Creativity

Picture to Ponder – Peeling Away the Layers

by Sheila Finkelstein on August 6, 2008

Red onion #1 before being peeled

Starting to peel away the layers of red onion

Partially peeled red onion in a ceramic dish with the outer skin and firt layer

Today’s Picture to Ponder Photos
a Red Onion photographed at night, as it was when I brought it home from the store.

The middle and lower photographs are taken on the next day, as part of a project I started, observing the peeling of an onion as it relates to the peeling away the layers of ourselves.

In terms of aesthetics, I love the richness of the color in the top photo. In the middle photo, after the outer skin was peeled away, we are left with beautiful colors and shapes, contrasting lights and darks.

I’ve introduced the bottom photo to show the varieties of textures – thin and thick – that were in the outer layer(s).

Self-Reflecting Queries
I had planned to start using this blog for almost-daily postings of photos and thoughts and then after a conversation with a couple of mastermind buddies, we decided to take on doing a photo a day, with a different theme each week. Veggies became the first theme we choose. See Broccoli and Onions, Veggies Day 1 on the blog for further explanation and an invitation to join us in our play.

On  Veggies Day 2, you’ll read about my experience shopping for vegetables to photograph, studying colors, textures, and shapes.

Suddenly, while looking at the onion and observing a layer of skin starting to peel away, I remembered various times when professionals have said that one way to get in touch with ourselves is to start peeling away our layers to get inside. With that thought, I decided to concentrate on the onion as my photo for each day, for the next few days, at least. Naturally, I’ve been taking far more than one photo a day.

When I got to day 2 of the onion I immediately went directly to cutting into it to get at where I thought the beauty and intrigue would be, in the patterns of the slices. Halfway in I remembered, “Oh, my expressed intention was to peel away the layers of the onion.”

So I stopped cutting and started peeling, recognizing that this was so typical of patterns in my life. I usually simply jump in to whatever I am excited about, often not reading the instructions or getting more information that many times would have simplified things for me.

Once I started peeling, I became open to the beauties that were slowly being revealed. At the same time I noticed that some of the very, thin almost transparent sections of the very outer layer, did not want to let go and yet other sections of them, as showing in the top photo, were ready. You can get a measure of some of the thinness and thickness of the first layer – well I guess two, if we consider the very fine “skin” as the first layer.

So on to Queries for the day. I invite you to look at your own life and consider:

1 – Do you jump right in, or do you slowly peel away the levels of a project, to get at the heart of it? As you look at, and think about the onion analogy, are there any shifts, you might want to consider making?

2 – Do you usually have an intention when you start an activity? Do you have a method for keeping that present, a reminder system? If not, is there something you would like to set up?

3 – And, on a slightly different track, is there a playful practice that you’ve been meaning to do, something simple to which you might like to commit to doing on a daily basis for a week?

Lastly, I invite you to join us in taking a photo a day and I invite you to share your reactions on the blog, where this issue is also posted for your convenience.

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Red Onion 2 – Veggies Day 3

by Sheila Finkelstein on August 6, 2008

red onion and peeled skin in a dish

Onion, Skin and First Layer at End of Photo Shoot Day 2

This was a fun and insightful experience for me. Briefly – Anxious to get into where I anticipated the beauty of the onion to be – viewing the patterns in the slices – I went immediately with the knife and started cutting into the onion.

I stopped before I got halfway there and remembered, “Sheila, this is about peeling away the layers!” Oh, already I had forgotten my intention. I’ll plan to write more in-depth on this with other photos in Picture to Ponder. Watch for it later today.

Where are you in your veggies photo exploration?

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Red Onion – Veggies Day 2

by Sheila Finkelstein on August 5, 2008

red onion starting to peel in a pottery dish made by Sheila Finkelstein

Red Onion in a Ceramic Dish thrown by me years ago – on a pink tablecloth which, when looking at it in the downloaded photo became the pink “canvas” for this post.

Note – This photograph was taken at night with no flash, simply the light of the overhead chandelier. I will start giving a few “technical” details, simply to point out things we can be aware of. I have not had formal training, as such, and I’ve never taken a course in photography. I say this simply to make people comfortable using their cameras for play, discovery and experimentation, exercises in becoming more open and aware.

Speaking of play and discovery, shopping for vegetables to photograph this week became fun. In addition to my usual looking at their prices and making certain there are not bruises or rotten spots, I found myself studying the vegetables for their shapes, colors, and various patterns and textures on their surfaces. I smiled when I remembered having been dubbed, “Mrs. Texture,” by my fifth-graders in the elementary art school classes I taught years ago.

