Back to Arting
The past six weeks have been a bit wild! OR to WA to OR to ID to UT to AZ and back to OR!
The two biggest things were, in order, my computer, and all the 20,000+ un-backed-up photos on Lightroom were stolen from the back of my truck, and I went down the Grand Canyon working as an assistant.
The loss of the computer was far more impactful than I thought it would be, and in hindsight, for good reason. It held almost 100% of my the compiled, edited, and organized photos from the past four years. Most of my art. And now I no longer have access to any of it. But as clique, as it sounds, fire always creates more fertile soil.
Departing to the Grand, I was awash with sadness from the loss and unsure how I would get back to creating again. I knew I would, of course, but wasn’t sure how. Reflecting while on the river gave me needed time and space to process and find inspiration and intention for when I got back. Upon returning to OR, I have almost immediately been able to dive back into writing and drawing, as well as continue to read poetry. And then I went on another infamous photo walk. It was one of the best, most productive, inspiring, and fun art sessions I’ve had in a while. I took 89 photos and edited 23. 25% is pretty good, and while shooting it was like every other composition was exciting and felt good to shoot!
While I am very bummed and still processing the loss of most of my other artwork, I do think I am in a period of immense creativity and growth. Unfortunately, those 24 photos from my last post are gone, or at least the original files I wanted for a project are. I may hunt down low-res versions off Instagram and elsewhere someday, but for now, I am focusing on the now and the art I am creating in the present.
Okay, with all of that said, I won’t be putting any of the above-mentioned photos from the latest walk here. It would be too much. But I am going to add six pieces, two drawings, and four photographs, and do a little bit of blabbing about them.
I have paired up all six pieces. Not totally why, but it feels right. And like this curating, these pieces were created out of intuition and that’s about it. The first piece is pen and paper, then I took a photo and made all the depth go away in editing, so it was just lines on paper. This drawing feels like water. I want to do more like it, trying to flow a line into a form that expresses the essence of water. Then paired is a photo of my hand. I love the shape of the human hand when resting in a curl. I also love how my fingerprints subtly mirror the lines of the drawing, also reminding me of water.
Self-portraits. Is all expressive art a self-portrait? I do think there is an added layer of vulnerability to creating when you turn the lens (or pen/brush/clay/etc.) towards yourself. For me it is a place I can shelter in safety, behind the lens that is, but to be on the other side is different. I use it as a tool of exposure (no pun intended :) ) and discovery. What will I find if I turn it on myself? Not sure yet. But I want to do a bunch more self-portrait work of all kinds to see. Why I put these two photos together, not really sure. But I do love the texture and light in the canopy of trees. A favorite past time of mine is to stare at the blossoms and bubbles of dancing light that leaves form on the ground or on tree trunks. It is one of mother nature’s most beautiful abstractions of value and shape.
The last pair is a graphite and charcoal drawing that I photographed and slightly edited to capture deep, dark shapes and contrast; the other is another form of self-portrait with my right wrist. The drawing is dark, foreboding maybe? And I am curious how other people view the arm photo, but it feels dormant to me. So, they seemed good to go together. Bonus points if you can read the handwritten poem in the drawing. It's almost like a title and another element of the sky combined? Either way, I really like how these all turned out. They all are more in the nature of drafts than final products and I will be elaborating on the creative foundations that are here for sure.
Okay dang! I tend to write a lot more than I expect. I will be posting again very soon with a bunch of new photos, and, of course, there will be a lot of writing to go along I bet. So good on you if you read all this but looking is just as good. In the end, all these writings are just my own ideas about my own art. And remember, as the viewer/reader, you get to decide what each piece means to you.
Okay, good night, go forth into the world and look at art!
