Symmetry in Art and Beauty

New Year. New Class. New Concepts. I'm ready to go!

I started a new "Patterns and Textures in Nature" class. For the first assignment we had to "break a rule". The rule I chose to break was "the rule of thirds". This rule of creating art asymmetrically is a rule I learned as a little girl. My mother always said to use an odd number of things when setting up a picture, a centerpiece, a display. "The odd number will make it more interesting", she would say. I learned it in early art classes. Never center your subject, you want the eye to be drawn around the whole piece. So, my assignment was to fight my natural inclination and provide a picture of texture in nature with bilateral symmetry. Here are a few examples... or as close as I could get!

This was hard to do. I also felt the pictures I took were not as interesting as when I went back to my old instincts:

I turned in two from the first group for my class to see, but I am more proud of the second group. This got me thinking.....

We tend to think people with symmetrical features are more beautiful than people with less symmetrical faces. (Click here for info) Babies are cute to us because their faces haven't developed enough to create asymmetric features. That, and, well, babies are just plain cute! As we age, we develop "character" in our faces. Our noses may grow to tilt to one side. One eyebrow may be higher that the other. And mostly, our wrinkles creates different nooks and crannies near our eyes, mouths and foreheads.

My instructor's purpose in having us break a rule is to inspire creativity. But for me, it had more impact. It caused me to rethink what I believe to be beautiful. When I reflect on what I see, I will now think differently.

In people, I will see how asymmetry creates interest. It keeps us engaged and draws us in to the "canvas" per se.

In art, I will respect when I see someone who was able to create a piece with symmetry that draws my eye, keeps my attention, and engages an emotion in me. I will know it wasn't easy to do.

As always... learning behind the lens...

~Jody

 

The Art of Distraction (or) A Summer of Fun

One of the things I know about myself is that when I am "on task" there is very little that will get me off course. However, one of the great things about retirement is that my time is my own, and if I do get distracted or "off task", it's no one's concern but my own. In fact, I am having so much fun the past year or two that sometimes I need to take a deep breath and thank the powers that be for this gift of time.

That said, my summer was NOT spent doing my Maxine project. I started it. I have some ideas. I've involved my sister to help contribute. BUT I did not make much progress. I added no new pictures to the Maxine portfolio. The ones I did take over the summer will not see the light of internet! I needed to be distracted... So I took a detour and had some fun. 

For one distraction, I took and class at the Botanic Garden with a super instructor who really helped challenge me in a good way. The class was about "water" with an emphasis on abstract photography. I learned new techniques, gained new ideas, learned how to think differently about my art, and met some talented classmates. I added some new photos to my website under the "Water Abstracts" portfolio. Let me know what you think! ;-)

I was also able to submit two photos to the Botanic Garden student show and both got in. I'm excited and honored to have my photos hanging with such talented classmates!

Another distraction was a trip to Alaska and Vancouver.  It was rainy in Alaska, but sometimes that made for better pictures. Vancouver was beautiful weather. I haven't had time to go through all my pictures, but you can see some on my twitter, instagram, facebook feeds. Here are a few more:

Another fun distraction was a workshop I took in Chicago. I put some of the photos in my "The City" portfolio. Take a look. I love the one of the policeman. He just had that big smile that said, "I love Chicago!"

And my favorite "distraction"... my children/grandchildren! I've added some photos to my "Small Loves" portfolios, but here are a few I took with a brand new macro lens:

So with a few more weeks of summer left before my new classes start, I plan to focus a bit on Maxine. But more importantly, I plan to savor the distractions along the way.

~ Jody

 

10 Questions

The last few classes before summer break were a whirlwind for me. The instructor wanted us to leave with one or two ideas for a summer project based on our "perspective". During the 10 week course, each class assignment was to bring us closer to knowing what we wanted to do for our project, and the last few weeks were a bit more intense.

We had to write the answers to 10 questions... Questions like:  Who are you? What inspires you most? What is your main character trait? What do you love about photography? What is the meaning of life? And more... We journaled our answers.

In the meantime, our photo assignment for the last week of class was to shoot at least one photo a day. I had to come back with 7 or 8 pictures that told "My Story". What would these 7-8 pictures say about me? The purpose was to analyze myself and my life in relation to photography in only a few shots. 

Here are my 8 photos I used:

I happened to be going to visit my son and his family, so I used my grandchildren to express what I believe is important to me in a couple of the pictures.  If you click on the photos, the title says a little bit about each photo. Basically, I used the 8 photos to represent what is important to me or permeates my day; The solitude of my morning runs, looking forward to the future, making sure to have fun, appreciating special relationships, intense focus (that's just who I am), relaxing and sharing, and peace of mind.  I didn't realize it at the time, but the journaling and this photo exercise just seemed to clarify my direction.

Back in class on the last day, we showed our pictures. We then, went through our journaling and picked out words and phrases that came up a lot. Some of mine were: family/children/husband, goals, purpose, independence, self sufficient, strong, lucky, happiness, give, love, a larger sense of being, hard work, planning, sacrifice... 