I smiled more as I watch two different young men reach into the bins and simply grab, without a second look, 2 of the vegetables they wanted. I thought, with curiosity, “Is that a man thing? Are there differences between men and women in the way they choose their fruits and vegetables?” No matter, I was on a different mission.

The “chore” of shopping for vegetables, because I committed to photographing one a day, had become an adventure. And as I studied the onions I was drawn to for their color, I began noticing the peeling skins. My mind went to my having heard suggestions in the past to peel away the layers, like in an onion, to get at what was disturbing me. So this week, for the fun of it, I will start peeling away this onion and continue to show photos of it here in the next days.

One of the onion photos will also become the featured photo in the next issue of Picture to Ponder. Watch for that here in the next day or two.

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One Photo a Day – One Theme for the Week

by Sheila Finkelstein on August 3, 2008

In keeping with the theme of Expanding Your Vision to Get Unstuck that I’m promoting on the Tips Page, I decided to start following one of the exercises we’ve done in Through and From the Lens classes I’ve led. The exercise is to choose a theme – color, texture, shape – for the week. It is my intention to make a practice of photographing something in that category daily and then post it here, noting insights as I have them.

About a month ago, Marifran Korb of Soulful Solutions, a non-camera user, took on the challenge — daily photos of one color- her choice – for a full week. The following week she chose a different color and continued the practice. After a few weeks, she wrote:

 

“Not only have you pointed out an alternative to the State of Funk, but you opened a whole new world for me. The biggest effect is that I see ‘ordinary’ things in a heightened way.

While I did notice things before, it wasn’t with the same depth of fascination and it wasn’t with quite as many things. Now alert to the magic inherent everywhere, I see nuances. I’m sure I will continually discover more on this new Life of Joy.”

It was my intention to start with a color, when something came up in conversation with Marifran, Morgine Jurdan, of Communications with Love, and I about vegetables. Remembering how beautiful, and/or interesting, vegetables can be I said, “Why not start off with veggies?”

I am now extending the challenge to our Photography and Transformation and Picture to Ponder communities, inviting you, too, to use your camera daily, this week photographing vegetables. In addition, I am inviting you to post your photoson FlickR and then come back here and post the URL for your particular photos in the Comments section each day. My FlickR photos can be found on the Inspirational_Sheila page. If there is a demand for it, later on this week, or early next, I will create a “How to Use FlickR” set of instructions for you.

Please pass this Game on to family and friends. Let’s have fun together and get past those nagging voices that are going to be saying, “My photos are not good enough to show.” I have the same voices!!! Lastly, in the COMMENTS section, please indicate if you are going to accept the challenge.

Are you in?

 

 

 

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Accidental Art

by Sheila Finkelstein on July 31, 2008

In response to Nancy Dault’s response to my “Photography and Drawing – Finding Your Creative Self-Exression” below on what she termed her “Accidental Creativity,” I was moved to share my article on my “Accidental Art” and “Accidental Businesses.”

Blurred photo of a flower in Wakodahatchee Wetlands

(a photo taken in Wakodahatchee Wetlands. Unintentionally blurred, I loved what I saw after I downloaded into my computer. Note the “family of faces” in the orange section in the upper left.)

“Creativity is an activity that invites abundance and flow into the world…It ripples out into energy that touches others with whom I will never interact. ” Julie Jordan Scott, Author/Actor/Director/Producer

In an article, “Your Creativity Treasure Chest”, Julie Jordan Scott gave numerous ideas for capturing our creative thoughts and ideas and spurring them on through using a treasure chest of art materials.

Okay. So where do these ideas come from? I say that some can come from the use of the materials themselves.

In her article, Julie states, “If you are unsure how to stir up your creative juices, try techniques and art forms to see which fits the best in your life.” Julie moves through painting, and sometimes movement, into writing.

For me, I am becoming very much aware of how the flow of my creative juices turn out “ACCIDENTAL” ART. Ideas can come from thoughts in our heads; TV; conversations we’re in; conversations we overhear; and visual stimuli.

Suggestion for Maximizing Visual Stimuli

Take a camera for a walk. If you don’t have a camera create a small viewfinder. Cut out a 1” x 1 1/2 “ opening in a piece of paper or 3” X 5” card.

