I've really been struggling with feeling dissatisfied recently. Of course there is nothing wrong, which made the weird unsettled feeling I've been having even more confounding. At first I thought that I might just be burning out a bit, but after reading both Steal Like An Artist and Imagine, I think I've finally figured out how to put what I've been feeling into words.
I'm stagnating. I'm unsettled because I'm not learning anything new and there are no new things to learn in the foreseeable future. Steal Like An Artist talked about how side projects and hobbies are important. Knitting use to be my hobby, but it has become my job because of The Book. Imagine talks about how important it is for creative individuals to live in an area where you have access to new people and new ideas. It points out that living in suburbia is the worst place to live if you are creative because the suburbs are designed to keep people isolated. (Guess what my living situation is...)
Nothing is going to change in my life until The Book is complete, so I've decided that I'm going to have to give myself a bit of a side project. One that isn't too time consuming. Today I decided to brush up on my photoshop skills. I personally am not a fan of large photo edits. I think it takes the soul out of a photograph. But I think it would be wise for me to practice tweaking photos. Enhancing colors and feeling in the photos rather than making them into something unrealistic. I've been really impressed with many black and white photos I've seen recently, so that is where I'm going to start.
Who's surprised it's a Scooter picture. Nobody... that's who.
The lighting was really good today, so I went ahead and did a self portrait too. I actually am on my bed with the tripod above me with the camera pointing down. It was almost a relief to do something artistic for the sake of.
Both Steal Like An Artist and Imagine are excellent books and worth reading. Although I understand that Lehrer, who wrote Imagine, is in a bit of trouble for misquoting Bob Dylan in it. I'd still recommend reading Imagine even if Bob Dylan was misquoted. The rest of the text is well written.
2 comments :
Oh thank you so much for the excellent book recommendations! I'm definitely going to check them out. Also, I think I know exactly how you are feeling right now. I've let work consume me and I need a little something else (maybe in addition to knitting?) to keep myself active. Keep up the wonderful work, your photos are fantastic!
I'm really impressed at how astute you are at working out what's wrong and doing something about it. When I lived in the country, it really inspired my creativity, and I loved it so much. Living in suburbia is like living in a desert, as far as I am concerned! The books sound incredibly interesting.
Post a Comment