Israel and I left the kids with Nana so that we could spend a few days together in Sedona, Arizona. This area is so beautiful it attracts artists, as well as spiritualists who have declared Sedona as having numerous “energy vortexes”. It is the old west meets art meets new age.
Personally, I’m not into the mysticism. The natural beauty doesn’t need new age imaginings to make it anymore inspiring than it already is.
And while I came here just to have a fun time with my sweetheart, this place really has inspired me. Between shooting photos (which I’ll post later), observing the nature and enjoying the local art, I’ve learned things.
On a smaler scale, I’ve learned about various media: resin and handmade paper or acrylic on plexiglass backed with silver-leaf. I can’t wait to try some of this.
On a larger scale I’ve gotten to know myself better in terms of my taste in art. I realized how the aesthetic elements that most inspire me remain the same across all types of art: photography, scrapbooking, design, visual arts like paintings, and even dance. It’s the dance part that is most surprising.
What attracts me?
1) I like a certain balance between structure and the organic. I understand better what that balance is now.
2) I like to view things in the macro: I like the close-up perspective of lines, texture and color and the shape of the negative space around it. I realized that this is what I see when I’m looking for things to photograph. It is also why, of all the genres of dance, modern dance most enthralls me.
Modern dance is very much about the lines, shapes and negative space the body makes, the lines that define the muscle, the organic nature of limbs and movement. It’s just like the photography I like to take and the paintings that attract me.
Knowing exactly what it is that inspires you gives you greater ability to find those things in art and in your environment. It enables you to create what you love. I am looking forward to seeing how my experience in Sedona will influence my scrapbooking.
Have you figured out exactly what it is that attracts you?
