Kat Eye Studio

Archives for May 2012

by

Movement of Creative Inspiration

Life is a movement in and out of creative inspiration. The vision must be lost in order to be regained and refashioned. Loss and longing are preconditions of creation.
— Shaun McNiff in Trust the Process: An Artist’s Guide to Letting Go

A timely quote to read this morning, given my recent brush with low inspiration. When we are in the low parts of the cycle, we forget that inspiration will come back. We don’t appreciate what the down cycles bring us… a renewed and refreshed vision when inspiration comes back.

Where are you in the inspiration cycle these days?

by

The One

Occasionally, I come across something that speaks to my creative soul. It reaches right in and touches the depths of who I am as an artist and what I create. I often call my favorite type of work “Real Life Still Life,” where I seek to compose beauty in a photograph from something that already exists. Some scene created by another person intentionally or unintentionally. Something decorated by time and weather.

Here is one such scene found in my exploration of Northwest Portland on Saturday. It speaks to my heart and soul. The soft light, the subtle colors, the varied textures and Oh! The lines! All of those flowing lines. Heaven.

It fills me with joy just looking at it. It’s this kind of image that keeps me going. Keeps me wandering, and searching, and photographing. Every once in a while I get to capture a scene like this. It’s not often, but I’ve come to recognize the signals. There will be a feeling in my heart, as if inspiration is filling me up and if I don’t act on it, my chest is going to burst. There will be a sense of lost time. Nothing else exists for me as I study the scene with my camera. As I leave the scene, I hope there will be something good in my collection of images. If not, I had that wonderful moment of inspiration.

It’s even more rewarding when I get “The One” from a scene like this. You know The One? The One photograph that makes your heart skip a beat. The One where you say, “Yes, that is perfect! That’s exactly what I wanted to capture.” The One that goes directly into your Inspiration File. The One in a thousand photographs. Maybe more.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen The One. Maybe it’s because I’ve been photographing less. Maybe it’s because I’m getting pickier. Whatever the reason, today’s image the The One from Saturday. From May. From 2012… that remains to be seen.

Have you seen The One lately, in your photographs? How do you know when you’ve found it? Feel free to share your images with a link in the comments. I think this will be a fun discussion.

by

So Simple

It’s amazing how something can be so simple, yet at the same time so elusive. We go around, looking for inspiration, but it’s everywhere. Truly everywhere, when we open our eyes. Inspiration can be as simple as vines on wood.

I don’t know why, but I always love the lines and curves of climbing ivy vines. There is something so beautiful about the way they reach out and grow and grow. Add a textured wall and some soft overcast light to give depth of highlight and shadow in those wonderful green leaves, and I’m in heaven with my camera.

So beautiful to me, yet so simple. Proving yet again, we often make things harder than they need to be.

by

Dream More

Do you believe in messages from the universe? I do. Here’s one I saw on my Sunday excursion in Northwest Portland. I love the giant arrow pointing to the message, as if we wouldn’t see it otherwise. Which, given our busy lives and drifting thoughts, is probably true.

So here’s your message from the universe today, you can’t miss it: Dream More.

by

Renewed

This morning I am feeling happy. Creative. Renewed. I am breathing deeper and feeling relaxed.

Yesterday I met up with a friend I haven’t seen in a long time and visited the Portland Art Museum to see the Mark Rothko exhibit one more time before it ends. After visiting the art museum we wandered a little bit around downtown. I was very sad for the lack of photo inspiration I was finding. I was beginning to get worried. What was wrong with me? Was I in a creative slump?

You see, the last couple of months have been sort of a photo-taking dry spell for me. I had a lot of other activities going on and my creative energy was focused elsewhere. Now that the other projects are finishing up I was expecting the photo creativity to come back. It started to, with my rainboot photo shoot last week. But wandering downtown Portland was doing nothing for me. Something was wrong!

I told my friend I needed something different, so we headed to Northwest Portland. It’s got neat shops, old houses and lots of greenery, and I’ve had success with finding inspiration and even scooter sightings there before. Wow, that did the trick! I came away with some photographs I absolutely love, for the first time in a long while. Today’s image is one of these new favorites and I’ll share more this week.

Not only do I feel happy, creative and renewed, I also feel relieved. All I needed was a couple of hours in a place with texture, color and interesting “real life still life” to capture. Whew. No creative slump after all.

by

The Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap is Back!!

What happens when you create your art? Does it make you happy? Do you find that you have an amazing boost of energy, of insight into life and self? Do you find that you feel centered and grounded, as if some piece of you has been completed for brief moment? I’ve discovered the act of creating, of making art of any kind, can have an amazing and transforming effect on me personally. I know I’m not alone.

Now, what happens when you share that art with world? You share a little bit of yourself, and add a little bit of beauty or joy or brightness into someone else’s day. When you share your art, that wonderful energy you gained in the act of creation is not gone, it is magnified. You will see it reflected back to you in different, positive ways.

That’s what the Liberate Your Art postcard swap is all about – sharing your art, liberating it out in the world, where it can do its greatest good.

I’m excited to announce the Liberate Your Art swap is back for 2012 and now open for sign up! We had a fabulous time last year, and I’m ready to do it again. I’m hoping to make it even bigger this year! Can you help me reach my goal to beat last year’s number of participants, and share the info about the swap? Blog it, tweet it, post it on your Facebook page. Whatever it takes to get the news out to more artists!

Visit the swap page for more information and to sign up for the swap list. After you sign up, you will receive an email with all of the details and lots of support from me to get you started.

You’ll be hearing more about the swap here as time goes on, but for now click over here to see what the swap is all about, and join!!

Upcoming Events