Kat Eye Studio

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Connections


Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.
— Albus Dumbledore in JK.Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

I saw that flighty temptress in Chicago, in this sculpture at the edge of Millennium Park. I know it was her, because I’ve seen her before, in the work of my dear friend Carissa. She introduced me to that quote above and the temptress in her painting below, started at the Do What You Love retreat in May.
The Flighty Temptress, Adventure by Carissa

Isn’t that cool? I love to find connections like this. Similar themes or styles or ideas between artists in dramatically different places and times. It makes the art I found on the streets of Chicago more real to me, because I saw a connection to a friend in it. And then, of course, I had to capture it, edit it and share it – making my own art and my own connection to the flighty temptress as well.

Here’s another cool connection I’ve been meaning to share, between my online friend Angie and I. She created this lovely stitched piece, inspired by a photo I posted here. I love how she took the basic elements of color, line and shape from the photo and interpreted it in the fabric and stitching.

Bollards and Ropes by Angie

Creating art is a cycle of connection and inspiration. There is nothing wholly new, we are all influenced by the world around us. Our contact with other art and artists can’t help but show up in our work. The cool thing is in how it shows up – we change it, give it our own twist. We share our own unique vision of the world.

Do you have stories of connection and inspiration between yourself and other artists? It would be fun to have you share them here!

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Inspired by…

I’ve been wanting to share how my studio is shaping up, with some lovely art to inspire me. It is so exciting to get things up on the wall, making the whole space more complete.

The top painting is by Diana Mulder, a mixed media artist I met online over a year ago. She created this work of art from a photo I took, you can read the story about it here. I am enchanted by this piece for many reasons. It is from an image of my son, which endears it to me, but also for the connection it represents with Diana and other artists I’ve met online. I love how she took my original photo and added brighter colors. This image does not do it justice, there is a lot more texture and layers than is visible here. How perfect the color scheme fits right into my studio, too!

The middle painting is by local artist Jennifer Lommers. I found her at the Corvallis Fall Festival, a wonderful local arts festival held every September here in town. It turns out, Jennifer lives in my neighborhood and knows my son from the school bus stop. Small world! I am entranced by her colorful, swirly style. I absolutely loved the large original of this peacock, but settled on the print for now. I am happy to have it framed and gracing my creative space.

The bottom painting is an original watercolor, purchased in Burano, Italy. As Burano is my favorite place for color, this was a perfect add to my studio as well. Other little bits of inspiration on the shelves are a Murano-glass clock, a cute cat figurine purchased in San Marino, and a little die cast scooter I purchased for my son on my first business trip to Italy, before we ever thought about moving there. Everything in this space is a source of inspiration.

Do you have a creative space? Do you fill it with things that bring you joy?

Linking in to Paint Party Friday, to share the art of these inspiring painters with others this week! Kristin and Eva, I hope that’s ok.

 

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The Loner

One lone flower, tossed aside. 
It makes me ask, can an image of a “thing” evoke emotion? As a “thing” photographer, I would answer yes. This image speaks to me through the isolation of the flower, discarded for not being perfect. The flower is not even in the bunch with the other discarded flowers, it is off on its own. Truly alone. But in its isolation, the remaining beauty of the flower can be seen. The gorgeous color and the shape, jump out at me against the concrete in a way that would be lost in the group.
It seems there is a message here, that can be brought into my life. It’s ok to be less than perfect. It’s ok to be out there, on my own once in a while. Once in a while, being outside the group can help me shine my unique beauty. My unique view on the world.
What do you take away from this image?  Does it speak to you too?

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What’s going on around Kat Eye Studio…

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Expectations Lost, Happiness Found

What is it about photography, that makes me happy? I’ve noticed lately, that whenever I go out and photograph, even if it’s just for a walk around the block in the rain, that I return in a good mood. I am smiling and there is a spring in my step. I feel buoyant. The sheer act of capturing photographs, whether they end up good or not, makes me grin.

Thinking more on why photography makes me happy this morning, I found that photography is one area of my life where I don’t have huge expectations or plans. I’ve learned to embrace the fun of letting myself be surprised. I follow my intuition and interests, as they pull me along in new directions. I find great joy in discovering what catches my eye on any given day. Amazing things have resulted as I follow those internal nudges – in photography, writing and my study of art in general.

Take Saturday’s photowalk visit to the Farmer’s Market, for example. Of course I photographed the colorful vegetables, but what really interested me were the flowers on the ground as the vendors sorted and tossed and created beautiful bouquets. Normally I would be attracted to the finished bouquets, but at this moment I was captured by the haphazard nature of the flowers scattered on the concrete and in the buckets. To me, on this specific Saturday morning, these images were the most interesting to explore and compose. These were the images that held a story. Next Saturday, in the same place, it will be completely different.

This gets to the “heart and soul” aspects of photography, or any art. Creating has the power to change how we feel. When we let go of expectations or plans, wonderful things can result. There is an interesting parallel here to the rest of my life I’ve needed to focus on as well: Letting go of control and expectation. It’s something that I am slowly, and surely, learning to do. It’s been a long road, but I am lucky to have something like photography to show me the way, with a smile on my face. 

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What’s going on around Kat Eye Studio… 

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Fascinations

There are a few surprising things that I have found interesting to capture since returning back to the USA. Newspaper boxes, mailboxes and parking meters. Lovely parking meters, like this set, all by themselves. Or parking meters with something else, like my scooter. I didn’t see these beauties in Italy, there was usually a box where you would pay down the street and print a receipt. That was boring. These are interesting.

The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. 
— Marcel Proust
Linking in to Texture Tuesday today. Here’s the recipe I used:
– First, adjusted levels and converted to sepia tone.
– Next, added Kim Klassen’s crackerjack texture, blended with soft light at 88%.
– Erased this layer over the parking meters.
– Finally, added the crackerjack texture again, rotating 180 degrees. Blended with soft light at 48%.

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What’s going on around The Kat Eye View of the World…

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Heart Message, Acknowledged

On Friday, I wrote a Message from your Heart. Turns out, that was a message from my heart. After two months of living in a whirlwind, the time to pause had come. I needed to listen to my heart this weekend, slow down and do what I love. Some photography, some painting, some time with friends and some organizing. (Maybe the organizing wasn’t something I love to do, but my heart thanked me just the same.) I had some general, wide open ideas of what to do with my time, and a lot of flexibility within my days. My whole being seemed to give a big sigh of relief.

I have realized, once again, I can only go at warp speed for so long. It’s time to focus back in on the basics, listen to my heart and not try to do everything under the sun. If I could do it over again, I wouldn’t plan so much for right after our move home from Italy. The great news, though, is the whirlwind is past and I can set my pace going forward. That pace includes photography excursions, like yesterday’s, which yielded this lovely photo from downtown Corvallis. My heart sings with all the yellow! The pace includes time to paint, and to hang out with family and friends. Time to write and create new classes.

This message really hit home as I was preparing my guest post for Ashley Sisk today, on The Care and Feeding of Inspiration. You have to listen to your heart, in order to find and keep inspiration. You can’t expect it will always be there for you, if you are charging ahead, ignoring your heart.

Message from my heart, acknowledged.

Linking in to Creative Every Day and the Creative Exchange today.

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What’s going on around The Kat Eye View of the World…

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