see more of her work on my Instagram (Aiyana Taylor) #ellywatercolor #ellywatercoloretc

YT Photography

Lucy had her friend Cecilia over and we decided to do a little impromptu photo shoot. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. These girls are growing up so fast. 

YT Photography

Dance Photography

My daughters attend a wonderful dance school here in Chicago and I have enjoyed our family becoming a part of the world of dance. I myself did not dance growing up, so this is a whole new world for me. Not only have I become passionate about dance, but I have also become passionate about the school that they attend. 

I was asked to take some photos of their Summer Intensive and these are a few of the photos that are my personal favorite for different reasons. Most of these did not make the cut for promoting the Summer Intensive, but they are special to me for different reasons. I hope you enjoy them....

 I have to jump in here and tell you just a little bit about the class below. The teachers name is Armando Martén (more about him found here). He was really amazing with the young dancers. He is very soft spoken, but has their full attention. 
Being in his class was like watching an artist create a work of art. For one part of the class he had the young dancers walk around and roll in a certain way whenever they wanted to. Next he had the young dancers walk around and then jump in a certain way whenever they wanted to. Finally, he had the kids call out each others name, then that person would roll on the floor in the very specific way as the other dance jumped over them in the specific way as well. It was so beautiful to see the kids interact with one another and still dance and create this beautiful piece of movement. I am having a terrible time describing what went on. But maybe you will get a taste of the class as you take in each photo below.

Art in all of it's forms is so beautiful and the possibilities are endless. There is something about a seasoned artist imparting their experience to a younger generation. And the influence of different cultures and life experiences is an amazing thing to taste when you are given the opportunity to learn from someone that is so talented.