Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai - Goddess of Black and White

My husband, CB, was a film shooter. Lots of time in the darkroom. (I'm not EVEN going there). One of his icons is Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai. This is how she describes herself on her website:

I'm a dinosaur. I work entirely with B&W film and older (sometimes vintage) cameras. I tend toward dark, brooding imagery with a twisted sense of humor. I especially love images that hint at a story without giving away the ending. I love Cocoa Puffs and red wine, not at the same time. I believe music should be listened to at top volume, or not at all. I don't wear anything pink. Ever. I like feeling misunderstood. I am moderately deaf and ridiculously blind, which may explain my love for photographing textures. I have more ideas than I could possibly fulfill in ten lifetimes, which is my way of saying that I never sleep.

She doesn't DO canvas. Until now.

You can imagine our elation when she ordered the canvases for this WONDERFUL project, "YouthBiz". Following is an image and what she had to say about it:


I wanted to share a snapshot of my first canvases (yes, ever) along with a giant thank you to Curt and Roxanne of Pixel2canvas. As a dedicated film shooter, I typically only do handmade fiber prints, but this job called for something different.

The canvases were made for a non-profit organization that teaches job skills to inner city at-risk youth. It's called YouthBiz, and it's a remarkable program. The kids actually run their own T-shirt printing shop, including all the tasks from actual manual labor up through marketing, finance, and management. They are so successful that they've were able to buy and renovate a large building downtown. The designed the main entrance specifically to showcase the images I shot for them last summer.

My challenge was to make prints that were large enough for the space, lightweight, glass-free, and durable. In my mind, canvas was the only way to go, and I only had just over a week to make it happen for the grand opening. Pixel2canvas came through for me in a big way. I am extremely picky about my prints, but the quality of these canvases blew me away. Deep, inky shadows and well-controlled highlights, as well as a true B&W without any traces of green or magenta.

The entire YouthBiz crew loves the new prints and asked me to pass along their thanks to Curt, Roxanne, and their team.

Here's the entry with six 24x36 canvases. Not pictured yet (I'll try to add it soon) are the two 30x40's directly behind the reception desk. Please excuse my stringy hair; it was a blizzard outside. ;)

RUN your fingers to your mouse and her website. MAKE SURE YOU SEE "THE REGULARS"

Thank you Cheryl - so VERY much! We look forward to more collaborations - and I'll wear pink for the both of us! *snerk*