Kickstarter

Lost and Found

Okay, so on to the next step.  After several workshops on the business of Fine Art Photography, I am now ready to move on…to take that next step.  I have taken a break and spent a long time thinking in order to come up with my next project.  I can’t just sit down and figure it out.  I have to just let life go by and things come to me.  Many nights I lay awake, absorbed and obsessed with this project.  It is all consuming and touches everything I do.  I am super excited about the prospect of taking on a new way of working, a whole new direction.  I have all the details worked out, however, this time I will be using a model, an assistant, and a location for the whole series of 12-15 photographs.  I have found some promising, really good locations here in Columbus, and am really itching to get started, however, one of the main things they emphasize in the workshops is that the first years of getting started are expensive!  You have to put into it, to get anything out of it.  The positive is that I am able to deduct all of that on my taxes.  The negative is that I am now at the point that I am ready to take on a big project but don’t have the funding.  When I say big, I mean big for me at this point in time.  Some projects cost tens of thousands.  That’s not where I am….yet 🙂  The other negative is that it seems that most of the grants offered to artist/photographers are either specific to documentary and political photographers or they want you to have a significant body of work before they will commit to giving you anything.  Or there is one or two that are possibilities but they are not choosing again for another year.

On to my point.  In order to get the funding I need, I have decided to start a Kickstarter campaign.  I have thought long and hard about this project and am very passionate about seeing it come to life.  I am presently in the process of setting up my Kickstarter page so please keep an eye out for updates.  I am so excited about the possibility of all of this being a reality.  I sincerely hope you will follow along!

Another in my series

I have now finished 7 images in my series Sorrow.  I ended up with two for my depiction of Lost.  Have decided to go with the 2nd one.  It just seems like her eyes look so lost to me, but I liked the first one too so am posting it here as well.  I was inspired while at the beach in Georgia.  The humid, salty air just feels right.  In any case, here are my two images of Lost.

Lost 1

Lost 2

Burden

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

A New Series

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.

Sleeps with Butterflies 2

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

Lighthouse

…”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

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

“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!

Dearly Departed

“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!

 

Last Leaves of Autumn

“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!