Debbie Glessner Photograpy at the Bedlam Farm Open House

Sunflower by Debbie Glessner
Sunflower by Debbie Glessner

I “met” Debbie online years ago when I first started my blog.  I bought some of her notecards with her photos on them.  Her name has surfaced again and again throughout the years and when Jon started his Open Group on facebook Debbie and her work became regulars.  It was Debbie’s short story (which made me cry when I read it) that won the Open Group Short Story Contest.  And after reading it, I felt like I knew a Debbie a little better.

Then she came to visit the farm while in the area taking a Photo Workshop.  And was I surprised.  Between Debbie’s emails and knowing that she was a retired librarian, (based on my experience with Librarians)  I had an idea that she was, well, a bit stiff, (although her short story was a clue to the real Debbie) .  But when we finally met in person, she was nothing like I expected.  Fun and easy going, glowing with pride in her work and her love of life.  A force of light which I then saw in her photos.  Technically precise, they are full of color and life. She’s been taking photos since she’s a teenager but since 2005 she’s become more serious about it.  When Jon suggested inviting her to show her work at the Open House I agreed that it would be wonderful to have her photos in my School House Gallery.

You can see more of Debbie’s photos on her website Lark Photography and you can see some of them in person at the Bedlam Farm Open House on Saturday June 21st and Sunday June 22nd.

Rook Farm by Debbie Glessner
Rook Farm by Debbie Glessner

6 thoughts on “Debbie Glessner Photograpy at the Bedlam Farm Open House

  1. The photos are amazing, indeed. Maria, I’m just sorry that you think of librarians as “stiff”–I was a public librarian for 30 years, retired for 11, now, here in the Midwest and I don’t think anyone would have ever described me as stiff. 🙂

    I loved connecting books and people, that was my favorite part, being a lifelong voracious reader. In my career, I knew a lot of librarians–most of us were good folks, some of us were not, and a couple of those were definitely stiff and unapproachable. But overall, that wasn’t the case.

    1. You know Melissa, I didn’t realize I thought of Librarians this way until writing about Debbie. It’s actually comes from my memories of the librarians from Junior High and High School. I haven’t had any extended contact with librarians since then. I guess because as long as I can remember I’ve always loved books and reading and I never met the kind of Librarian you are and I’m sure so many others are. But now that I think about it, I used to love the way Mrs Berkowitz, the librarian in my elementary school, read out loud to us. I can still hear her voice, it sounded to me as if reading a book was the most satisfying thing in the world. Like biting into a delicious hunk of fresh bread. There was substance to the way she read. I’ll try to remember her when I think “Librarian”

  2. I think the OLD TYPE librarian was definitely a TYPE. Shshshsh — peering over the tops of her glasses. I actually remember librarians like that. Keeping shelves neat, keeping readers out of the stack so they wouldn’t mess up the Dewey decimal arrangement (so everyone could find what they were looking for! — What a paradox!) Librarians have come a long way since those days. Thank goodness.

  3. I’m glad that you are willing to give librarians a chance. All are different, but most of those I knew in my work, and as a patron, since then, at least mean well. Some are not as approachable as one would like, but that’s probably true of any public service job. And believe me, there are some of the “public” that it’s really hard to keep that smile on your face as you deal with them! I usually managed it, but not always. 🙂

    My mission, always, was to keep people reading, and loving it. That’s what I miss most about my job. Nowadays I volunteer at our local historical society and museum and that keeps me very busy, too-my other big love has always been history.

    I remember a couple of years ago, maybe, in a stretch of very bad weather, that Jon did a speaking tour in support of libraries and wrote at least one very good blog post about the importance of libraries–I sent links to many friends and family at that time, I remember. Even if people are not big readers themselves, libraries are still so important for all the information of all sorts that they contain, and that everyone can use (the rich may not need libraries, but the rest of us do, I think.:)

    Your elementary librarian sounds like she loved books, as I do.
    Wishing you all the best,
    Melissa

    1. I was on that book tour with Jon and saw how much the libraries meant to people and have always loved libraries myself. And it’s true that the librarians I met on that book tour were all really nice people. And I’ve worked in retail many years, so I know how the public can be. Of course like everything else, there are kind and helpful Librarians and those who are not so much.

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