A Life of Art is the Art of Life

As one of my projects for the new year, I decided to do a 365 project - taking photographs every day of the year.  It's only been (not even) two weeks so far, and I've already questioned my sanity a couple of times, but I think that overall it's going to be a good way for me to learn about composing better images.

For one of the days last week, I decided to do a mini self-portrait shoot!  I decided to make the most of the daylight without actually having to go outside, so I shot all of these with a timer a tripod while lounging on top of the bookcase beneath my bedroom window.  I wore a silk slip, a petticoat from years and years ago (first communion?  maybe maybe?  have I really not grown since then?) and a soft wrap hand-crocheted by me.  Here are two of the photos from the shoot, and there's another one set as my profile picture.

Even though it's a lot of work to shoot and process images everyday, I hope that I can stick with it because I think it'll be a great way to document the year. 

(Incidentally one of the other projects I've undertaken for the new year is colouring and cutting my own hair.  So far not too disastrous, although I'm still being safe here and learning while it's still socially acceptable to wear a hat all the time, just in case.  I'm not sure that there are too many ways to mess up a choppy pixie!  If there are, I'm sure I'll find them out and let you know!)

I hope that everyone's new year is off to a great start!

Hello everyone!

I can't believe that summer's drawing to an end.  (No, I can't say that!  If I don't say it, I won't believe it's true - and then it won't be true, right?  Sigh.)

I've a question for everyone.  I know some people here are into photography.  I am, and I also like to play around with photo processing software.  (As you might tell by the photograph above).  I had an old version of paint shop, but that went away when I had to get rid of everything on my hard drive.  Right now I'm using a freeware program called photoscape.  I like it a lot, but it tends to have lots of settings and preset things and makes it difficult to actually do things yourself.  (Although I must admit that the antique and fisheye filters are fun).  Does anyone have any recommendations on another photo software?  

All that said, I'm still very much a fan of film photography.  I've got an old minolta slr that I simply love.  I should be getting a roll of film back from walmart soon, can't wait to see how my photos turn out.  Anyway.  On that note, here's a poem that I wrote a day or two ago.

Snap a Photograph and Walk Away

We manipulate 
The film
In our darkrooms:
Emotion is a mere function
Of colour, light, and chemical,
Until it matches our memories
Like a negative,
A little smaller, a little less colourful, a little more transparent.
Yet it matches.

And we clip the two together,
A small square of waxy grey paper
Folded to protect
Against the sharpness of aluminum,
And file them both away
In one of the abrupt corners
Of a steel cabinet, shedding chips of paint
Somewhere between dark mustard
And warm olive.

We file them away,
Together with the memory
Of all the things,
All the intricate moments
And all the simple beauty
We ache to give our hearts to,
But for which we cannot stop our lives
Any longer 
Than the moment it takes
To fill the frame,
Snap a photograph,
And walk away.

I'll try to catch up on styleboards and blogazine posts and all of the wonderful things that happen while I'm away.  

Until next time. <3

Good morning, Kaboodle!  How is everyone today?

Today it's raining here, not terribly hard, I still have my windows open.  I've decided that today I'm going to get some writing done, add watercolour to one of my ink drawings, keep working on cleaning, and - well, maybe that's enough things to try to get done in one day.  :-)

I'm wearing a wool skirt (yes, a wool skirt, I figured today's the coolest it's going to be for a while, and I really miss wearing my wool skirts, so why not today?).  It's from a thrift shop near where my sister goes to school, I think I got it for about $10.  The shirt I'm wearing is actually one I made in Girl Scouts a few years ago - it looks basically like a shapeless pillowcase with a pleat and straps, hence the rummage sale scarf/belt.  In the pictures (and right now) I'm not wearing shoes.  I suppose I'll have to put some on later if I go out, but I don't feel like it right now.  Oh, and I'm also wearing a red silk poppy in my hair.  

I miss my long hair.  :-(  Short, it's super curly, and it's grown out just enough that the layers look awkward.  I've been trying to calculate when it'll be back to a length that I want, but the results are just depressing, haha.  Hopefully I'm way off.

One of the summer projects that I've been working on is a long story/short novel.  In it the main character visits a place where there are things like gutted skyscrapers full of hanging gardens, carousels, and umbrellas that float above the streets on rainy days.  I really could use a town like that today  :-) 

I hope that everyone's doing well and enjoying the summer.  Until next time.  <3
 

Nothing outstanding going on here.  In the middle of essays and whatnot - "this too shall pass."  :-)

Photographs of the new haircut - it looks pretty messy in the photographs, but I don't have to straighten it! 

The first shot has a nice clean background, but the second (me dressed to go watch my younger sister's dance recital) - well, you get to see my terribly messy room.  Embarrassing.  The year coming back and forth between school and home/ leaving things one place or the other has not been kind to the organization of either room.  And I don't have such great organization skills to begin with.  :-|  Do I at least get extra points for turning it into a polaroid?  Or for the cool cameras sitting there on the bench?

Oh well.  I'll survive until summer.  Until next time.  <3