Artistic Stereotypes

I have heard it said that artists must undergo great pain to create great art. I have often found it foolish, however, at the present time I see the merit in it. I don't believe that pain is a requirement. Indeed, great works can be created through joy, hope, and love. For the artistic spirit, pain and stress can be a stimulus for creation, an outlet for our emotion that has nowhere else to go. Those who are reading this may point to faith, or counseling, or perhaps a cold beer. They do not understand the necessity for the artist to create, the absolute NEED to bring forth something from nothing. I believe in God. I know he will carry my burdens, but I also know that He has given me a gift. Through this gift I can release emotions to Him. As stress builds in my life, so does my need to create. I have a strong desire to simply go drop everything and work in the darkroom. Even if the prints don’t turn out, I have released that emotion. I see this as a way to honor this gift. It is from this that I agree in the statement that pain and art go hand in hand, but I do not believe it in the senseless way of those who believe they must starve and sit on the street. That is not for me. Stress can be a great stimulus to create, to let go, and enjoy life. And so here I sit, recalling so many phrases from a book I read years ago. Here is one such phrase: “If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for to the creator there is no poverty and no poor indifferent place.” -Rainer Maria Rilke, LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET

Update

Sorry it's been so long! For those few of you that keep track, I would like to announce that I am now showing in the Deerfield Gallery in Buffalo, Wyoming! New photos and thoughts coming soon!

One Man's Trash...2

So today I had yet another example of my previous post. I shot a whole roll of film of tree stumps, burnt tree stumps. They were the remnants of a slash pile left over from logging, the unusables. Even after they were destroyed, I found a use for them. One man's trash is another girl's treasure.

One Man's Trash...

I don't think elk are trash. I'd like to preface this entry with that. However, the amount of damage they cause can be extremely frustrating. A large herd eats a large amount of feed and can cause considerable damage to fence. Yet whenever we have family come visit, they ask about elk. Do we have any? Can they see them? On one hand elk are cool to see, on the other they are extremely expensive to deal with and provide little in return. Just a thought for today...

Digital

The majority of photos contained within the posts on this blog are nothing more than snapshots. Quite often I have similar negatives waiting to be printed, but for the sake of speed an illustration, I use the snapshots. For these snapshots I have Canon Elph. I love it. I can pack it while moving cows or riding a four wheeler. Nothing to it, but yesterday I was reminded of one more reason to love FILM. I got up on the mountain to take some before and after pictures of a fencing project, and you know what? My Elph was DEAD! Of course it was, nothing you can do when your battery is that dead. You can't pull out your hand meter and take the shot anyway. You can't even try to GUESS. You're dead in the water. And then... You have to find your charger when you get home!!! I suppose I could be organized, or I could just use my film camera. I love my film camera.

Ecclesiasties 3

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven..."

We expect certain parts of our lives to remain constant and others to change. However, even the most constant things change. This post contains a current photo of the same place shown in "All that Glitters" covered with brilliant flowers. For most of my life we had a large sandstone rock sat precariously balanced upon a sandstone column much narrower. We called it the "tippy rock." The rock never actually tipped back and forth, but it gave the appearance that it did. I even climbed on top of it a couple times. Not even a week after I expressed my desire to get a good shot of it, the tippy rock tipped. The large rock that set on top now sits in shambles at the base.

So many changes are occurring in my life right now. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I cry. Some things were flowers; some were the tippy rock. Everything has a purpose. I sometimes struggle with what that purpose is, but I am looking forward with faith.

"A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…

Fast Photo

Fine Art Photography It's not one hour photo. It's not even mail-in photo. It takes hours. It takes effort. It even requires talent. In this respect fine art photography isn't any different than basketball, marriage, or teaching. The difference is that everyone else expects those things to be hard. Photography- that's supposed to be easy. Painters started that rumor at the inception of the Daguerreotype.

This weekend I was on a roll. I did several prints over a four hour period, but there have been days when I've worked two hours on one print. Days when, no matter what, I could not produce a decent print. My short time in the darkroom gave me time to reflect. I frequently think about upcoming photo students and how they expect photo to be the "easy" art class. For some it is. I am one of the lucky ones, and seem to have some instinct for producing a print. Not everyone does. Many cannot even grasp how to produce a full tonal range. They may not even be able to discern what the full tonal range should look like. It was this train of thought that got me to this point. There is a reason I charge what I charge for my photos. It just isn't one hour photo.

All that Glitters...

