Kat Eye Studio

Archives for July 2012

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Spinning Around

Do you know the difference between a Carousel and a Merry-Go-Round? Yeah, me neither. My husband claims it’s that carousels have only horses and merry-go-rounds have other animals. A quick search on the web shows some claim the difference is in the direction of travel – clockwise or counter-clockwise. Yet another online claim was that one runs by electricity and the other does not. Wikipedia says they are the same. So… I’ve decided it’s worth no further time trying to figure it out. They are just pretty and fun to photograph! I played with panning on this one found in Seaside, Oregon.

This image also captures how I feel since returning from my trip. I’m spinning around, running in circles, with too much to do. Is a vacation worth it when you have so much to do when you get back? While in the state of relaxation on the trip and immediately post-trip I definitely think “Yes!” Now, a few days later, I’m not so convinced. I’m overwhelmed.

So I give myself a pep talk. Deep breath, Kat. Make a list, prioritize and do only what must get done right now. Maybe I should plan another vacation…

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For the Love of Postage

Oh, how I love stamps! I forget this until the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap envelopes come rolling in, and I get to see these awesome postage stamps from all over the world. They are an art unto them selves. Like last year, I will soak them off and save them for future use. I have no idea what use, but I will come up with something!

After a week away, I received a big stack of envelopes for the swap when I picked up my mail yesterday. So much fun! So many stamps!! Right now there are 273 artists signed up for the swap, so there will be many more envelopes coming in over the next few weeks. So much art to be liberated into the world! Awesome!!! Sign up is open until July 15, so there is still time to join in or to share the swap with your artist friends. It’s been great to see the chatter in the Facebook group about people ordering, receiving and sending their postcards. Join us there too!

I’m also surprised when I receive little notes of encouragement and fun for me along with the envelopes. I don’t expect that! I receive two postcards addressed to me along with the stack of envelopes. Thanks Katie and Linda!

And today’s mail art comes from Nora Clemens-Gallo. I didn’t want to ruin this envelope by opening it! Thanks Nora, for the extra art liberated!

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Where Land and Sea and Sky Meet

I spent the last week at the edge of the continent, where the land and sea and sky meet. We had family come from Colorado and we camped out at the coast, enjoying the rugged beauty of the Pacific Ocean along the Oregon coastline. After growing up landlocked in Colorado, I will never tire of living so close to the ocean. There is a power and a peace that can be found no other place.

So after a week of sand and salt water, today it’s back to the routine. I’m getting caught up on emails and everything that piles when you unplug for a week, but I had to pull out this one photo to share with you today, taken on an early morning clamming trip at low tide. Whoever made up the “rule” that the horizon shouldn’t be in the center of the photo must have never come across a scene like this, where the sea meets the sky; becomes the sky. The horizon could be no other place.

Ah, the beauty and peace of it. I am still there.

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Photo-Heart Connection: June

The spare chair.

It beckons.

It doesn’t look comfortable, nor especially pretty. But for some reason, it invites me to come and sit down for a while. It begs for a friend to sit across from me. Sipping a cup of tea, and watching the world go by on the sidewalk beyond.

I can feel myself on this chair. Sitting forward on the edge. My feet on the lower rail, wrapping ankles around the leg. My elbows on the table, my hands around my cup. Looking intently at my companion, as she talks.

I can feel myself shifting the chair, the sound of metal scraping on concrete, to turn the chair out from the table. Leaning against the hard back, legs crossed, as I quietly watch the busy street. Cars going by, pedestrians moving in and out of shops. Snippets of conversation and laughter float by.

The world moving around me as I sit. And watch. And listen. And observe.

The spare chair beckons. I think I’ll sit for a while.

My Photo-Heart Connection seems to be about rest this month. It’s about pausing for a moment to just watch the world around me. Instead of charging ahead, moving forward, always being the one with a plan. But maybe not cushy rest… the spare chair invites me to active rest. Observation as part of the environment. It is fitting, as I head away on vacation for a week, to be reminded of what I need to do. Watch. Observe. Listen. I am so anxious to get to a new place with my camera, to explore again. This has been a month full of creativity with my painting and my printing but not in the way of quiet observation that so calls to me in photography. The spare chair reminds me of what I need to do this week.

I’ll be away from the computer much of the week, but I will be coming by when I can to visit all of your Photo-Heart Connections. Don’t be surprised if I’m late this month. I hope that those of you participating will pick up my slack and visit each other. As powerful as seeking your own Photo-Heart Connection is, there is power in witnessing the heart connections of others. We learn to see deeper, to see differently, from each other. We may find our kindred spirits on this journey through life. I’ll see you back here on the blog in a week or so.


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