Surreal portraiture

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Blurred face - Kirsti

Week 26 - An experiment

A few weeks ago I came up with the strange looking portrait of myself for my 52 weeks series. The idea was inspired by double-exposure shots, which can’t be done with digital as far as I know. I decided to take four shots of myself, one sharp, and the others as I shook my head from side to side, and then overlay them in photoshop. I liked the resulting surreal effect so much I’ve decided to shoot other people in a similar manner and create a series of these portraits. Kirsti was my first model, and she looks just as strange as I do. Who shall be next…?

A Little Bit of News

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Walking back the way we came

The problem with looking back at what I was up to this time last November is realizing I was a much more productive artist then, and I was actually selling work. It’s easy to focus on the things I’m not happy with when comparing to last year and I think it’s a counterproductive thing to do. I need to reflect, but not compare so much because a year later often means different circumstances that factor into artistic productivity.

And on that note, I do have a few things to be pleased about with my work. I have one photo published in the current issue of Geist Magazine that doesn’t seem to have translated well into print but in print it is nonetheless. I’m also pretty sure I have some work in the Plastic Photographer – Low Tech Photo Show , opening Thursday at 2221A Artist Run Centre. I say “pretty sure” because the person I talked to about whether or not my work had been accepted wasn’t very clear with me. I’m planning on checking out the opening regardless. 🙂

Five Things Meme

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Golden leaves

This came my way from Ariane.

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
– working on a series of graveyard photos printed with liquid light on roof tiles
– on a month long trip in Spain and Italy with my cousin
– working at the Peel Heritage Complex
– learning Photoshop/Illustrator/QuarkXpress/html/
– wishing for better things in my life probably

5 Things on my to-do list today:
– write a letter to my mom and mail two other letters
– research various costs for travel in Japan
– research images from The Birds and Vertigo
– go for a walk to enjoy the sunshine
– laundry

5 snacks I like:
– chips
– grapefruit cut by Zak
– candied ginger
– almonds
– crunchy apples

5 Things I would do it I was a millionaire:
– buy a live/work space, and fill it with equipment to enable a variety of creative projects
– give my sister a tonne of money towards her new house
– go on a year long trip around the world
– help friends in need of some extra cash
– buy a fancy new bike

5 Places I’ve Lived in (for various lengths of time):
– Brampton, Ontario
– The Annex, Toronto
– Christchurch, New Zealand
– Aliston, Ontario
– Vancouver, BC

5 Jobs I have had:
– Digital Artist at a photography studio
– Photographer, Textile Museum of Canada in Toronto
– Gallery Assistant and Installer
– Picture framer
– Administrative Assistant/Office Manager

5 People I tag:
– I’ll name no names. Please do this meme if you wanna. 🙂

Jellyfish are Pretty

Jellyfish are pretty

Good Things:
1. Having a weekend that was busy, fun, and restful.
2. Hanging out at Blenz writing letters, drinking hot chocolate, and doodling on someone’s arm.
3. Getting inspired to work on a new project and it’s due in two weeks.
4. Spending time wandering the city, hanging out with a friend, looking in art stores and galleries.
5. Finishing the roll of film that I’ve had in my pinhole camera for ages.

(How’s that for some dull blogging? I wrote this while I was a tired zombie.)

Thankful

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Colour

I celebrated thanksgiving dinner with friends yesterday evening, and one of the questions asked was, “what are you thankful for?” The conversation was sidetracked well before it came time for me to answer, but it had been the exact question I’d been asking myself in an unfinished blog entry mere hours before. I wasn’t able to come up with a satisfactory answer in either situation, and it’s not because I’m not thankful for what I have or don’t have anything to be thankful for. I regularly write lists of things I am grateful for as a reminder to myself to appreciate the things I have because it’s important to do this on a regular basis. It’s a check-in with myself through good times, and it sees me through the bad.

Thanksgiving is one of those times of year when I can’t help but compare my current circumstances to the previous year and reflect on the changes. Looking back I realize I am grateful that life is changeable, that good and bad things aren’t etched in stone forever, and life brings each of us the things we didn’t even know to ask for.

Good Things

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Week 22 - Maggie
Week 22 – Maggie, from my 52 weeks self portrait series.

10 Good Things from the Weekend:
1. Being part of the most personal and special wedding I’ve ever attended. My friends Marc and Jacquie really did things right.
2. Sitting at the Blenz in Horseshoe Bay enjoying a lovely morning while waiting to catch a ferry.
3. Hooking up with an excellent road trip companion.
4. Chatting with people I haven’t seen in ages and happily hearing they are doing well.
5. A glorious sunrise on Sunday morning, followed by a beautiful day.
6. Making it back to the city early on Sunday and doing some of the things I thought I’d be missing out on – like the Ruby Dog garage sale.
7. Buying two plants from the awesome store on Main Street.
8. A long phone conversation with Mandy.
9. A much needed Sunday afternoon nap.
10. Enjoying some quiet time to myself, and feeling recharged after the weekend.

Speaking Truth with Picturesque but Disciplined Extravagance

moleskine collage 27004
The above image is this week’s collage in my moleskine sketchbook. The gold metallic, vaguely round pieces of paper are the wrappers from chocolate coins eaten by Matt. They were given to him by Travis and the left over paper made its way to me after the chocolate was gone. It’s like the circle of life of chocolate coins. 😉

This week from Free Will Astrology…

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): *Gleeking* is a term that refers to a special kind of projectile spitting. To do it, you’ve got to practice. It involves pressing your tongue against your submaxillary salivary gland when a pool of drool has accumulated nearby. I recommend this practice for you in the coming week, Leo. It’ll be a favorable time for you to be undignified, unpredictable, and even outrageous in expressing yourself. Other suggested practices: telling unruly stories concisely, speaking the truth with picturesque but disciplined extravagance, adding some vivid new slang to your body language, and skipping and hopping or even dancing as you walk. (For instructions on how to gleek, go to tinyurl.com/hn7vo.)

If you see me spitting and dancing around you in the next few days, now you know why.

A Beautiful Place to Explore

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Hazelnut grove

I am always amazed when pictures, like the one above, get far more attention than they deserve because they’ve made it into Explore on flickr. It was a beautiful place, but I’ve hardly done it justice with this shot. I guess it frustrates me because photography is my art of choice and I’ve put effort into developing my own sense of style and taste. A shot like this isn’t an indication of any of those things but it is the one getting all the favs and views. It reinforces to me how nice, but meaningless it all is.

On a completely unrelated note, thank you to everyone who left suggestions on the previous entry about blogs to read. I had to excavate a few comments after Kirsti pointed out hers was eaten by the spam catcher. Too many links in a comment equals bad says Akismet, even when there is no mention of viagra or casinos.

Tell Me What You’re Reading

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Waterlilies
Waterlilies in VanDusen Gardens.

I am looking for recommendations on interesting, funny, entertaining, or inspiring blogs to read. I feel like I am in a blog rut and would like some help getting out of it. Make some suggestions please, and base it on the ones YOU like rather than what you think I’d like.

A blog I recently started reading is Cake Wrecks on the recommendation of Susie. It isn’t normally something I would read but it’s hilarious! Who knew there was a trend in realistic cake portraiture. (Creepy.)