A milestone

52 entries! (well, 51 – I took a week off over vacation) Last year at this time I started this blog to explore creativity with you and offer some of my thoughts and projects. I’ve stuck with it for a year and I hope it’s been helpful to you – it has for me!

Now I’d like to change things up a bit and incorporate some practical information on photography, music composition, working with Photoshop, etc. I’ll still weave thoughts and ideas about creativity into the mix but I want to share more of the actual process I go through as I create.  I hope that you are even more inspired and motivated to develop your unique creative gifts.

Here is a Photoshop tutorial that I hope will make sense as you look at it. Each layer and its corresponding settings are listed. If you have any thoughts or questions, please post and I’ll respond to you.

PIC-OF-THE-WEEK

Here's a better resolution of the tutorial photo. We spent a night in Sugarcreek, Ohio and I found this bus out in the middle of a field. Seems to go with the old windmill, doesn't it?

 

Cover bands don’t change the world

I’ve played with different bands throughout my life and that statement is a very challenging truth when you see it play out in reality. The last band I played with – soundoctrine - did mostly original music which was dubbed: “alternativejazzfunkfusion”.  However, we would always sprinkle cover tunes throughout the show because it would engage the audience with something familiar. I see the same thing in theater as well. I love to produce original shows, but people always pack out a show like “A Christmas Carol” even though they know exactly who the characters are and how it’s going to play out.

So there’s a paradox with art. Familiarity is safe, originality is risky. But, remember the Beetles didn’t start off covering themselves. Their music was totally unfamiliar and obscure, but they played it again and again and again and again and at some point it became familiar.

So if you’re called to imitate, then do it well – there’s nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, if you have unique ideas for your art, go for it. Who knows – maybe someday people will “cover” you…

PIC-OF-THE-WEEK

"Remmington" looking through the front window anxiously waiting for his family to return.

Question yourself

Usually when I’m creating a work of art, the last thing I try to do is question what I’m doing. It’s hard enough breaking through the resistance and being free to follow whatever creative path I’m on. But, there may be times where questioning can be a positive force as I create, especially if I’m doing something that I’ve done for a long time.

I was in Dallas this week on a business trip and went downtown to do some street photography. I usually get the standard shots – tall skyscrapers, people walking, and cars at intersections. But then I began to question what I was doing and what I could do that would be totally different. So I started asking questions like:

     - Could I photograph chunks and sections of buildings that represent the structure rather than the whole structure?

     - What would it look like if I put the camera on the road and got the photo from the asphalt’s point of view?

     - Could I just photograph reflections of buildings in other buildings?

All of these “questions” lead to a completely different perspectives that were new and intriguing. So, as you create, don’t forget to question yourself occasionally and see what new results come from it.

PIC-OF-THE-WEEK

Waiting for a plane in the airport I thought these shadows were interesting.

Start with what moves you

I don't make my livelyhood from graphic design. But if I did, I think it would be very hard to continually create someone else's ideas or vision. I have great respect for artists that can take a concept and develop it graphically, especially when it's not their own. I suppose in that case, the satisfaction comes more from being able to interpret ideas and then translate them graphically. That's an incredible talent to be proud of.

But for the times when we get to just free style our art, my advice is to start with what moves you. If you are writing a novel, make sure there are times when you have to look through tears to see your computer monitor. If you are composing a song, let the music express your most joyous thoughts or your most desparate fears. For everything you do creatively, try and capture the extreme emotions that are only yours, even if you never tell anyone what actually drove your creation.

PIC-OF-THE-WEEK

 I drove through Mill Creek Park last night and got some shots. This is Lanterman's Mill (with a few tweaks from Photoshop).

Getting there is important

I rarely post something from someone else in its entirety, but I think this is worth it (from Blaine Hogan):

You must understand that your art is not just what you make but how you make it. Your art isn't just the “what” of the end result, but also “how” you got there.

When we don’t allow for our end products to be birthed out of true artistic and creative processes that honor the “how” and even the “why,” the artist will be unable to infuse it with any internal significance. If it doesn’t mean something to the artist it won’t mean anything to the audience.

Weʼve all been in meetings or conversations about a piece of art where the following question is uttered:“Did it work?” This is not a question of art. This is a question for your washing machine. “Did it work?,” is not a bad question, there just might be better ones like…

Did you bring your insides out?
Did you acknowledge the lump in your throat?
Did you tell a compelling story?
Did you try something new? Something risky?
Did you work from your center?
Did you allow yourself to be moved?

We must put as much time into our “how” and our “why,” as we do our “what.”

This is how we make our process a work of art.

 PIC-OF-THE-WEEK

 I love to take farm photos. Yes, I did stretch the sky a little in Photoshop - couldn't resist.