This is the 2nd in my series titled Sorrow. I call this one “Burden.” Representing the burden some carry in taking care of a dying loved one. To many, this is not a burden but an honor, but to most, it also must be unbelievably difficult. You can read a complete description of this series at my website angierucker.com. Peace.
Burden
I mentioned last time that I had taken a little bit of a break to clear my mind and begin on a new path. It was time for me to make a bit of a change and so I have begun work on a new Series entitled Sorrow. I explained about it in my last post. I took that time to take a workshop on fine art by Jennifer Hudson. Her introduction was so liberating. I suddenly had the permission to not have to be constantly creating. The permission to take a break and take a fresh, different look at my art and the art of others. And, most importantly, what was my voice and what did I want to say with my work? Her advice in finding out who you were as an artist was to start out by deciding first who you weren’t. What didn’t I like, what could I look at and say, “that is definitely not me.” And then, to look at what I was drawn to and ask myself why. Certain pieces of art and music take my breath away. So I have been trying to pay more attention to that. Also, what did I want my work to say? With this series, I hope to be able to bring to life the various forms of anguish that some people experience in their lives and are somehow still able to endure. I will always be fascinated by that kind of strength. They are heroes to me and this series is for them.
Disappointment
As George Inness says in his book Writings and Reflections on Art & Philosophy…”We cannot be impressed by that which does not touch us.” i hope this touches.
When i originally created an image from this song, I said that I would no doubt do another one since this song is so full of imagery. Well, this thought just popped into my head so I decided to try to create it. It didn’t come out exactly as I had pictured, but then, that sometimes happens. Sometimes I have one thing pictured but it ends up being something else, or a little different. Anyway, my monitor also needs to be calibrated so when I look at the image on another computer, it looks all wrong. Often I don’t know if it’s my monitor that is off or the others. In any event…
“balloons
look good from on the ground
I fear with pins and needles around…”
Sleeps with Butterflies #2 – Tori Amos
Here is the 1st image I created for the same song. Sleeps with Butterflies #1
…”I’m holding up the fire
lighting up the sky
like a lighthouse on the ocean…”
The Lighthouse by Ziggy Marley
She IS the lighthouse. Have you ever been someone’s something…their strength, their hope, their protector, their courage? I know I have been on both ends of that scenario and that’s okay. Sometimes I feel like I need someone to just be there for me. Whether to comfort me, or calm me, and to reassure me when I have so many doubts about life, about what I have done with it and what I haven’t, or just during an especially difficult period (which we all have I think). But at the same time, I have also been the person who is there for someone else…to reassure them and to support them when they needed it…and, somehow, that is always more fulfilling.
This song, Lighthouse, by Ziggy Marley makes me think of all of those things. I don’t know a lot of Ziggy Marley’s songs, and I certainly plan to check out more, but this one caught my ear immediately. It’s definitely not your typical Reggae sound, although it is still unmistakably Reggae, if that’s possible. To me, it’s a combination of different sounds, reggae, pop, even orchestral. The musicians he has accompanying him on this cd are top notch and I love the way the keyboard sounds like violins. The whole song sounds to me like an orchestra is backing his vocals. Who thinks orchestra when they think of Reggae? I do now! ..and it’s also cool how he ends the song with the line from one of his dad’s songs….”One Love.” Awesome Reggae for the soul! #TIU!
Someone New by Hozier
“I fall in love just a little oh little bit everyday with Someone New.”
Okay, so I promised more new young talent to come. He sold out the show here in Columbus before I even knew he was coming. Hozier. Brilliant. Had to do an image of his song “Someone New.” I just pictured all the girls that had gotten their hearts broken by the person in the song, so I had to show them together, holding hands. The one in the front is “Someone New.” After her, there will be someone else. Make sure to check out this amazing young artist, just 25, from Ireland, but if you are like everyone else, you already have. Awesome!
“Not with every stranger, the stranger the better.”
Turn it up!
“I Put a Spell on You…
Because You’re Mine…”
I Put a Spell on You
Covered by Annie Lennox
Original by Screamin Jay Hawkins
Okay, two words….Annie Lennox. Do I need to say more? Her voice is incredible..and the violins make this version haunting.
