Kat Eye Studio

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A Different Approach

For several months now, I’ve had a dearth of creative reading. Oh, I’ve been reading a lot, mostly fiction novels. I just haven’t been able to find a book I like for my daily creative reading since I finished Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach at the end of last year. This morning I sat down to read and I find myself with three inspiring books in progress at the moment. It was hard to choose! Times ebb and flow, interests come and go. It’s clearly time for me to focus on creativity again, bring balance to my personal equation, after several months of focusing on primarily on photography.

As I mentioned in my Claim your Artist post the other day, one of the books I’ve started is Julia Cameron’s Vein of Gold, a sequel to The Artist’s Way. She starts out similarly to the The Artist’s Way, introducing her fundamental tools of the Morning Pages, Artist Dates and a few other things. While I have loved her writing and ideas, there is one thing I don’t love about her books: How adamant that she is that you use the tools she gives, in a specific way, on a specific frequency. She’s the teacher, she’s taught this to thousands (maybe millions of people, through her books), she knows it works and that’s the end of the discussion.

But here’s the thing: She doesn’t know me. She doesn’t know what works for me, how I think, what I’ve tried in the past. She has a lot to teach me, but it won’t work if it doesn’t fit my style. I know me and I know this: Requiring a task be done on a rigid schedule with rigid guidelines flips me right over into the obsessive achiever part of my personality. The part of me that tracks everything as a number and berates myself when I don’t follow it as instructed. The part of me that will kill the emerging artist at every opportunity.

Through my creative journey I’ve learned I need to try out the tools a teacher provides, and then fit them to me. I’ve made journaling part of my regular practice, but I journal probably 4 to 6 times per week and don’t require a certain length. The requirements of “Morning Pages” never worked for me. I’ve learned the value of creative excursions and explorations on my own, of filling the well, but on my own schedule. I may not be following the instructions of the “Artist Dates” but I get the same benefits. I follow the spirit of the teachings, not necessarily the absolute.

I will confess as well, I didn’t fill out one worksheet, one questionnaire, answer one “recall a time when xxxx happened” exercise in The Artist’s Way as proscribed. I didn’t follow the recommend schedule for reading. I would move quicker or slower as the material worked for me. I’ve done the same with many, many creative books now. I never read Simple Abundance daily, I would pick it up as it inspired me and read chunks of it at a time. I skipped all of the fill-in-the-blank exercises of Martha Beck’s Finding your own North Star but the material has stuck with me nonetheless.

I read, absorb, journal, write about the most important pieces to me here. The ideas go into the “swirl” I’ve talked about before, become the fuel that keeps my creativity burning bright. I gain an enormous amount from the books I read and the classes I take. There is so much to learn from great teachers. I believe in trying on ideas and methods, and then trimming them, nipping and tucking them to make them fit me. We have to believe in our inner wisdom and intuition. We have to rely on our own experience and awareness of ourselves, of how we learn and integrate knowledge. We have to make the teachings ours if they are going to be useful.

Have you ever started a book or a class, something that comes highly recommended like The Artist’s Way, only to quit because you didn’t like the methods or didn’t want to follow the procedure? If so, I don’t think you’re alone. Here’s something new to try, if you find yourself in that situation: Just read the material. See what resonates with you, inspires you. Who knows, you might end up liking some of the suggestions and incorporating them in your own way, in your own time. Or maybe not, but you’ll have gained something more through the reading.

Today’s picture is inside the amazing Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, by architect Antoni Gaudí. Here’s an artist who found his inspiration in novel sources. I’m sure he learned valuable information from his teachers, but I am glad he didn’t follow their proscribed methods exactly. He integrated and applied the knowledge in his own way, developing new methods. The world of architecture is more beautiful for his unique and creative interpretations.

Take that to heart today.

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Mystery Revealed

As I went back in time in my photo file to find an image that would reveal yesterday’s mystery, I came across this photo of the ceiling in the Gaudí designed Casa Batlló. Actually, I came across two photos of this ceiling, and I remember them well. At the time I was editing, there were two different compositions I processed similarly and liked, but I couldn’t decide between them. Since I couldn’t decide, I just left them in the file and didn’t do anything with them. As I reviewed these images yesterday, this specific composition jumped out at me as being the more interesting of the two. It was absolutely, crystal clear in my mind. Why had I had such a debate long ago?