I've been thinking about this post for a while. It keeps popping up, and I'm having a hard time finding the right words. The truth is, nature sparkles! I usually notice it when dealing with water. The first time I thought of it was when I was irrigating. The sun was glinting off of the water surrounding those little grain plants. Today I noticed it again as I drove my tractor through the creek. The water was shedding off of the tread, and while there was not a large amount of sun involved, there was still an indescribable sparkle to the motion of the water. The other day I was fixing fence and looked out across a field of flowers. It too had a gleam.
Driving tractor gives a person plenty of time to think. I am beginning to believe that everything we do in the name of cosmetics is a poor attempt to catch the sparkle that occurs naturally. Little kids are drawn to glitter. What was the original inspiration for glitter? Water perhaps? Flowers are used in many special occasions. Some people are more overt about trying to bring nature in. Some may have to look a little closer, but I am quite certain that most of what appeals to us aesthetically as humans has a strong foundation in nature and that almost imperceptible gleam that it consistently projects.

Critters and Children

I have an Australian Shepherd and he hates to have his hair brushed. He loves to chase sticks. So today I spent a large amount of time alternating between brushing him and throwing the stick. The job should have taken an hour. Instead I got three quarters of the job done in three hours.
A few weeks ago some distant relatives asked me what career path I was on. They were shocked to find out that I was a teacher. They seemed to expect something far more "western." They claimed it was a long way from roping and wrestling calves. I informed them that it was all the same. They responded with laughter, thinking I meant keeping my students corralled. In truth they couldn't be farther from the truth.
Shortly after beginning my student teaching, I realized how similar ranching and educating really are.
-It takes the same type of patience to vaccinate a struggling cow as it does dealing with a difficult student.
-When dealing with a classroom full of children or a volatile horse, don't let them know you are nervous. They'll pile you in the dirt.
-Hard work pays off.
-If you want your dog or your students to do something for their own good, you can't just plow through things. Alternate between something more enjoyable and the difficult task. You'll both come out in a better place.
-When things aren't going right, turn to God and someone more knowledgeable than you.
-If you care for your students and your critters, they will be much healthier and happier.

New Horizons

I landed myself a new job. Which means no graduate school, but I'm liking this better. I really do believe I'll be able to be creative there! I'm excited!

The Big Rock Candy Mountain

When I was a kid climbing the Big Red Rock was a big deal. Every spring we would have a picnic under its shadow and then I would do my best to struggle up to the top. Of course in reality you can ride your horse or four-wheeler up the backside, but as a kid I didn't know that. I thought I was doing some major rock climbing. When I got to the top I always thought I could see forever. Then I got to hear stories about Grandpa hunting for beads left by Indians atop that rock. Grandma used to sing "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" when I was little. The picture in my head was always the Big Red Rock. I couldn't think of a place any more perfect. When I went to college the Big Red Rock became a symbol of home. Today I climbed the Big Red Rock just for fun. The view is still spectacular. Honestly, I still feel a sense of accomplishment. It was a still a gorgeous view. Some things change, somethings don't, and sometimes the change is all in the eye of the beholder.

Weight Watchers

This morning we check weighed the steers and put in the Angus Source tags. The sale is on Monday. Big day out of the year. A huge amount of income based on how well our steers look and how the cattle market is doing. This year was different because we didn't grain the steers this winter. Of course the check weigh didn't prove that much really because it was the steers first day off of grass and they didn't have breakfast. Image going from a steak dinner with all the fixings to dried out gas station hot dogs. Your first day wouldn't be the heaviest weight either. As we were weighing the steers I was thinking about how to get them to gain a little weight. I had to laugh. For months I've been trying to drop the pounds and I knew all sorts of ways to lose weight, but what all would make the steers gain weight. :) Really in the grand scheme of things- they don't have that much to gain. Still-I was thinking.

This afternoon some relatives from California came by. They are fun, but it is a different thing. I hurriedly cooked a strawberry rhubarb cobbler and tried to prepare myself for company. The fact is I really am shy, so I didn't even really mention much about my website or this blog, and only showed some old contact prints as far as my photography was concerned. If I were smart about this whole marketing thing I would be speaking up at every opportunity. I'm not. How do I go about it without seeming self-centered or self-absorbed? It's something I consistently struggle with, and hence, I'm not getting the exposure I need.

Zapped

Today was the day to bring the steers in from the hills. We left at 5:00 this morning. Nothing to it. But when I got home and laid down... I wanted to sleep so bad. Except the phone kept ringing and the dogs kept barking and it took a while to get that sleep in. I didn't have the gift of the brothers and friends to sleep through it all. I managed to grab a few winks, but then I had no motivation. So creation... No way. My educator's brain was going though.

