Self-portraits are an artist or photographer’s way of evoking the artists’ way of seeing him or herself. I started the blog in 2007; I started taking pictures in 2008.

For nearly ten years, I never permitted a photo of myself to be published on the blog, and I never let anyone else take one. I thought I was disgusting to look at, and I thought it would be more creative if people imagined me rather than saw me in literal ways.

One online art class website says:”Self-portraiture, whether produced in the medium of painting or of photography, is its own distinct genre of art, like that of the landscape or the still life. That is, the common features of all self-portraits unify the genre in content and means of expression.”

I started permitting my own image on the blog after Maria came. I photographed her all the time, and at first, she was as uncomfortable as I was about having her picture taken.

But she relaxed about her; our story was important for both of our blogs. I couldn’t justify taking her picture if I never took hers, so I relented. I’m never comfortable with it, but I know I should do it.

I am more and more interested in the idea of the self-portrait as art. If you see me, you can better relate to my life and my blog and my photographs. I want to experiment with it. It’s about how I see myself, as well as my photography.

This self-portrait was taken in our Frieda Kahlo bathroom. It says something about me, but I’m not yet certain what.