Magical Realism
Magic realism or magical realism is a genre where magical or unreal elements play a natural part in an otherwise realistic (often mundane) environment. Although it is most commonly used as a literary genre, magic realism also applies to film and the visual arts. Wikipedia Magical realism is my favorite genre of literature. Think One Hundred Years […]
New Metrics Needed
Do what you love and the money will follow. Marsha Sinetar I dislike this quote. It simplifies a very complex equation into a convenient sound bite. The first problem is the assumption that a creative individual wants money and their passion to be intertwined. It’s a nice thought, but money changes everything. Just ask Michelangelo. Do […]
Connections
I’ve been watching documentaries again, this time it was Cave of Forgotten Dreams. This interesting documentary by Werner Herzog is about the relatively recently discovered Chauvet Cave in southern France that contains some of the oldest human-painted images ever discovered. These rock paintings were created approximately 32,000 years ago. It was a good documentary and considering the subject matter it […]
Behind the Scenes
Challenging myself is a continuing theme in my writing. Earlier this summer I challenged myself with a rather large project and set Christmas as the deadline. Time (and good weather) is running out and I need to buckle down and get the rest of my photos shot if I am going to make this lofty […]
Challenge yourself
I am heading home after a five day adventure in the Moab region of Utah.Four of those days involved photographing lego with decidedly mixed results.I realized I was outside my comfort zone shooting in harsh light, with rocks and sparse vegetation as my only textures. Photographing in the lush Pacific Northwest with its mossy rocks and dappled sunlight […]
Is it Worth Doing?
Writer Henry James once proposed three questions you could productively put to an artists work. The first two were disarmingly straightforward: What was the artist trying to achieve? Did he/she succeed? The third`s a zinger: Was it worth doing? excerpt from Art & Fear And that is the crux of the problem right there. I […]
Don’t complain, get busy
It is hard to put yourself forward as an artist. It can be an emotional and ego busting experience. You are displaying something that is often intensly personal and you don’t know how it will be perceived. Will it be appreciated, criticized or ignored? But that is not the only risk in our newly minted […]
The Long View
I have a hard time separating my artistic life from my every day life. The overlap is so great it can be hard to differentiate. I don’t need to be a good artist to be an engaged mother or visa versa. But sometimes my two selves come together in unexpected ways. A few weeks ago […]
Art Reflects the Present
The other day I was feeling my usual bout of anxiety and doubt… Why am I doing this? My work is crap! You know, that kind of stuff. So I turned to my trusty copy of “Art and Fear” to find some words of consolation. I found words of encouragement and so much more. In particular this […]
There is Nothing New Under the Sun
It would be hubris to think that what we are doing with toys and photography is any way new. No matter how innovative you may be, there is always someone who has done it before. Sometimes we know who these people are, sometimes we don’t. This is true in art, music, business, even Lego…just about anything that involves […]