The time to reflect and decide was upon me.  I had to look back on the 10 weeks of class and decide. What was purposeful and meaningful to me, here and now. 

My project will be to add to my "Maxine" portfolio. It will be hard, as I expressed in my "Will I Turn Left?" blog. It is something I must do. I'm not sure why yet, but I will know once I progress down the road.

In addition to that project, I will plan to also continue to focus on seeing the world a bit differently through the lens.

It's going to a great summer!

~ Jody 

Scavenger Hunt!

Our instructor wanted us out of our comfort zone. What better way than to give us a week to shoot 8 items. That may sound easy to you, however, when you want to "find your style" and present eight respectable examples, a week is not a lot of time. One of my classmates said she could spend a week on each item. My sentiments exactly!

So here's the result I presented. Groceries; flower; tree; face; doorknob; multi-generation; stairs; small town.

So, a few interesting facts to know: I got chastised at the grocery store for taking pictures of my basket. Go figure. The tree is a reflection in a sculpture at The Botanic Garden. I will probably add my "multi-gen" picture to my Maxine collection... definately, the topic becoming a prime candidate for my summer project. We shall see.

It was a fun challenge and it made me think a bit to create something a bit interesting out of the ordinary. 

I also want to give a special shout out to my cousin, Jeff Lazar. He gave me some tips on post processing (ie Photoshop). I used it on the face and it seemed to amp it up a bit. He's been a great resource of info! Thanks, Jeff!

Until next time, I'll be behind the lens...

~ Jody

 

It's official!

I have a hard time calling myself an artist. I wasn't going to change my linked in "job" until I felt I could really call myself an artist with some level of confidence. But hey, someone "official" lumped me in a category of "conceptually driven fine artists". Wow! He also featured my photograph in his blog on "Chicago Fine Art". Click here for his blog (pinch me!)

In addition to that excitement, I saw they used my photo on the sign for the show "From Nature". It's officially time to change.

As my granddaughter would say' "It's been a fun day!"

~ Jody

Will I turn left?

On this journey of discovery, there is a path I will eventually travel. It is the path to understand all the wonderful things it means to have an artist for a mother. This is not the natural path for me. It's easy to take the right turns, and harder to take the left ones. This one is a big left turn for me... so, I just started to veer in that direction and I'll see how it goes. 

On my last class assignment, we were to take a few related objects to photograph in different ways. They could be related by shape, color, texture, etc. I chose objects related to my mother and her art. On one hand, it is hard to look through all of the scraps, half completed work, used supplies, and books that she left. On the other hand, it brings to life for me the way she thought, how she learned, and the way she saw the world. It won't always be pretty, if I take the left turn. So I started out easy with the following:

I remember when she was going to classes to learn watercolor. By that time, she was a proficient oil painter with a following in the Chicago area. I could see her struggle and get frustrated with the new medium. There is less control than with oil. But not surprisingly, over time, she mastered the technique. As I now look back, I can tell she wasn't ever comfortable with watercolor because she did not complete a lot of work in that medium. But I can tell that she used the tools she learned in other periods of her work.  

I then moved on to another phase. I wasn't too fond of this phase, but she LOVED it. How do you sell pictures of BUGS? But that wasn't what mattered. It was the discovery of a subject that she needed to master. 

It was interesting for me to take these photos. It took me out of the position of daughter, and put me in the position of fellow artist (although, I would never suggest that I have the same depth of talent as Maxine). It allowed me to see things differently. It allowed me to see her differently...

More to come when I can journey further down the road past that left turn...

~ Jody

 

I'm excited to say.....

.... I got in the show!  Below is the image that was accepted. I am calling it "In the heat of the night"

Thanks to all of you who wished me luck. I guess it worked. What I am learning is that a bit of luck is quite helpful in the art field. Not to mention good mentors, a big network, and a lot of persistence.. Notice I didn't say talent. In my opinion, many people have talent. You need more. I keep coming back to how this relates to my previous career. A lot of people do a fine job at work. Many people are smart and have good ideas. It's exactly the same: good mentors, a big network, and a lot of persistence... and a bit of luck that help make someone successful.

Now don't get me wrong. I am NOT successful at photography. I am having fun with the journey (see my first blog) and learning a lot about myself in the context of a new passion. And as I said, there is so much to learn.

My class helped me pick which of the three prints of this photo I will frame. They also gave me good advice on how to frame it, what to price it, and where to get it framed. My teacher is such a great mentor. She said I could contact her if I had any questions since class is on break now. So, I have my task ahead of me for the framing. Tasks are always a good thing to help me focus!

The show is at The Art Center-Highland Park, May 7-July 10. Opening reception is May 22 6:30pm-9pm

By the way, just so you know, my confidence is still shaken... I did NOT get a prize or honorable mention in the Botanic Garden Orchid Show. Below are my entries:

Oh well.You win some, and you lose some. It sure helps to have friends wish you a little luck along the way. ;-)

~ Jody