15 minutes of Fame

As an artist I have talked of us being historians, and this past Sunday I had the opportunity to put my artistic historian skills to the test, to capture and tell the story of a tragedy . What was a wonderful Sunday afternoon at the an airshow turned tragic as a thunderstorm ripped through the airport mangling tents and throwing objects around. A child lost his life and many others were hurt, you can read my account and see the pictures at http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-40823

In the moments that followed the storm, my first thought was how could I help but there many trained paramedics and rescue personnel on the scene so I turned to recording the scene with my camera. I tried to take pictures that convey the emotion of the story as well as the story itself. I left and when I arrived home I uploaded the pictures and sent them to a couple of local news station and then decided to write a small summary and submit it and some pictures to Ireport.com.

Monday came my fifteen minutes of fame, CNN called and wanted to use my pictures and account on their website and TV. Suddenly my little story and pictures were easily assessable to the international stage. At last count the story was viewed over 42,000 times but my thoughts were had I been an artist in this. I believe I got the answer to the question when I looked at the comments and people were disagreeing if it was disturbing and tragic, because part of my definition of art is that it makes people think and discuss.

For me this came at a very strange time and provide validation to me you see I am down to my last few dollars and still have not found a job. The tragedy obviously put things in perspective as far as counting my blessing and being grateful but it also came me hope and belief that I do things well and would be valuable as an employee.

Today let your family and friends know how much you love them.

Art as an ambassador

The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference. -Audre Lorde

As artist we are ambassadors for our world and our lives, conveying the similarities and the differences to others in a somewhat non threatening way. One of the best bridges is joy. Capturing the expression of joy in a piece of art is a special moment, for the language of joy is universal. In every culture, joy is prized it is a sign of prosperity, of self contentment, of peace if only for a fleeting moment. It can open doors because it shows that moment of simplicity and vulnerability.

Joy is important in all lives without there is a depth and dimension that is missing. Today capture a moment of joy in your art and live a moment of joy in your life.

Defining Failure

Failure is a part of life and learning. First you must define what failure is to you, and realize that definition may change as different situations arrive in your life. Currently my definition of failure is redefining itself as I struggle to be true to become the artist I was meant to be. Is it failure if I can’t currently live on what I make from my art thus having to take a small job to survive? In the past I would have defined that as failure but now as long as I am persistent with my art I don’t define it as failure it would only be failure if I gave up the persistence with my art and once again let the corporate world define who I am. How do you define failure in your art and your life?

Is it failure if everyone’s opinion of what you think is your best piece ever is just so so?

Is it failure if you don’t have a piece hanging on a gallery wall somewhere?

Is it failure if you haven’t moved someone with your art?

Is it failure if you haven’t caused someone to think about things in a new light with your art?

Is it failure if you life a small existence but the world is a better place because you are in it?

Without a definition of failure you won’t be persistent to what is true to you. Today define failure for you in your art and your life.

Spring

Dogwoods in Spring

From the depths of cold dark icy winter,
Spring emerges with first a color splinter,
Gains speed with each day gone by
And finally burst forth in spectacular reply.

Spring by De Olkiewicz

Making the common profound

We make the common moments of life profound by pausing.

Sisters

As artist we take moments in time and tie them into individuality, otherwise life goes by as a constant stream of events one blending into the next without detail. As artist we are privilege to express those individual moments and return the luster of their details capturing them to be appreciated by others as the jewels they truly are.
It is the common ordinary moments that tell the details of our lives, of who we are of where we come from and where we are going. What an honor and a privilege to creatively immortalize those moments for others.
Today turn the common into the profound by pausing and appreciating it.

Capturing life’s snapshots

“All we see of someone at any moment is a snapshot of their life; they’re in riches or poverty, in joy or despair. Snapshots don’t show the million decisions that led to that moment.” Richard Bach

Miss in Motion

The quote above is so true, life is a series of snapshots and most of the time when make judgments of life based on one snapshot. At a very young age when learn the hustle of living, running from here to there, watching our parents try to fit all the things that are suppose to be in a day in. As artist we have a gift that can capture moments along the way to serve as a reminder of what was, but are we capturing snapshots or masterpieces? What is the difference? A snapshot gives us a glance of that moment and forces people to make a judgment based on that moment. A masterpiece tells the story, shows the character, reveals the emotion and paints a broader detail for judgment. For me it is the difference between doing the art just to be doing and doing the art because I am passionate about art, people and life.
Today are you creating snapshots or masterpieces?

Inspiration: Smile

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. -Thich Nhat Hhan

Joy

Capturing smiles in art is tricky business, because so often what we get is the obligatory cheese smile. You know the one I am talking about, I am doing this because it is expected of me. I feel great accomplishment when I capture a real emotional smile. Smiles have many different emotional expressions, sheer joy for being… (like the one above); mischievous; contentment; in love and on and on and on. Those are some of the most important moments in life however they are the most difficult to capture because they happen in unplanned moments.

Come on come get me

Today capture the emotion of a smile.

Losing yourself to find yourself

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” Thomas Merton

Water color lily

When was the last time you completely lost yourself while studying a piece of art whether in its natural form or its expressed form? There is something quite therapeutic about losing yourself in art, allowing it to speak to your very soul, transporting you from your daily grind to a place of comfort, peace, joy and security. There is also something very therapeutic about losing yourself in it and being transported to a place of sorrow, pain and grief. We as artist (and people) need to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves sometimes and art is an incredible vehicle for that. It provides a non judgmental ear for you to examine those things deep within that can help you explode into a more complete and creative you.
Today find some art, lose yourself and find yourself and then express the new you creatively.

Who is defining your success?

Are you defining success in your life and your art or are you allowing someone else to define it for you?

It is said that before you can achieve success you need to define what success means. I would take it one step further, and say you must define what success means to you for you to truly achieve success, otherwise you are simply succeeding by someone else’s standards. A month ago others would have defined my life as successful, as I was an accomplished manager of a operation of 300+ agents, 20 team leads and 3 supervisors but as I began to look, evaluate and define I did not define it as success because I wasn’t being true to who I am nor was I doing my utmost best on the job each day. In my life I am not successful if I am not achieving my definition of success no matter how much money I make or how many people I manage.
Living by someone else’s definition of success in life can be destructive, however creating your art by someone else’s definition of success is devastating. You may sell many pieces and be praised by many people however if you are not creating to your definition you are not being true to your emotions, expression or point of view. This world needs true artist who are willing to stand behind their creative expression because they have achieved their definition of success for their art, not talented people who are produce work that doesn’t have their heart and soul in it.
Today, define your own success in life and in your art.

Creating Something new

“Every once in a blue moon, something new comes along that scrambles your preconceptions.”

Skyecomposite

As artist we should always be looking to create something new with our art. There is the saying there is nothing new under the sun, which if it is true then as artist we are responsible for creating a new way of looking at things. Someone asked me why I liked to do High School Senior photography my answer was simple, it allows me to help the subject freeze a unique moment in time. Yes alot of people have been high school seniors (nothing new under the sun) but I get the privilege to capture that person uniquely in that moment which is different for everyone, as an artist I just have to be willing to take the time to find that uniqueness and not get stuck in the same old poses time after time. As artist we have the unique opportunity to create something new everyday. What is that new thing you will create today?