Assateague Crab House

Assateague Crab House:

This little collection of photographs taken has really nothing to do with the varied strands of work that I am undertaking this semester. (Click on Link to view slideshow.) However, once in awhile with an artisticeye you find something that needs documenting. The Assateague Crab House is one of my very favorite places in the entire world! On Assateague Island just a few miles away is the beach where the wild ponies run. I have a story about that too, but let me not get too far off tangent here.
As an undergrad at the Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, my freshman room mate Kim, taught me Crabs 101. I learned to crack and eat Blue Crab and it is a ritual I have enjoyed since. I taught my daughter to eat crabs by the time she was four. It is a family delight, just can't find them in these here parts in Winston Salem, NC unless by special demand and order request. At MICA and their Annual Alumni Gathering they have an Annual Crab Feast. This ritual has become part of my blood.
On the coast of Maryland is the Assateague Crab House, a Crab House found when the one in Pocomoke City was found closed.I travelled last week to see my sister, who lives 45 minutes north on the Delaware coast. We met upon my arrival for my annual fix.My sister was running a little late, so I decided to take some photographs of the local color. Upon entering the restaurant and headed towards the restroom, a gentleman at a table I was passing, and cracking crabs, asked me if I was taking pictures of the crab sign outside. He introduced himself as the artist. Even the Ladies room had something to offer to this album, a little homage in the photo for Marcel Duchamp.
So I had my personal crab feast. Again, this does not fit into anything else I am exploring except to say, photography as a practical medium is something that I use as a tool to inform my work. I have dabbled with photography since before my formal education, which was included in my undergrad requirements and elective courses. I once had an offer to teach photography, and was recommended to by my photography professor, but did not feel confident enough to seek that opportunity out. That was back in the day of the darkroom. Which I enjoyed, but not to the degree of commanding an expertise. Over the last decade or so with the onset of digital photography<>
I realize within this MFA program you are not interested in my practice as an art educator, but the experiences I bring my students to, also commensurately influences my work. Early in the semester, upon return from the residency I took photos of focused nature. So I imagine a sub thread is incorporated here, exploring photography as a medium. I think that any artist in today's world has to have a command of knowledge with photography. There is rarely a day that goes by that I am not using practical application of photography to my practice, as both an artist and an art educator.