Excited to Co-Present Photo Ethics Game Research with Dana Thompson at IVLA 2025

For the past year, I’ve been collaborating with Savannah Dodd, Founder and Director of the Photography Ethics Centre, and Dana Thompson, Assistant Dean of Libraries at Murray State University and President of the International Visual Literacy Association, on a visual literacy research project that blends ethics, photography, and game-based learning. We’re developing a tabletop card game designed to help students navigate real-world image dilemmas—and I’m thrilled to share that Dana and I will be presenting this work at the IVLA 2025 Conference in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The theme, “The Power of Images in Sacred and Festive Spaces,” couldn’t be more aligned with my current interests. And as a bonus, I’ll be in Mexico for Día de Muertos, hoping to make a pilgrimage to the Temple of the Feathered Serpent.

2025-06-05T23:09:42-06:00June 5th, 2025|News|

The Pendulum of Art: What Society’s Shift Means for Artists Today

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years as an artist, student, and educator, it’s that art is a reflection of the world around us. It’s not just about what we see—it’s about what we feel, what we long for, and how we process the times we’re living in. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how art follows the emotional and philosophical state of society—and how we’re in the middle of a major shift right now. But this isn’t new. It’s happened before. Art as a Mirror of Society’s Shifts History shows us that art swings like a [...]

2025-06-05T11:16:35-06:00March 2nd, 2025|Art, Journals|

The Misfit Phoenix (a work in progress, just like myself)

Nova and I have been working on this MoonForged-inspired retelling of The Ugly Duckling off and on for weeks. It’s still a draft, still evolving, but after recent events, I felt like it was time to share. Some stories take shape over time—just like the ones who live them. This is for those who were never meant to stay in the pond. #officiallyautistic The Misfit Phoenix – A MoonForged Parody of The Ugly Duckling Once Upon a Time… In a quiet, misty lake, nestled among the reeds, a peculiar egg lay within a swan’s nest. The mother swan tilted her [...]

2025-02-27T22:16:35-06:00February 28th, 2025|Writing|

SPE Members’ Pin-Up Exhibition / Reno 2025

Exhibition Announcement: Society for Photographic Education National Conference 2025 If you're in Reno, Nevada for the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) National Conference from March 6-9, you might catch a glimpse of my work in the SPE Members' Digital Pin-Up Exhibition, on display in the main lobby of the conference at the Peppermill Reno Resort. For those unable to attend—or who want a closer look—here are the pieces I submitted for the exhibition, each exploring the conference theme: "Adaptation." Adaptation in Light and Motion The history of photography is one of continual reinvention, a medium shaped by technological, cultural, and [...]

2025-06-13T02:05:25-06:00February 27th, 2025|Exhibitions|

My Dirty Little Addiction: Buying Domains & Making Art

Trying so hard to resist the urge to buy three more domain names… but I will be a good Carol and limit myself to just one tonight. One day, when my army of AI assistants is fully operational, my digital empire will ascend. Many years ago, I had a website called Totally Carol. It was a fan site… for myself. Maybe I should bring it back. goes off to buy the domain "totallycarol.com" A few minutes later…

2025-02-25T05:35:09-06:00February 26th, 2025|Journals|

A Pandemic Time Capsule: Day 5 in the COVID Ward

I logged into Twitch today and saw one of my old livestreams was still there—a raw, unfiltered glimpse into my time in the hospital during the early days of the pandemic. It was labeled Day 3 of my COVID hospitalization, but it was actually Day 5 which I know because of the date (9/27/2020) and my extensive documentation. Watching it now feels like stepping into a time capsule. Life has changed so much since then. I'll always love fat me. She was fun. She was awesome. And yet, looking back, my heart aches for how I was treated by family—their misplaced priorities, their inability to see me beyond their own discomfort.

2025-06-05T11:13:33-06:00February 26th, 2025|COVID Diaries|

Photography as a Spiritual Practice: Seeing Beyond the Visible

Some artists begin with a concept and then create work to express it. Others, like myself, create intuitively and later uncover the meaning behind what we’ve made. I have always walked a fine line between these two approaches—between instinct and intention, surrender and control. As a young BFA student studying art, graphic design, and photography, it took me years to understand the difference between art and design. And even longer to give myself permission to be an artist again after immersing myself in the structured, goal-oriented world of design. But even before I knew how to put it into words, [...]

2025-06-13T02:06:41-06:00February 25th, 2025|Art, Photography, Writing|
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