abstract

September 17, 2016 by Kat

The Freedom in Digital

Oregon Coast Kat Sloma iPhone Photography

In or Out, Part 1

Pause for a moment, and contemplate how dramatically digital tools have changed the creation of art.

Once upon a time, there was one piece of art out of each piece of raw material. You started with something blank–a block of clay, a sheet of paper–and then you added or removed or altered it to create something new out of it: The work of art.

If you wanted to create another work of art, you had to either start completely over with another blank sheet, or you took the piece you had already created and continued to change it. That piece of art you started from, the infinite pieces of art created throughout the process, no longer existed in the physical system of creation.

With digital art, every step I choose to save exists as its own piece. So the photograph above can exist as a work of art, while my continued experiments with the same image exist as their own pieces, too.

In or Out, Part 2

It is up to me as the digital artist to choose, from that infinite possibility, where to stop. What to share.

Is that freedom? Or does it lead to overwhelm?

I see it as freedom. Freedom to experiment. Freedom to develop a new type of creative process, which moves forward, backward, and branches in different directions. Freedom to continue any conversation I might be interested in, to follow where it leads, with the possibility to go back and understand how it developed.

I love the destination of art, the finished piece.

I love the journey of art, the creative process.

And with digital, I love the ability of investigating and understanding the whole of it, the journey and any number of destinations.

July 27, 2016 by Kat

An Abstract Question

Ok, I’ll admit it, I’m stuck.

This #30edits abstract project I was so excited about is kicking my butt. I haven’t created a new one in almost a week, and I’m not really motivated to get back into it. Here’s the last…

So what is it that is leaving me flat about the whole thing?

Sure, it’s fun. It’s been good to see where each individual piece goes. But it feels like there is no purpose, no cohesiveness to the whole group of work. They are a series of individual pieces that don’t really relate to each other. And so far, they are not pushing me to much out of my comfort zone.

I’ve realized a few things lately, as I’ve worked through this project…

Since I’ve sat with my art for several weekends at art fairs, I’ve realized that there is something those winter trees give me, besides inspiration. They give me a cohesiveness to my work which is otherwise very disparate in style. Even in my last #30edits project, which resulted in vastly different pieces, they related to each other since they started with the same photograph. That creates a connection between the work at least in my own mind. A connection I can talk about with others. These abstracts have no relation to each other. For some reason that bugs me.

Maybe that bugs me because it feels that they have no story on their own. The only story in them is the processing itself, the project itself. Even though what I love about abstract art is the emotion of it, it doesn’t feel that there is an emotional driving force in the creation of them. They are interesting, but when they are done, they aren’t conveying something more to me, something inside of me, in the way my art does usually. I decided I don’t want to share the starting photograph of these, because it ruins the magic of the abstract. But maybe it also ruins the magic of creation in a way, that there is no clear tie to the starting photograph, which is usually so important to my process. You can’t tell that it started as this one thing and was transformed into something new but related.

So I’m trying to decide… Do I continue the #30edits Abstract project or do I stop? Will I find inspiration if I push through this stuck place? Or have I learned my lesson and I should focus on the thing that has given me some inspiration lately… The figure?

Trying to decide. And in the meantime, I’m barely creating.

That’s probably answer enough, isn’t it? Funny how it took writing a blog post for me to figure it out.

Time to follow my inspiration. #30edits Abstract is on hold, indefinitely.

June 29, 2016 by Kat

How well do you know yourself?

Last week, my husband asked me: “Are you still doing that abstract project?”

Me: “Yes, I am.”

Him: “I haven’t seen anything lately. Isn’t it supposed to be every day for thirty days?”

Me: “No. It’s whenever I get to it.”

If you’ve been following me in this project, you’ll know I’m on a bit of a hiatus. With back-to-back fairs and a looming vacation there has been so little time for creation.

That’s why I don’t set time limits on these #30edits projects. I know myself. I know I’m not an everyday-come-what-may kind of creator. I know that having a deadline on creating art will make it stressful for me, not fun. I would kill myself to achieve and then resent it.

That’s not a good formula for making art.

That doesn’t mean that challenge and struggle and pushing through boundaries aren’t all part of the creative process. They absolutely are.

But the challenge does not have to be in every dimension, so I take it out of the dimension of time. That works for me.

You will definitely see more #30edits abstracts soon, and I’ve been experimenting with some collage art as well. Lots of creative material to work with.

