Soulful Expression

Bonnie's prompt for Photo Art Friday this week was to create a seven word sentence that describes your creative journey. It was hard to think something up! After a lot of attempts, my sentence is only six words...and I don't think it's even a grammatically correct sentence. Oops. :)

"Soulful expression with words and colors." This expresses pretty well what I love to do more than anything...write poetry, and work with colors and textures. And when I do all these things, they're at their best when they're soulful and from the heart. If I let my brain thoughts get caught up in it, it usually falls flat or feels forced.

Using PSE as a tool to merge my art and my photos is one of my most favorite things to do. I like that I can add beautiful textures and layers to give my work more depth and color than it already had. For my image above, I started with a very loose and primitive drawing on a page from a telephone book. I drew her face in about 30 seconds with a charcoal pencil...the idea was to not worry about being perfect and just get the basic shapes of a face on the paper quickly, without thinking about it. Then I used my Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Artists' Crayons to scribble in some color here and there (and then blended them with a paintbrush dipped in watered-down white gesso). I ended up with an alien girl (lol) - alien girls are cool! This is a fun exercise and if you're afraid to make bad art, this helps you get past it. Just let loose, don't worry about things looking realistic, and have fun! (I learned this technique from Katie Kendrick who is my all-time favorite mixed media artist...her book is amazing and I highly recommend it).

I scanned my girl into PSE and brought in a photo I took at Prince William Forest. Creating a new layer and using a reverse mask, I made that the background and also used the "dry brush" artistic effect in PSE to give it a more painterly look. For the writing on her face, I used a layer from an old poetry book I found online (public domain) from the 1800s. For her purple dress, I added an old wallpaper pattern to make it more interesting. I also used Bonnie's "Cinnamon" texture at Soft Light/20%, and ran the image through Radlab. Thanks so much for visiting - please click on the button at the bottom of this post to visit Bonnie's site and see more photo art!

HEART HYMNS

My heart is a
Hidden wishing well
Filled with coins
An abundance of gold
Tossed by my own fingers
Laying at the bottom
Some sunken deep
Far from sun's light
Others sparkling
Just under the surface
With a shimmering life
Pieces of my spirit
That draw my eye
And for those I lean over
Far, to catch a glimpse
Gripping the well walls
Hard, so as not to fall in

I visit the well often
Walking the wooded path
In the dew of the morning
Or sometimes at midnight
Calling to the water, to
Pray with my offerings
To dip my hands
In their depths and
Lap up their lessons
Staring intently
At their reflections
And I am grateful
For the treetops, those
Giants from seeds
Who bow down to witness
And I am thankful
For the bluebirds who
Sing over my silence and
Trill their sweet hymns
To the air.

© Sherri Brannon

"I sometimes think that people’s hearts are like deep wells. Nobody knows what’s at the bottom. All you can do is imagine by what comes floating to the surface every once in a while." ~Haruki Murakami

Original drawing:

Memories of 9/11

I’m showing my age here, but do any of you remember putting playing cards in the spokes of your bicycle wheels when you were a kid? It would make a distinct flapping sound as you pedaled your way through your neighborhood, the wind blowing through your hair, your legs pumping, your heart carefree in that way only a child’s heart can be. When I think back to those times as a kid, I feel such warmth from those memories. I spent countless summer days on my purple bike with the sparkly banana seat, riding with friends through the streets of my neighborhood from morning till night, only coming home when the street lamps suddenly lit up as a sign that dusk was here and playtime was over.

It was such a good feeling to live in a neighborhood where I felt safe and watched over in my community…our neighbors were a close-knit bunch. And I don’t mean just our immediate neighbors, but entire blocks of people who knew each other’s names and their kids’ names. The parents all looked out for the kids, and families talked, reached out to each other, bonded, and had block parties on a regular basis. A united community…it was an honor to experience that as a child, and this was especially felt when we lived on army bases.

In the days and weeks following 9/11, I was in a state of shock like many others…the disbelief, the grief, the surrealness of it all was overwhelming. We all continued on, going through our days, feeling blessed that we still had our own family members with us. Our hearts broke for those who were not so lucky, and the outrage at what had been done to our country ached in us like an open wound. And like any other tragic time in this country, we all came together…our love for this country, our patriotic pride, brought us close and made us more forgiving of each other and our differences.

All the above emotions filled me up as I took daily walks that September in 2001, trying to process everything that had happened on that horrific 9/11 day. One morning as I walked outside with my thoughts, in the back of my mind I realized I heard a familiar sound from my childhood, or so I thought. I snapped back to the present as I realized I was hearing this sound every few minutes as I walked down the main road through our community…it sounded like that sound you hear when the playing cards are in your bicycle spokes. I was confused…where was this sound coming from?

Sure enough, within a minute or two, the sound came again and this time I was paying attention. I watched as a car approached and drove by me on our main road, and I identified the source of the sound: an American flag, attached to the car. As it drove down the road, the flag was snapped by the air and made the exact sound my bike used to make with the playing cards in the spokes. Every minute or two, the sound would come again, from a distance at first…then getting louder as another car drove by. And another, and another. My throat closed up as I thought about all these flags on the cars…this was a new sound. Prior to September 11th, I had not heard this sound before.

