Back to Art

I’ve been away from the blog for a couple of weeks now - partly taking a break after the intensive photo journaling and partly because I have fallen victim to one of the nasty late winter bugs that have been doing the rounds.

After all that photography it seems like a good idea to focus on art for this post. Lifebook is still streaming ahead and I am finding it good fun  though I don’t always connect with the lessons and thats fine - I am really learning to choose to do things because I want to rather than because I think I should (in the context of leisure at least!)

The really exciting news is that I have signed up for an art retreat Call of the Wild Soul which will take place in Somerset  in September - three days of workshops with artists and photographers including  and Teesha Moore  Madelyn Mulvany & Flora Bowley - I really can’t wait.

I have also signed up for another e-course Creative Courage with Stephanie Levy which I hope is going to help me ‘listen to my whispers’ as Kelly Rae Roberts would put it.

 In the meantime have have been doing some work on the art front alongside the photography focusing on the theme of winter trees.

Winter Tree 1

Winter Tree 2

Photo Journal Episode 10 - Reflection

I think the most important thing I have learned from the Find Your Eye courses is that I should walk around with my photographic eye open at all times! Alert to possibilities, looking for things I can connect to, things that make me laugh, cry, excited, happy, thoughtful and more. It’s looking for the ‘sacred in the ordinary’ re-imagining the possibilities of everyday objects and being alert to noticing the quirky or unusual.

I have learned that I  like to capture both detail and the big picture and that I love nature. The session I spent in the local art gallery really clarified for me the importance of emotional connection and putting some of myself into all of my pictures. 

In many ways the lesson I enjoyed most was the one where I tried to take portraits of my friend. Partly because it was a fun afternoon for, I hope, both of us and partly because it involved new skills which I am anxious to develop and try out again (when I can find some willing victims!)

The pictures I have chosen to illustrate what I have learned are two that I took recently in London of a cycle rickshaw or ‘Disco Bike’ as it dubbed itself. Three months ago I probably wouldn’t have noticed this as an item of interest let alone a subject for a photograph. As it is I have used my slowly developing post-processing skills to enhance them and am pleased with the result! 

Thank you Kat for a great course.