Check out her cover of the the Screamin Jay Hawkins song…I Put a Spell on You. Turn it up.
Happy Holidays!
“Well…you and I both know that the house is haunted…”
“…I was lookin’ for my crystal ball…”
Okay, it just blows me away how such brilliant talent is getting younger and younger these days. I so respect it. I think taking advantage of such talent takes two things, a willingness to take risks and a driving “work hard” attitude. Shakey Graves is one of those young talents and with a completely unique style and sound, which I think is not easy with all the talent out there today. He tells of his humbling experiences in New York City’s open mic nights as well of his stint in LA acting (was on Friday Night Lights) for a spell. Now back in Austin, he is getting a LOT of attention and rightfully so! Check out his song “Dearly Departed” below and as always…turn up this so different and creative sound!
Next time, more brilliant crazy young talent!
“Oh the leaves how they shimmer
Trees lift their skirts and they quiver…”
Last Leaves of Autumn – Beth Orton
Beth Orton’s Last Leaves of Autumn is the perfect song to create an image for the explosion of color that Fall brings here in Ohio. The leaves changed color and then fell so fast, I barely had time to capture them. This morning I awoke to the first snowfall…before Thanksgiving… I had caught the colors just in time!
I was drawn to this song since the first time I heard it and was waiting for the right time to create the image. The song makes me think of silence and solitude. It is haunting and beautiful. Beth has been writing songs for years. Check out her ode to Autumn with this gorgeous song. I attached the link to the studio cut because I like it the best.
Thanks Beth!
“…A Woman Transformed into Twinkling Stars…”
The Incredible – David Gray
The incredible is approaching from over there
It won’t leap past us
Won’t be left in a dark vale
To watch it go
I chose to do this image simply because I love David Gray’s voice and this song. So many of his songs draw images in my head, I may have to do a David Gray series. I picture the “dark vale” in this song as a veil and not a vale. I had never seen the word spelled that way and so didn’t know what the meaning was (had to look it up – “A long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river.”) Regardless, each time I listened, I pictured the other veil, which I think also makes sense, because that is what you wear when someone has died, when you watch someone or something go, and so that is what you see in my image. In any case, I am so glad his voice hasn’t changed since his last cd and I am so proud to create an image of his brilliant song “The Incredible.”
Listen below. Thank you David!!
“…you’re starin’ down the stars
jealous of the moon
you wish you could fly
just stayin’ where you are
there’s nothin’ you can do
if you’re too scared to try…”
Jealous of the Moon by Nickel Creek
“…with a beautiful sigh
and a river of lies…”
She wants to fly but can’t…her hands are tied; but they are only tied by her. She is the only one holding herself back because of her fear. Fear holds a lot of us back…fear of failure, fear of the unknown, but failure can teach us so many things. A chance to learn what we did wrong, or what we are lacking, and fix it. I would like to say that I am not afraid of trying anything, but, in actuality, sometimes I feel like I am afraid of everything. I push myself in countless ways, if there is something I want. Like going out to shoot in crazy outfits, or in dangerous places, or in front of people who probably think I am a nut, or showing my images at a photo club meeting. One of my favorite photographers, Brooke Shaden, has a tattoo on her arm…a quote from the novel Dune. It says “fear is the mind killer.” I believe that for sure. If it kills anything, it definitely shuts down your mind, from creating, from imagining, from dreaming of things that could be.
This image is inspired by the song “Jealous of the Moon” by Nickel Creek (written by Chris Thile and Gary Louris of the Jayhawks). Nickel Creek is the unbelievably, brilliantly talented trio of Sean and Sara Watkins (brother and sister) and Chris Thile. They have been making music together since they were children. Their songwriting, harmonies, voice quality, and just their instrumental genius blows my mind! I was SO lucky to see them come through Columbus this past summer and that show was perfection from the first note they played to the last; one of those shows where you keep thinking “I don’t want this to ever end.”
I know the girl in my image will pull the ties apart and fly. Is there something that you are afraid of? How did you overcome it? I would love to hear about it.
Thank you Nickel Creek! Listen below, and as always, turn it up!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzJc_TrJN3U&feature=player_detailpage
Songs Into Images 