This sound – these flags - were symbolic of the love and pride people were feeling for our country. They were a small expression of honor and grief towards those whose lives had been lost. They were a reminder that our country is strong and enduring. And for me, they also brought me back to a kinder, gentler time as a kid, when the cruelty of the world had not touched me yet. In that moment, this experience became a permanent memory that has been seared in my mind ever since. Every year on this date, I think of the sound of those snapping flags. I think of my love for this country, of all the heroic people who tragically died, the unity of a nation, and the innocence of my nine-year old self on a carefree summer’s day, pedaling down the street on my purple bike, the playing cards flapping mightily in my spokes.

The Leaves are Falling

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

How is it that something that is decaying can be so beautiful? I love the first September leaves that fall, especially the ones that are showing wear and tear. The rips, the mildew, the skeletonized lace revealing itself so delicately...each organic process leaves its mark and adds more color and texture. These flaws only add to the lovely, fading colors of the leaves themselves. On a late summer day, they begin to cascade downward, flushed with their last hurrah of color...most people shuffle their feet through these beautiful bits of glory, hurrying through their day without a glance. I notice their tangy perfection right away, and am mesmerized. I see their character, and the scars that show all they've weathered. I gasp and point and snap photos while my family rolls their eyes and look at me like I'm crazy. "There she goes again". :)

This is my submission for Texture Tuesday - I used Kim's "paper stained" texture at Soft Light/25%. I also used RadLab to tweak the mood of my image. Click on the button below if you want to join in or see more great photos!

Bloom Where You Are Planted

For the first time ever, I struggled with the prompt "moving" from this week's Photo Art Friday. I came up completely blank. Last night, I was still faltering and I was out of time...so I "moved on" (does that count as moving?). Instead, I played around with this flower photo I took in Middleburg, VA. I only used one texture - the handwriting. The rest of the alterations were done with different PSE blend modes, artistic effects, etc. Please click on the button below to visit Photo Art Friday - it's a really fun prompt and maybe next time you can participate, too!

No Stifling Allowed

Is life not a hundred times too short for us to stifle ourselves. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

One of my favorite things about my iphone camera apps is that a lot of them do some very crazy things to photos...I like the playfulness of them, and that I can alter an otherwise normal photo into something very unique. They give me the freedom to "draw outside the lines" and see what happens. The other night I sat and played with an iphone photo I had taken of some leaves. I altered the photo over and over again using different apps. Once I had a handful, it dawned on me I could create a collage (using yet another app). I like that each photo is different but has the exact same color palette; it ties them together and gives them a lovely harmony. This is my submission for This or That Thursday; click on the button below to visit and participate! I've listed below the apps I used for each photo in my collage (clockwise from upper left). If anyone wants to follow me, I'm @sherribrannon on Instagram. You'll find me there often, playing. :)

Photo 1: Snapseed, iColorama S (Edges - Option 1)
Photo 2: Marblecam
Photo 3: Photostudio (Symmetry - there are three to choose from)
Photo 4: iColorama S (Escher - Option 2)
Collage app: Diptich

The Branch of Magnificence

You’re waiting for that magical day when someone makes the connection and recognizes who you really are. Maybe they’ll first catch the sparkle in your eye. Or perhaps they’ll marvel at your insights and the depth of your spirit. Someone who will help you connect the dots, believe in yourself, and make sense of it all. Someone who will understand you, approve of you, and unhesitatingly give you a leg up so that life can pluck your ready, ripened self from the branch of magnificence. Well, I’m here to tell you, your wait is over. That someone, is you. ~Mike Dooley, Notes from the Universe

What a beautiful quote...I need to tape this to my bathroom mirror. We change, we grow, we evolve...and with each day that passes, hopefully we come closer to the realization that it is up to us to acknowledge our own worth. The tree above is in my front yard, and it awes me to watch it evolve with the seasons, changing, altering itself through the elements...continuing to thrive even while parts of it die, wither, and fall to the ground. But through it all, its foundation is deeply rooted...it takes strength from that and continues to grow. Each spring, new life sprouts and the growth continues. Like that tree, I must do the same...letting the parts of me that no longer fit wither and fall. Letting the new parts of me come forward and thrive, in a new season, in a new and wiser me...believing at my core that I am capable of handling whatever life brings me (this is a hard one for me).

I was happy that when I went in search of a spring photo of this tree, I found one with a key hanging from its branches...perfect. The biggest battle we face in life is against ourselves...we are the key to unlocking our own doors. Do I always remember this? No. But I'm old enough now to catch myself, and give myself gentle reminders, on those days when I lapse into insecurities and fears. What about you? How do you remind yourself that you're valuable? Because you truly are.

This is my submission for Kim's Texture Tuesday - today is "anything goes" day, including no texture if you choose. I went without texture today...please click on the button below to visit Kim's site and see more beautiful photos!

Macro Sunday

After all, I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string. ~Anne Shirley

I thought I would participate in Macro Sunday this week...I haven't done it in a long time and it feels good to zoom in close for a change. This past week I've found myself doing that a lot; with the change of seasons coming, things are turning and I'm noticing it everywhere. It's amazing what photo opportunities you can find if you simply look down at the ground. I could seriously do this all day...I love going in search of organic shapes and textures in nature. My photos today are all of leaves...the skeletonized leaf close-up amazes me because of all the colors. I did increase the saturation a little bit for this image, but the blues and purples were already there, I promise! So gorgeous...thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful Sunday.