After a busy holiday season I wanted to make sure to finish out my Artist Spotlight of 2019 strong with this amazing woman and her beautiful photography. I swear some distillery or bar will figure out her talent and you will be seeing a lot of her...
... but why don't I leave it here and let her talk for herself.
1. If you were asked to describe yourself as an artist what would you say?
I believe that my technical genre would be "fine art photographer" which sounds far too sophisticated for me, since I feel like most of what I do is throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks.
2. There are many forms of art, what pulls at your heart stings, and can you describe why you like it?
Photography won me over with light.
So much of my life is light. I was drawn to the study of light in college, where I studied architectural engineering. Looking at light through an engineering lens is what allowed me to truly begin to see it. I love watching the ever changing light in natural environments; I also love playing with electric light in the studio, where I can really play. The thing about light is that it is equally about light as it is about the shadows, which add depth and dimension. There is no light without darkness, and I love that.
3. Describe your art in three words.
Light is life.
4. In your favorite discipline of art what is your favorite subject to portrait (if you said writing, what writing genera do you like to do, if you said photography what is your favorite thing to photograph...etc.)
Well, lately, Still Life! That's a brand new one for me. I like that I am in control of the lighting. It's fun to play with different reflectors, diffusers, angles, materials, and watch real-time how that changes the scene and paints the picture with light. I am less at the mercy of the weather, and I can shoot whenever. It takes a lot of the stress away, for me. I'm fickle, though. I get bored and change what I'm doing with photography pretty often. My collections end up pretty eclectic but that's fitting for me. I love using photography to document my life. I'm not going to stop doing that.
5. What is your favorite piece of work you've done and why?
This year, it's my photo of Paris from the dome of Sacre Coeur. It is my favorite for many reasons:
1. It's sharp. I like just looking for the details hidden in the photo. It takes me back to Paris.
2. I spent a lot of time editing it. I never changed the nature of the photo, but messing with tones and gradient maps and levels turned a simple photography into an intentional work of art.
3. I have mixed feelings about European travel, but all my favorite moments occur at the top of domes that require 20+ minutes of walking up crazy narrow stairs and darting across catwalks. It's touristy, yes, but also..quieter. I get transported above all the hustle and really get to observe the city from above. So I like this photo because it depicts what I saw in that moment, from one of my favorite places, looking over a dynamic, beautiful, and expansive city.
4. My husband said he likes it.
6.What would you say is the most important ingredient necessary for creativity?
Focus. Not getting bogged down by other things. And I say this knowing that finding focus is a huge struggle for me. But if I'm always trying something new I never dive deep into another thing and that's where the creativity really comes to play.
7. What helps you in your creative process?
I'm a bit of my own worst enemy, but I think it helps me in the end. That is to say, I think my desire to continuously improve helps me in my creative process. Being overly critical can be damaging to self-esteem and make it feel like I'm never improving but I don't want to lose that because it also drives me to always work to improve. It encourages me to seek out new information, new support, find new idols to admire, research the great photographers, and in the end it keeps me going.
8. Do you ever have a creative block, and if so how do you help yourself through it?
Um, every day.
But big picture, I get in slumps most winters. I'm not out doing as much. I like to seek out new challenges, in these moments. I'll read books by photographers, search for project suggestions... And I also am trying this new thing where I don't beat myself up if I'm not always creating. Life is varied and crazy and it's okay to take moments to focus on something else.
9. What type of art are you horrible at but wish you could do brilliantly?
..is it cheating to say photography? More specifically, I wish I were better at landscapes. Most of my landscapes are..fine. I like them because they document a thing that I was seeing, but I'm not wow-ing people here. I wish I knew how to do that. And I wish I had the patience, time, and energy involved in it, because I know it requires pre-dawn wake up calls.
If it's cheating, then sketching. I would really love hand-eye coordination. And the ability to make something from nothing.
10. As an artist, what are you growing towards...aka what are your artistic goals?
I have so many goals and so much room to grow. I have and will continue to put a lot of time into photography - It doesn't always feel that way, because it has been over the course of several years, but I have stuck with it, dug myself out of dry spells and creative slumps, never let myself talk myself out of striving to improve. Which is, unfortunately, not something I can say about many other things that I have tried. Right now, my primary goal is to be more intentional - I still feel like I'm stumbling through, well, life, but specifically photography, and I want to find more positive and direct movement. And, of course, focus.
11. Lastly, can I include a link to your work? If so, what is the link you want me to share?
Absolutely! My website is www.fixedinflux.com