A 12 year old admitted to me that he couldn't read today. He still doesn't pronounce his "r"s. How do you convince people of the importance of education? I fully admit that these children have forever tainted my view of "home-schooling." One of my literacy classes covered how important it is for children to master certain skills by age eight. What will become of those who fall through the cracks? I believe fully in the freedom of this country. It allows us to accomplish amazing feats, unfortunately some people choose the trickier path and sometimes others are drug along for the ride.

Barns, Doors, and Junk

I had a few minutes to shoot today. I was waiting for Dad to get the baler down there. It was fun. I walked over to a junk pile and did some shooting there. I'm curious to see how some of those come out for my Nature Reclaims portfolio. As I was shooting I was wondering what attracts people to paint/draw/photography/sculpt what amounts to JUNK. I love it! I know there are large amounts of art done in this vein, but I can't help myself. Old rusted out items always remind me that someone was there before. Someone who cared, who put large amounts of effort into survival, and for one reason or another, a one time useful item was left to rest and rot away.

After shooting most of a roll at the junk pile, I migrated over to explore the barn. There are always amazing treasures in barns. I'm not sure what it is that attracts people to barns either. There are loads of pictures of barns, new and old. Kids love to play in barns. Even most adults have total respect for a barn. So what is it? While I was wandering around the loft of this particular barn, I took notice of the doors. There are three doors in the loft of this barn. And you know what? I couldn't help but open every single door and see what I could see. Doors are like barns and junk. They stimulate the imagination. You can't help but wonder what is hidden behind the door. Those "Authorized Personnel Only" doors always get me. Or the ropes that go across the doorway prohibiting people from entry like at the capitol building. Come on-Admit it. You want to jump that rope and see what there is to see just as much as I do.

Dam

A task that usually takes the crew 2-3 hours took the whole family almost all day today. I had thought about taking my camera down there, but I knew I would be in the creek and water and cameras aren't always a good combination. I did miss some good shots that way. The dogs were very curious about the whole process of putting the dam in. Floating logs, sticks, and straw certainly got Boomer's attention. If it is one thing that dog loves, it's a stick. It probably isn't that big of a loss that I left my cameras today. I have a big decision looming. A job offer in a location I don't want to live in, and three potential job offers in places I could live. So now what? That is what is occupying my mind right now. Maybe it isn't that relevant to my photo site, but it does factor into how creative I can be. That and my sunburn today. OUCH!

Downtime

It's funny weather in this part of Wyoming right now. The TV speaks of heat waves in the rest of the country. Here I sit, wearing my second warmest coat while inside, watching as the trees move in the wind. Somehow I should be excited for another day off. A chance to go out and be creative. Instead, I sit here wishing the light were better and looking at the long to do list. Pay that bill, enter that competition... Juried competitions are some of my least favorite parts of the art world. It's all an individually subjective way to sucker artists into lengthening that exhibition record. Art, like everything else in the country is all about a piece of paper and connections.

The Senses

I did some shooting yesterday as my mother, my brother, and I tried to fix fence despite the elements. Snow drifts, storms, and runoff seemed to do their best to prevent that task from finishing. My brother and I were going over some fence around home and again it started to rain. I would love to be able to photograph the scent of rain. There is nothing so perfect and pure as the scent of rain. I can hear the sarcastic comments from people right now-they are completely different senses. I know. I know. But seriously, the greatest art evokes an emotion perhaps a memory. To evoke the memory of the scent of rain, as pure and true as if you were standing in it. Now that's art.

Better Viewing

Don't want to looking at tiny pictures? My website is a work in progress, but check it out at http://www.silvervoyagesphotography.com

Photography on Hold

So...
I got into the MFA program, but do I want to make teaching photography a career? Who knows? I'm waiting to see how the teaching elementary pans out. I haven't been getting the great shots lately. Creativity has disappeared. I'm not sure where it went, but I need to get with it. So much to do, so little time. For now, I'm just doing the ranching thing. Maybe I'll get a new folder up of pictures of that. But I need to get back to photo. So much to work on, so little time.
My three projects I need to be working on:
Four Generations (due 6/2009)
Unconventional Beauty
Nature Reclaims

Reminder

This blog has been created to share my fine art photography. I also take portraits and photograph special events. Please take your time and enjoy the images. However, please remember that these images are copyrighted and are the sole property of the photographer. Thank you.