Perfect timing too… I just got an iPad Pro and Pencil! After three different people, whose iPhone art I like and respect, told me it would rock my world, I decided it was time. I’m looking forward to creating art on the big screen.

When I have time, of course.

June 15, 2016 by Kat

Begin with a Background (Mobile Tutorial + Stackables Formula)

I’m already learning from my #30edits Abstract Challenge! Just what I was hoping would happen. And that, of course, means I have new things to share.

One of my early observations: The first step in any abstract edit is removing the connection to reality in the image.

Abstract Kat Sloma iPhone Photography

Turns out, that is harder to do than I realized! Our brains seem to want to make meaning out of the slightest texture and pattern, so removing that connection to reality requires some work. One way to do this is through blur of the image, which softens the lines and textures which provide a lot of information to our brain.

Today I’m sharing my favorite method for creating background blur using the Stackables app, using an image I shared last week in another post. I think this forest fern image was leading me toward my abstract project.

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I started with this forest image, which caught me eye due to the interesting repetition in the ferns and fir needles.

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In Stackables, you can add a blur layer by going to the Adjustments menu (top bar) and selecting the Blur effect (right menu). You can increase the blur by selecting Intensity (lower left), and then increasing the slider (bottom bar). Layer 6 in this iPad screen shot is the blur layer in the Stackables formula I’m sharing with you today.

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If you want to increase blur more than possible with a single layer, no problem. Just duplicate the layer. You can keep adding Blur layers to reach the desired effect. Increasing blur increases abstraction, by taking away the edges and textures of the object you photographed.

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The final image (here again) was created by blending the blurred background with some other fern images. It is not a full abstract, but you might be able to see how the original image comes through as a background layer.

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Now I have the Stackables Formula for you! This formula, called Bluish Blur, was used to create the fern background above. It shows you how you can use blur along with other Stackables layers to begin changing an image toward abstract. Have fun abstracting!

To download the “Bluish Blur” formula for your own use in the Stackables app, do the following:
1. Make sure the Stackables app is installed on your iOS device.
2. On your iOS device, download the formula file from this link. (This is a Dropbox link, and you may be prompted to save the file to your Dropbox account, if you have one. Go ahead and save it to your Dropbox and then download from there.)
3. When you go to download or open the file on your device, use “Open in…” and choose the “Open in Stackables” option.
4. Stackables will open and ask if you want to import the formula, tap “Import.”
5. To use the formula, load a photo, go to Formulas (1), choose Favorite Formulas (2). You will see the imported formula (3), so tap to preview. Click the wrench icon (4) to apply the formula and make changes to the layers.

June 10, 2016 by Kat

Join me in a new #30edits

I’ve been in a creative lull lately, so it’s time to kick it up a notch. I’m starting a new #30edits project, and you are welcome to join me!

This time, instead of creating 30 pieces from the same starting photograph, I’m going to create 30 abstract pieces, starting from different photographs. The thread tying them together is the abstraction. It will be an exploration of line, color, and shape separate from reality.

I’ve danced at the edge of abstract for several years now, but I’ve always maintained the tie back to some recognizable element of the photograph I used to start the process. The goal in this project is to eliminated that tie. Push into new territory.

How far can I go? What will result? Watch here and Instagram to see.

If you’d like to join me in your own #30edits project, I welcome you. Pick your parameters–whether it’s 30 edits from the same image like I did last time, 30 abstract edits like I’m doing this time, or something different–it all achieves the same result: Getting you outside your comfort zone. There is no timeline requirement (such as 30 edits in 30 days). Go with your gut. Do what works for you.

Use hashtag #30edits on Instagram to participate. I’ll see you there.

April 11, 2014 by Kat

Seeking the Heart

Maybe I think too much. Sometimes I’d like to go through life without a care in the world. Happily flitting from one attractive place to another, like a butterfly.

But that’s not me. I sit and ponder. I think. I like to know the “why” behind things. I like to understand the connections and interrelationships. I love that “Aha” I feel when I’ve connected two new dots. That takes observing, thinking, and experimenting with ideas.

The outcome of all of that thought is often new ideas and ways of looking at things. In my photography, it’s new ways of approaching an image. Today’s image, Seeking the Heart, is an example. It’s borne out of blending experimentation last fall, visiting art museums in DC over Spring Break, an excursion to the tulips last weekend, an epiphany on a hike this week and more experimentation this morning. It’s the result of thinking about the art I love to look at, and thinking about how to create images that have the same elements and visual impression.

I love this.

Huh. Maybe I don’t think too much, after all.