Chili has mixed reviews in my house.  John couldn't care less for soup.  Simon and I love chili, but at very different levels of spicy.  And Henry just loves to eat.  Lately, I've been making it with a very modified seasoning blend, serving to my daycare kids, adding a bit more spice to serve it for supper and just putting the crushed red pepper down in front of Simon.  That way we're all happy--almost.  To make the Onion Hater happy, I've started blending the onions into the tomato juice.  It makes the chili look like beans in juice, but the flavor is still there.  There, now we're all happy.

Don't skip the smoked paprika, unless you have to.  It adds such a nice subtle flavor.  The Super Savers carry it on their Badia brand spice rack for less than $2.

Kids' Chili

1 48 oz can tomato juice
1 large onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 cans pinto Beans
2 cans red beans
1 can black beans
1 can corn kernels (1 1/2 cups frozen)

1 T (Tablespoon) Chili powder
1 T dried minced onion
1 T garlic powder
2 t (teaspoon) cumin
2 t salt
1 t smoked paprika
1/4 t black pepper

Blend the onions, green pepper, and/or mushrooms (depending on your picky eater) into the tomato juice, if necessary.  Add to a 5 quart Crock Pot with everything else. Cook on low heat for 6 hours.

Here is my most recent project- highlight video from a wedding.

And a testimony from the bride:

"This is a belated but very enthusiastic THANK YOU for all the fabulous work you did on the wedding video! It turned out beautifully! Apparently it made a lot of people at the California reception cry - they said we should have handed out tissues before showing it! It really meant a lot to Josh's family, as it made them feel like they were included in the wedding itself. I so appreciate your vision, your willingness to work with me and put up with my demands, and your timeliness! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The Bridge is a video created for a fairly new non-profit organization. This video spent the summer traveling a 5-county area as part of a media kit.

Produced by Kiera Faye Voelker
Written, Directed, and Edited by Katherine Wallen
Production assistance by Courtney Erikson

This is a 30 second commercial for a made up shoe store.

I started making videos my junior year in college. This is my favorite story of all the ones I made at Northwestern. It was a group project, so I must give credit for most of the story to Sara Janzen. We wrote and film as a group and then went our separate ways for editing. When we were finished, I was amazed how the same footage could result in three very different results.

The music is from Jaws and Psycho.

Seriously, Ask

Date: Day 240, The year of my graduation two thousand and eight
To: The World
From: Your humble servant

Subject: The profound nature of my presentation to you.

Dear Sir or Madam Reader:

Welcome to the mind of a girl seeking her place among you.

I chose the name Watching Wind, because that is really the reason I'm in video. I've been a photographer since before I could drive...I don't remember a time before I could drive. Bold, vivid color and good composition are two of my favorite things in life. Unless it's a well lit black and white picture with an interesting subject.
One day, I was captivated by undulant wheat. And that's when I knew, the motion of the waves could never be captured by one still image, therefore I must convert to video.
Albeit, there are few things I enjoy more then having an ISO, shutter speed, and f-stop coincide to make a rich image, video is the medium I must use to share with others the way I see the world.
Maybe our visual culture has shaped me, or maybe it is just I who is visual so I see it in the larger culture. I have to have that trinity of lighting, subject, and audio all working togetherout of the chaos comes art. And yes, I do mean art. It's such a undefinable term, but I do consider myself an artist. Ironically, it is the proclamation of "artist" that makes me confident enough to try other media such as drawing. On the days that I don't feel like an artist, I can't even draw stick people.

Here am I. An artist with the tools of Final Cut and Photoshop, a knitter with a ball of acrylic yarn, a cook with an electric stove. After years of college preparing my soul, my news writing skills, I present myself to you for your consideration, your thoughts, your amusement.

Turn toward tomorrow,
Katherine

###end profundity###