ART EVERY DAY MONTH

A year ago I rose to Leah Piken Kolidas' challenge to create every day during the month of November and tried my hand at some non-digital art; out of that came a new found fascination with lines and color. (Hey, did you even know I have another blog, dedicated to doodling? ) Another year has come and gone, and once again Leah is encouraging us to think about new ways to be creative. I re-upped. I would support you all to join us in this no-pressure challenge to try something new. You can do it! Being creative is good for you.

This year I have decided to focus more on new photographic techniques and will be posting my excursions here and there, since I do imagine playing with my camera as another way of doodling.

Dancing with Flutes - © Sue O'Kieffe 2008

I've begun experimenting with new ways of using aperture and shutter speeds. Mostly I'm trying not to rely so much on Photoshop and just use simple digital darkrooom techniques. I did enjoy the watercolory, batik-like results of this image, though. Some habits are too much fun to relinquish altogether.

Stay tuned for further adventures!

~Sue O'Kieffe

SACRED LIFE SUNDAY - RIVER WALK

As a way of honoring Sacred Life Sundays I like to post photographs of the beauty I find in my world. These photographs were taken on a walk with my friend SueZen on a walking trail not too far from where I live. The Mad River runs parallel to the Pacific Ocean. I'm not sure how it got its name because most of the time the river is pretty calm. One year, during a heavy winter storm, the ocean broke through the sand bars and the river changed course, creating a new mouth. I was fortunate to witness that geological event. Seems SueZen was with me that day, too.

In the summer in late afternoon, you can never be too sure if the day will be foggy or sunny. At 4:30 when I left work the sun was still out. By the time we got out on our walk 45 minutes later, we were engulfed in damp yet cozy fog. There is something about the mystery of fog that I find comforting.

The bumblebee on the thistle had gone dormant from the cold. Im sure when the sun came out again he warmed right up and flew away. I saw two bees in this state of suspended animation on our walk.

Nature is so amazing.

SACRED LIFE SUNDAY - FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH

On Sundays, I like sharing the beauty I have witnessed over the past week with all of you. I am grateful for the opportunities I have to see such a variety of shapes and colors, especially now, after having focused so intensely on the meaning of different shapes in art for the past week on my postings here.

I'm not sure what kind of plant those mandala-like green leaves are. Maybe later, when the blooms appear, I will be able to tell.

(For those of you who view my blog in a reader, you will need to come to my site in order to see the slide show and hear the music I try to tie in to all of my posts.)

Have a joyous Sunday, everyone.


Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

SACRED LIFE SUNDAY - A ROSE IS A ROSE IS A ROSE

Recently I discovered this beautiful sonnet by Rainier Marie Rilke:

Rose, you majesty-once, to the ancients, you were
just a calyx with the simplest of rims.
But for us, you are the full, the numberless flower,
the inexhaustible countenance.
In your wealth you seem to be wearing gown upon gown
upon a body of nothing but light;
yet each separate petal is at the same time the negation
of all clothing and the refusal of it.
Your fragrance has been calling its sweetest names
in our direction, for hundreds of years;
suddenly it hangs in the air like fame.
Even so, we have never known what to call it; we guess...
And memory is filled with it unawares
which we prayed for from hours that belong to us.
~Rainer Marie Rilke The Sonnets of Orpheus, Book 2:VI


I was especially drawn to this line ... In your wealth you seem to be wearing gown upon gown upon a body of nothing but light...

Isn't that just yum?

No matter how many different flowers I photograph for my art, I don't think I will ever tire of shooting different portraits of the rose in her many guises; and for this, on Sacred Life Sunday, I am most grateful.

HOW DO I MAKE MANDALAS?

Awakening - (Healing in Circles series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2006

More than one person have asked me how I make my mandalas. It is no secret that I start with the templates offered at earthmandalas.com Komra Moriko wrote those tutorials quite a long time ago, and the way Photoshop is laid out is quite different now; but the concepts are still the same. If you have tried to use those templates and got lost in the tutorial and need some help, let me know.

Starting with a good photograph helps too. When I shoot photographs, I tend to look for flowers that are fleshy and reflect light well. The mandala above, made from a photograph of a rose,and the one yesterday, which was made from a photograph of a succulent, both have lots of substance. I also work with high resolution photographs (240 ppi) which means I duplicated the templates to 240 ppi as well.

My other secret? Lots and lots of practice. I have worked on my art at some point every day for the past two years. This means learning about making adjustments, selections, layers, different filters, blending modes and how they all work together. I would say of all the photoshop tools I use that blending modes is my favorite. I have found that the less "photoshoppy" an image looks, the more I like it. And I keep wondering. What would happen if? I remain willing to break my own rules of creation. And I keep learning and relearning.

And that's how I do it!

MY DOUBLE BLOG LIFE

Neptune's Dream - © Sue O'Kieffe 2006


I began blogging on Blogger to create what I thought would be my business blog. I still believe that people who do commerce online need a blog, but I don't believe this blog is it for me...at least yet. Developing my business -- the business, marketing, and financial plan parts of it -- is taking much longer (of course my resistance to it isn't helping any), than I expected. I would much rather play in Photoshop and be out taking photos of flowers, and communing with my friends online.

I am delighted by the developing group of fellow artist bloggers I have met in this space. I think it could be the beginning of my online artist's community. I know there are plenty of places to do that on the world wide web. I am enjoying seeing it develop and unfold here.

I have another blog in another space that I consider home. There I am known as Dancing Sun. I speak in a philosophical/spiritual voice there. I post my photography there, play music and have my mandalas in a gallery there, speak more about daily life there, from time to time quote the Universe there. The downside of Xanga is that subscribing to it is more difficult (but not impossible) unless you are a member of the Xanga community. If you want to read DancingSun from your email's inbox, go to FeedBlitz and enter www.xanga.com/dancingsun in the window towards the bottom of the page. And if you come visit, be sure to say hi. You don't have to be a member of Xanga to comment there, either.

Oh, and I do have my other blog linked in the list of other blogs I read. See how easy it is?