This is a great example of how we grow and change over time. My style and eye has been refined since I worked with these photos eight months ago, and I have a different response to the images from that time. I see the world from a new place, a shifted perspective. Have you ever gone back in time, and discovered wonderful things in your old photos? There are many gems for you there, I guarantee it.

No one was able to guess what yesterday’s image was, and I’m not surprised. It was a bit abstract, and requires a little bit of a history lesson around architect Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí was inspired by observing the world around him, and the catenary arch is one example of this philosophy that you can see in many of his designs. A catenary arch is the shape that a chain or rope will make when at rest, the forces perfectly balanced. When you turn this shape upside down, you have the shape of a very strong arch for building.

The image I showed yesterday is the mirror reflection of a grouping of chains that Gaudí used to design a cathedral. The hanging chains form a series of loops that become arches and domes when viewed in reflection. The whole set up of this exhibit was very neat, with the mirror and the shadow on the wall to help illustrate the concept. Here are is an image of the chains “right side up” to help you see what you were looking at.

Here is yesterday’s image of the view in the mirror, in color. A little more context helps you understand what you are seeing, doesn’t it? It’s amazing how we as photographers can manipulate reality, just by including or excluding context. That’s what makes this medium art. We, as the artists, get to decide.

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Artists and Art

From Seth Godin‘s blog yesterday:

Art is what we call…

the thing an artist does.

It’s not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it. What matters, what makes it art, is that the person who made it overcame the resistance, ignored the voice of doubt and made something worth making. Something risky. Something human.

Art is not in the eye of the beholder. It’s in the soul of the artist.

I loved his words so much I wanted to share them here with you today.

Today’s photo is from Barcelona. Can you guess what this is?

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Creative Space

I come at you this morning from a blank page. No preconceived notion of what photo I will choose, what words I will write. No agenda. This is what creative space feels like. Breathe into it. Let the ideas expand to fill the space, let them go. New ideas will come to fill the space.

This weekend I spent some time being creative. Editing photos for fun rather than to get something together for a specific project. Creating a collage intuitively, to see what comes out. I need the time and space for these things, in order to maintain my balance and perspective. Do you find the same?

So I start again with a blank page. Sometimes the blank page can be frightening, but right now it feels wonderful. Maybe it’s more like sitting in an empty room than a blank page. A room where I can see the door but I’m just going to pause here and rest for a while. Breathe in, breathe out.

Photo is from Casa Batlló, by architect Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona, Spain.

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Exploring with a Camera: Repeating Patterns

Time for another exploration! Can I tell you how much I look forward to these? I have been thinking about this post for the last two weeks, pondering today’s topic and seeing things in the world around me with an eye to Repeating Patterns.

We have repeating patterns everywhere in our lives. So much so that we don’t always notice them. We see, catalog, and sort the differences in things, that’s how our brains work. The sameness can blend in to the background. But, when we notice, we can use the “sameness” of patterns to good effect in our photography.

First, let’s explore repeating patterns as the focal point of our images. In the photo below, of a Barcelona apartment building, at first glance it might look like a photo of windows. It’s not. It’s a photo of a repeating pattern – the windows, balconies and shadows all repeat in a regular fashion. There’s no one place for the eye to look. I’ve heightened the “pattern” aspect of the photo by changing it to black and white. No pesky color to distract you from the pattern. The image becomes more about the pattern of light and dark, than what is creating the pattern of light and dark. I especially like the undulating light “stripes” that appear, where the sunlight hits the building, when you stop looking at the windows and shadows and just look at it as a pattern.


    Here’s another image that is of repeating pattern, of a rooftop in Murten, Switzerland. You see the shingles, all repeating at regular intervals vertically and horizontally. There is a difference in this photo, however, from the image above. In this photo, the repeating pattern serves to highlight another aspect – the fact that the shingles are different. The pattern repeats, but what makes up the pattern does not, so this image is about the differences. Differences in color, size, shape. You notice them all more because of the pattern.

    In thinking about repeating patterns and how I use them in my photography, I find that this second use, using a repeating pattern to highlight some third aspect, is my primary use. This image of shadows on the street in Bolzano, Italy is a good example. Imagine the image of the shadows without the contrast of the pattern, or the pattern without the shadows. Either way, in my mind’s eye, it falls flat. But when you combine the two, and use the repeating lines and shapes of the pattern as a backdrop for the irregular and solid shapes of the shadows, you get a great image. The repeating pattern really sets off the subject, the shadows. Again, in this image I converted to black and white to highlight the lines, shapes, patterns.

