Reach For The Stars

I truly believe that a work of art has a life of it’s own. Much like humans, even though we can create another person, that person is an individual and has a life of their own. I love photography because it is the one media that I can use to most accurately portray my imagination. But at the end of the day, I have accepted and acknowledged that my art will be formed by its own power through my vision and hands.

Inspired by Brooke Shaden’s “White Wall Wednesday” series on YouTube, I took to my own white wall. I was craving to create something but was completely stuck. I had stifled down my creative power into this box called “routine”. Everyday that routine is: wake up, social media, get ready for work, work, go the gym, come home and get ready for work and do it all over again. I lead a very creative role at my job but even there I was feeling stuck behind the force of routine. Always creating the same work can be destructive to the creative process. Even though repetition makes you well-practiced, it doesn’t always create the perfect environment to expand and grow. I know that I am a creative force and my company needs me to be a creative force. So, I owe it to them to do what I need to do to bring fresh, new ideas so that we may grow.

I took a few self portraits in a blank space in hopes of creating something magical, something unique. I needed to test my skills. Could I do this? Could I edit a creative portrait in Photoshop? Was this a path I should consider? So many questions filled by curiosity and thirst for knowledge. After I was done taking pictures, I quickly realized that I had not entirely planned the shoot. What was I going to use for a backdrop? Would the lighting match? Did I have something in my library that would tie the story together? So many questions. As I already said, Art has a life of it’s own. And that is when it happened. There it was in its full glory – the image that wanted to be used for this portrait, right there on my Instagram feed, proudly saying, “Pick me.”

I take so many images. Everywhere I travel, I take my camera. Hundreds of landscapes images. Hundreds of details. Thousands of images. Literally, thousands. What are they for? Will I ever use them? That is the beauty of this craft, you never know when that wall picture will come in handy.

The beautiful backdrop was actually from a wedding I attended in England. It was the most magical, woodland wedding I have ever been to (and only been to!). Nestled in a quaint town in England, my husband and I discovered all the beauty this estate had to offer. We explored and got lost. As he wondered off I yelled, “Don’t go there you are trespassing!” He came back and said, “No, this is part of their land and you have to come see this.” I timidly followed him down this path to discover one of the most incredible scenes I had ever witnessed in my life. I was so glad he pushed me to explore because that was a magical night I will never forget.

Inspired by this incredible wedding, I kept thinking of nothing more than ‘fairytale’ and ‘enchantment’. That is what I wanted to capture in my final image. The sense of wonder and mystery. I am inspired by light and its symbolism and chose to bring that all into this image. I also did a screen record of it because I wanted to look back on the process that it took to create it. This style of art excites me and I cannot wait to do more.

Music: Sergey Cheremisinov “Moonlight”

Brooke, thank you for inspiring me and making me recognize that I needed to dig deep and pull out my inner most creative self. I look forward to seeing where my imagination will take me.