Kat Eye Studio

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Redefining My Art

In my newsletter article over the weekend, I wrote about redefining productivity. How I haven’t been feeling productive recently, but that feeling was based on an old definition. I’m not sure where the old definition came from exactly – my old artistic practices combined with external influences, perhaps. It was a reminder that I seem to gather these definitions and rules up as I go along in life. I think we all do. Sometimes we need to reexamine them and redefine them.

What was more important in that article than redefining productivity, I realize today, is the redefinition of my art. I wrote, “My art is using photos and words to explore the connection between heart and the world around us.” Up to now, I haven’t quite figured out where I “fit” in the photography world. If you look at what I practice and write and teach it’s not standard “photography.” It’s something different. Something that doesn’t have a word for it. I’m an artist that combines photos and words together. For me, they can’t be separated.

Realizing that brings freedom. I can remove the labels from who I am, what I do. I can just be me, as I have been, but without trying to figure out where I fit. I don’t fit any standard mold. I can be the seamless blend, like building and sky in this photograph, if I choose. (And no, the photograph was not edited to look this way.)

It can be uncomfortable, though, being without a title. Being without name that defines me, in the eyes of others. It makes it harder to communicate what I do, what I care about. That makes it all the more important to keep using the “words” part of my art. Maybe someday I’ll come up with one word that communicates my art to others. Until then, I’m going to memorize this phrase:

My art is using photos and words to explore the connection between heart and the world around us.

I have a feeling that this moment may be as important as when I claimed myself an artist a couple of years ago. Time will tell.

PS – If you missed it yesterday, I announced a new class coming in April: A Sense of Place. Visit the link here for more details.

PPS – Only THREE DAYS to the next Photo-Heart Connection link up. I can’t wait!

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Creating Art with your Whole Heart

Yesterday I read a wonderful blog post from Karen Walrond, author of The Beauty of Different. In it, she talks about heartbreak, and a philosophy that comes from another author, Brené Brown. Brené, she says, tells her she can’t be selectively numb. We have to feel both the good and the bad. We need to lead wholehearted lives.

Wholehearted.
Whole hearted.
Whole heart.

I’ve written before about following my heart. The only way I know how to truly create, is from my heart. My best work, whether it’s writing or photography, starts in the heart. It’s a feeling I’ve learned to recognize and follow. Like this morning, with this post. It came from that place of heart.

I didn’t always recognize this feeling or know how to follow it. That has come over time, as I’ve unmuffled the feelings of my heart along my creative journey. You see, in order to avoid facing any pain or darkness in my life, I had numbed myself to the good as well as the bad. It makes so much sense looking back now, that when I was willing to accept both the light and the dark in me, I was also finding and owning my voice as an artist.

We can’t have wholeness without dimension. In art, that means light and shadows on a surface, which create a three dimensional form out of two dimensional shapes. In our lives, that means light and shadows in our soul, which create the depth and dimensions of a person. For our best work, we have to come to our art with a whole heart. In order to do that, we have to come at our lives with a whole heart first. We have to unmuffle the tiny voice inside ourselves, so that we can hear both the good and the bad messages. We have to be willing to accept what we hear, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, so that we can learn from it and bring it to our art.

As I think through this, I’m realizing that living with a whole heart is an important key to claiming your artist. When you claim yourself an artist, you put yourself out in a public way, saying, “Here I am world, look what I create!” You open yourself up to the possibility of criticism or rejection. You open yourself to the bad stuff, the stuff you might want to avoid. In this way, not claiming your artist is a form of self-protection. A way to shield your heart from any pain. But in doing so, your heart is muffled and numbed. You won’t be able to hear the good messages either. Your art and your ability to create your best work will be affected.

Today, take a quick look at the status of your heart. Are you living with a whole heart? Do you allow the dimension that comes from light and shadow? Are you protecting yourself from potential hurt and pain and in the process numbing yourself to your heart’s good messages? If you’re having trouble claiming your artist, maybe this is a good place to start. It’s certainly been an important point for me to ponder, to reaffirm the desire and acceptance of living with a whole heart, because I want to hear that little voice inside that leads me to create from my heart.

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Following a Dream

I am musing today on transportation at Mortal Muses, with an image of–what else–a scooter! Click on over there to see a companion image to this one. The image posted there is my favorite of the two.

This lovely find was another in a back alley of Ortygia in Siracusa, Sicily. Ortygia was scooter heaven. Streets too narrow for cars and a chilly, off-and-on rainy day led to an emptiness that is perfect for my photography. I would have loved to study this scooter with my camera more, but just as I started shooting the owner came out and got ready to leave. I did ask him if I could photograph it for a moment, and he nicely stepped away so I could take one or two more photos (this is one). I showed him the images, thanked him and then let him go on his way.

It’s probably no secret that I have a dream of owning a scooter, after living in Italy. I’ve taken one step toward that dream, by signing up for a Motorcycle Basic Rider Training course in mid-July after we move back to Oregon. I don’t want to buy a scooter and then discover I hate it, so I’m going to take this course and get my bearings and hopefully my motorcycle license. I also don’t want to let too much time go by, and let normal American life wipe out remembrance of my Italian scooter dream, so I’ve committed myself now. I’ll let you know how it goes come July. 🙂

Switching gears… along the lines of my post yesterday on claiming your artist, I later read this post by Stephey Baker at Marked by the Muse. It seems she and I were on the same wavelength! If you resonated with my post yesterday, I encourage you to check out Stephey’s article as well. Each little piece of information, each little insight will take you a step closer to claiming your artist. It you want to, you can do it.

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