Quotes: Dalai Lama

 Added to April 28, 2017
Apr 282017
 

Sunset Quotes: Dalai Lama

“If you want OTHERS to be happy, practice compassion. If YOU want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Any personal practice is difficult to achieve day to day, be it meditation or healthy eating or exercise, but having one is surely a step in the right direction. Although you might slip, compassion is (in my opinion at least) really easy. Just be mindful… Best of all, everyone around us – friends, strangers, animals – all benefit from even the littlest amount that we radiate into the world.

The Doorway

 Added to April 23, 2017
Apr 232017
 

I saw a dollhouse door at the craft store and had to buy it. First I built a “wall” around the outside of it and photographed my fingers and face coming through. Looked nice but didn’t have the emotion I was looking for. I then painted a rectangle black, taped it to the inside of the door, and then taped the door to my own back. The side lighting really brings out texture in my back, but most of all I like how the black of the inner door feels like a portal going through my body. Definitely some inspiration from Jerry Uelsmann in this piece.

The Musical Instrument

 Added to April 18, 2017
Apr 182017
 

I like to tackle a theme by trying to think of the least obvious idea, because this would be among the most interesting to encounter as a viewer – and that is part of what makes a good work of art. The theme here was “Musical Instruments” and so I could photograph a cello, or violin, or piano, or drum – but what if the instrument was the human body? I had a vision of a person strung together, playing themselves like a harp. In the studio I tied strings from my arms to my legs and clicked the shutter release a few dozen times. This was the result.

Quotes: Neil deGrasse Tyson

 Added to April 10, 2017
Apr 102017
 

Sunset Quotes: Neil deGrasse Tyson

“Any time scientists disagree, it’s because we have insufficient data. Then we can agree on what kind of data to get; we get the data; and the data solves the problem. Either I’m right, or you’re right, or we’re both wrong. And we move on. That kind of conflict resolution does not exist in politics or religion.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of my favorite entertainers. He is an astrophysicist, cosmologist, and host of the radio podcast Star Talk (highly recommended). Neil also continued the famous Cosmos TV series originally by Carl Sagon. Nothing is more mind blowing than science.

Face Shadow

 Added to April 9, 2017
Apr 092017
 

The goal was to explore and think about shadow as subject. I have been painting a lot lately and had a large canvas with many cracks on the surface. I hung this on the wall hoping to catch the textures, but soon realized how interesting a stretched out shadow of my face looked. I stood with my nose against the canvas and opened the shutter.

The Dreaming State