Now hold the camera, or your “viewfinder”, and start slowly looking around. Note what patterns, colors, textures you see. If something catches your eye, PAY ATTENTION .

If you are using a camera, snap the picture. Digital cameras are fun in that you can keep snapping without regard to cost.

If you are using a *viewfinder* jot down quick notes. If there are other people close by start a conversation. Share what you see. It may lead to expanding ideas.

*Accidental* Businesses
My business, eTeletours.com, was started out of such a conversation. I was on a nature walk, talking with a friend on my cell phone, describing what I was seeing. One thing led to another, to another AND a new business resulted!

Naturesplayground.com came out of another happy accident. I had just purchased a color printer and a scanner and had brought a couple of prints to a meeting. I started doodling on one of the prints. Out of what I discovered from that, a whole new art form, and business, evolved.

Your Creations
Take a few minutes today to pause and look around you in new ways. What do you notice that you haven’t seen before? I invite you also to see what opens up in other areas of your life out of paying attention – noticing.

© 2004 Sheila Finkelstein

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Photography and Drawing – Finding Your Creative Self-Expression

by Sheila Finkelstein on July 30, 2008

Picture to Ponder – Volume 4 – Issue 27

Morikami Tile

Today’s Picture to Ponder Photo

Wavy Tiles on a Wall in the Contemplation Pavilion at the Morikami Gardens in Delray Beach, FL

I was recently reviewing the journal in which I wrote during my twelve targeted visits to the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens during the time I was participating in a pilot program of a Healing Gardens Walk. The photo above exudes such a sense of peacefulness, with the strong horizontal flow of the tiles and the gentle shadows, that I’m leaving it as a stand alone photo for this issue. I invite you to take a moment or two and simply “be” with the photo.

Once you are satisfied with that you might wish to spend another moment or two with the more expansive view:

Large rock and wall in Contemplation Pavilion at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

Self-Reflecting Queries
In addition to experiencing the peacefulness in this photo, in rereading my journal I was interested to find an “aha” insight I had that explains some of my current involvement with photography. Photography, for me, provides INSTANT GRATIFICATION, something I love.

In the journal, two and half months after the passing of my beloved husband Sam, I wrote: “I need to practice really resting, quiet meditation.” Then I did a quick squiggly line, a “drawing” of the tiles, followed by,

“The shingles are restful; my drawing impatient. Camera satisfies impatience.”

Where in your life are you showing, or feeling, impatience? Do you have a practice for settling down, easing up, altering your state? And, if you do, do you remember to put it in place? It may be something as simple as taking some long, deep breaths.

Be sure to have fun and play with this.

Added Notes on Drawing
In reflecting on my comment in the journal on drawing, I went back to my college and teaching days and remembered how much I enjoyed drawing, how important I thought it was. When I taught Art in the elementary school, I would often have children, as young as those in first grade, posing for each other as they drew what we saw.

What is particularly interesting about all of this for me now is, that in addition to my journal observation, within the past week I came across the work of Deborah Putnoi, a participant in an online course in which I am enrolled. In checking out her web site – deborahputnoi.com – I was moved by her artist statement and then even more by some by various thoughts she puts forth in the five small pages of her JOURNAL on the site [no longer on the site]:

“DRAWING – It is a small but powerful act. One that everyone can do. Drawing. It is a pencil, ballpoint pen, charcoal on paper. It is a mark in the sand, chalk on the sidewalk. Drawing, is a visual language. Making marks on a surface is a truly democratic activity, something that everyone regardless of age, culture, socio-economic status can take part in.” 

Additionally, on the more “practical” side, Deborah has a blog where she discusses “Doodles”, her drawing journal and the Drawing Labs she holds in Massachusetts. She states:

“I want to bring my passion for drawing to everyone. There are times like now when I am in my studio when there is a small voice inside me that is begging to paint but there is that need in me to create these DRAWING LABS so that others can experience their own ability to make a line on the page. To give people back their sense of their creative selves.” See the DRAWING MIND BLOG for more.

What occured to me after reading the above is that bringing you back to the sense of your creative self is part of my underlying mission with Picture to Ponder.

For now my, creative self is being most fully expressed in photography and writing. How about your creative self?

Keep in mind, as you answer this question, the creative expression does not necessarily have to be in the arts. It could be the way you are being in whatever life role(s) you are following, those where you are self-expressed and fulfilled.

Again, have fun and PLAY with these queries!

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