C&T Publications Eye on Fine Art Photography - July 2015

7 If you have a dozen people look at the same thing, chances are you'll get a dozen different descriptions or thoughts on what the object is. And it is with this unique lens that everyone sees things differently. Without those different perspectives and life filters, we would all have the same view of everything. Talk about boring! I invite you to try out the exercises below. You just might like what your imagination offers up. 1) At a writing group, two prompts are given with several minutes in which to write something. The same prompt can elicit such a wide variety of responses. Some are written in third person, others are autobiographical in nature, and yet others turn out to be poems or songs. It all depends on the artist's experiences as to how the words come out. 2) If you paint, lay out some colors. Take a moment to think about how the colors could be used. Don't sketch lines on the canvas or pick up a brush just yet. If a vase with flowers flashes in your mind, fine. Wait and see what else your Muse offers up. A puppy? A spring day? A beach? A junkyard? A jail cell? Pick one. Notice your mood, your main emotion. Has that influenced which topic you chose to paint? Was it a particular phone call, work issue, or expectation that has the colors sifting through your perception lens at the time you picked up the brush and made the first stroke? 3) If you are a musician or dancer, before you pick up your instrument or cue up your favorite song, close your eyes and tap into which emotion is first in line at that moment. Did you have an argument with a significant other? Did you not get offered a gig for Saturday night? Miss rehearsal? Pick up flowers for a sick friend? And if five other musicians or dancers followed you around today, I'm betting they would have a different melody floating through their mind, a different beat that moves their body. Nothing wrong with either or all lenses. Just different. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then creativity is in the eye of the Muse. The lenses that filter and color our moment-by-moment life are created by our experiences. If my moments are made up of rainbows and smiles and hearts and flowers, then when I see the paint colors or the puppy in the park, or hear a few notes on a guitar, I'll create that which is a reflection of what I know, meaning rainbows and smiles and hearts, etc. Conversely, if my time has been spent unsupported or without a home or steeped in crisis, then I could look at those same colors, hear those same few notes, and immediately my Muse will toss me something that will become touched by my filters. So instead of smiles and hearts, I may paint frowns or an angry fist or a rabid dog in a dirty ally instead of a puppy in a park. Neither is better than the other. Everything that an artist generates is a gift, an expression of the individual's creativity. This doesn't mean that if my life has been a particular way that my art can't be something different. There are no rules in creativity. There are many times that when an artist works on a project, that the art is cathartic. By exposing and then releasing something that doesn't serve the creative person or the endeavor, then the act of creating the project or piece could be viewed as a purging. And that purging can be of the dark ally or of the puppy in the park. As events shape the artist, the filters of perspective change. The creative eye shifts. Those who delve into their creative urging see things differently. They might pick up on details from the senses, and depending on their current emotions and past experiences, which senses are paid attention to and which ones are ignored comes into play. Michele Venne published her first novel in 2008, which was followed by another five novels and two collections of poetry. All of her books include an introductory "Dear Reader" letter and concludes with "Questions to Ponder", as she encourages readers to contemplate their opinions and beliefs of societal ills. Michele lives near Cave Creek, Arizona, and devotes herself to the joys of riding her horses, tutoring, writing, and yoga.http://www.myjoyenterprises.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michele_Venne

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