    The pattern of the edges of the floor tiles, of this Gaudi design in Barcelona, serves to contrast and enhance the flowing nature of the art that is impressed into them. The angle of the photo, with the pattern growing smaller and blurring toward the back, serves to enhance your awareness of the dimension, how the light and shadow is showing you the impressed elements. The pattern of straight lines provides a structured frame that the flowing curves reside in and move through. You also get hints that the natural, curvy figures impressed into the tiles are a repeating pattern of their own, when you look at it closer. All that in one picture of a floor!

    Here the repeating pattern of the balconies serves to enhance the feeling of height in the skyscraper in Barcelona. You see this in many “looking up” skyscraper shots, but this one is very dramatic because of the horizontal lines and angles jutting out on each floor.

    This image, from Milan, shows how the pattern of the light and shadow on the unusual bricks of this building serve to show the curve and size of the building. You see the bricks, but the repeating pattern of them immediately leads your eye along the curve toward the edge. What happens after the edge of this picture? The crop of the image, which doesn’t show you beyond the building, leaves you with the impression that the pattern continues indefinitely.While all of the examples so far have been of architecture, I also find store displays a wonderful source of repeating patterns. In this image,you have repeating patterns in three dimensions. An image of a single chocolate bar, while showing the design of the wrapper, color, etc., would not be as interesting as this one with the repeating pattern. The pattern of multiple bars repeated, as well as the repetition in the third dimension, gives depth and a feeling of abundance. You see the chocolate bar wrapper just as clearly as if that were the only thing in the photo, but you also see more.

    So, how can you use repeating patterns in your photography? Some ideas and tips…
    1. Look for repeating patterns, they are everywhere around us. Architecture is one of the best sources, because it takes lots of little, repeating pieces to build something big. Elements of architecture with repeating patterns can be found in the facades – windows, doors, trim, bricks, blocks of stone – or inside – steps, beams, flooring. Our modern world is built with repeating patterns! Stores are also a good source of repeating patterns, because they have a lot of the same thing to sell. Look for creative store displays that use that to good effect.
    2. Look for opportunities for the pattern to be the subject. Choose your composition and angle such that you see the pattern repeat several times at the same size and there is no “perspective” effect. This will often be looking straight at, or very close to straight at, the subject pattern. Try converting to black and white to enhance the pattern aspect, removing color as a difference that may distract from the pattern itself.
    3. Look for opportunites for a pattern to enhance or contrast with a subject. Use angles that show the dimension – distance, height, depth. Use compositions that capture differences in the pattern – whether it be color or shape. Use a pattern as a backdrop for the subject. Use post-processing, like selective color, to have one element of a repeating pattern pop out.

    What other ideas do you have for capturing images with repeating patterns? I’d love to see what your eye sees! Share here in the comments or join in the Flickr group.

    (Want to explore some more? You can find all past explorations linked in one place here.)

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    The Means or the End?

    A stairway is a means to an end, a way to get from one level to another. But sometimes, the “means” can be separated from the “end.” It becomes important in itself, like this stairway in the attic of Casa Battlo in Barcelona. Yes, it’s a stairway. That’s the obvious and practical “end.” But it is a beautiful work of art, nicely framed and ready to be enjoyed, in it’s own right. The “means” develops an identity on its own, a purpose of its own, without considering the intended “end.”

    I’ve been thinking a lot about the process of creating art, creating my photography. The process of creating – of noticing and seeing and capturing and playing – is as important as the end result. The photo that I present here each day is just the obvious and practical end of my art, like the purpose of a stairway to get you from one level to the next. But the fact is that the process, the means, is probably more important to me, the creator. That’s why I continue to create, why all artists continue to create. If it wasn’t, we’d all be done with the first work of art we are really happy with, especially if we aren’t doing this for a living. (Getting paid for art is another kind of wonderful “end” for the artistic process.)

    Ursula K. LeGuin said, “It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end.”

    The journey, for me, is the creation of the photograph. The beauty of this “means” being it’s own “end” is that process of creating is not finite, is an ongoing, never-ending, renewable resource. Infinite. Regardless of what I created or shared yesterday, I have more to create today and tomorrow.

    Isn’t that an incredibly positive and exciting way to think about it? I encourage you to think of your art, whether it’s photography or writing or cooking or yoga, in the same way. The end is not the purpose of the creative process, the means is!

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