Kat Eye Studio

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Making a Mark

What am I trying to say as an artist? Where is it that I want to go? Those questions are swirling around in my head after taking a one-day class called Preparing and Presenting your Photographic Portfolio from a wonderful instructor, Chris Eagon, at the Oregon College of Art and Craft yesterday.

The question “where do I want to go” is an important one for us as artists. Having goals and direction are what keep us moving forward, learning and growing. It’s through the continued journey that we figure out how to make our unique mark in the world.

I’ve known since living in Italy that the next step for me, upon moving back to the US, would be to bring my photographs into the real world. I needed the foundation I gained while in Italy: Confidence in the creation of my images, sharing them with others online, and identification of my unique vision. I’m building from there now, learning how to print and exhibit my work. Even harder, learning how to talk about my work and myself as an artist, with people face-to-face. I did not expect it to be such a challenge, with all of that confidence and knowledge I had gained. But it’s a new realm, and the challenges are different. The fears are different. It’s the next step I need to take in my creative journey, regardless of the resistance that comes along.

I am starting to understand that there is the journey that is “Kat the blogger and teacher” and the journey that is “Kat the artist.” The are separate yet inextricable. If I did not continue on my own artistic journey, separate from blogging and teaching, I would have nothing to share here. I have to admit, the journey of the artist feels a bit more scary and lonely. It’s the one I have to do on my own, in order to be true to myself.

So I’m letting my thoughts swirl around the questions: What am I trying to say as an artist? Where is it that I want to go? Only by answering these for myself will I figure out how to make my mark as an artist. I thought I knew the answers, but they have changed. It’s time to answer them again.

How about you, do you know the answers to these questions for yourself? Do you know where you are headed next?

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Recognize This?

Of course you do! The Eiffel Tower is one of the most recognizable icons of a place in the world. I’m working on the “Exploring Icons” lessons for my new course, A Sense of Place, and revisiting my photos of iconic images from around Europe. There are so many creative ways to explore icons, even when they are as photographed as the Eiffel Tower. It’s so much fun, I really can’t wait to share this class!

Don’t forget! Tomorrow the link up opens for February’s Photo-Heart Connection. Plan some time in the next few days to go through your photos from February and find the one that speaks to your heart. The link up will be open March 1 through 7. See you tomorrow with my Photo-Heart Connection!

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Music in Me

Creating takes many forms. We often think of creating as bringing something wholly original into the world. We limit ourselves with this belief.

When we take some raw material and transform it into something new, we create. When we cook a meal from ingredients, we create. When we combine pieces of clothing from our closet into an outfit, we create. When we pick up an instrument and bring sounds from it, we create.

I’ve been exploring this aspect of creating through my new/old guitar. I’m not the “creator” of the music I’m learning, but I am the creator of the sounds. This guitar would not be making these sounds were it not for me. The music doesn’t exist without me.

Every day, we get to create. Every day, we start with raw materials and turn them into something new. There is freedom and joy that comes with this knowledge. I love knowing this, don’t you?

In The Picture

This month’s {in the picture} theme is “Write On,” putting words on our self-portraits in some way. I thought this quote was perfect to express what I’ve discovered about playing the guitar. I envisioned this shot in my head, wanting the view out the window overexposed and me to be dark in contrast. I set it up using a tripod and remote, and discovered it was challenging to use the remote to trigger the camera, drop it, and get my hands in position in time to take the photo. It took a few tries! The blur of my head was a total accident, I must have been looking between my hands at the moment the picture was taken, but I found I liked the softness it brought to the image. It went well with the light.

So, month two of my self-portrait journey is done, and it’s getting a little bit easier. It helped to know what I wanted to “say” with the photo, and focusing on the concept I was wanting to convey rather than the idea that it is a photograph of me. How’s it going for you?

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Where I Am

Whoever you are
whatever you are
start with that,
whether salt
of the earth
or only
white sugar.
— Alice Walker

I picked up a sort-of new book this morning, Open Mind: Women’s Daily Inspiration for Becoming Mindful. After finishing Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance in 2010 I have been searching for another “daily meditation” type of book that would inspire me through the year. I’m terrible at reading these types of books daily, actually. I tend to pick them up every so often and read a week’s worth of entries, if they capture my attention. Some never stick with me at all. So I started this new book in early January but hadn’t kept up with it.

I found myself reaching for it this morning, and the quote above is where I started. Appropriate, no? It was as if the book was saying, “I forgive you, don’t worry about reading me daily, you’ll get what you need.”

I took today’s message to heart. Start wherever you are, with who you are, and move forward. We can all change from there. If we don’t acknowledge our starting point, accept where and who we are in this moment, are we really able to make fundamental changes in our lives? Will we see the good of ourselves in the future, after the change, if we don’t see the good in ourselves today?

We may not yet be where we want to be, the “salt of the earth” as Ms. Walker calls it, but there is value, still, in where we are, even as “white sugar.”

Whether it’s in your photography or your life, start today by accepting where you are. Spend a moment to appreciate who you are, right here and right now. Acknowledge the value that already resides within you.

That’s what I’m doing this morning. Maybe tomorrow I’ll work my way onward and outward. Today appreciating myself for where I am, with all of my quirks and imperfections, is enough.

PS – Only two days to the first Photo-Heart Connection link up! Are you getting ready?

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Boy in the Morning

My boy, early in the morning.

As we snuggled on the couch this morning to keep warm, the soft light and shadows inspired me to grab my camera and convince him to sit still for a moment or two. This doesn’t happen often these days. When he was little, he was my main subject but at some point he got tired of the mamarazzi and put his foot down. He was done having his picture taken. That’s when I began to explore other subjects to improve my photography skills, opening up a new and different world. The world you see most of the time around here.

That doesn’t mean I don’t want to capture him. His growth, who he is. He’s at the cusp of teenager-hood, making his own choices. Listening obsessively to pop music, growing his hair out (my one condition: he must keep it clean) and playing computer games.

But… he’s still my boy, for this brief moment, early in the morning.

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Unusual Weather

While some of you live in places where you get tired of the snow in winter, I don’t live in one of those places. In the Willamette Valley of Oregon we rarely get snow. It’s mostly rain, rain, rain.

But on Sunday morning, we woke up to snow on the ground and big, fat flakes falling. I could not miss this photo opportunity, so my son and I went out and put fresh tracks in the snow. In a short while the snow stopped and the sun came out as a break in the clouds moved through, creating some lovely photo opportunities, like the one below.

The snow came and went for a day or two and now we are back to rain. Serious rain. This is a good thing, since we have had a very dry winter so far. Dry and clear is nice for the humans here in the winter, but not so good for the land. I don’t mind the rain right now, it’s been a while and I like the sound of the rain outside while I’m safe and warm inside.

Somehow though, it’s not as exciting or as magical as waking up to the world covered with a quiet blanket of snow.