breathless

No time to write ... there is only so much good daylight available and I am loving this film!










Unfortunately, I don't know if what I'm using is this film as what I purchased was called PX100 Test Film from The Impossible Project (Is it just me, or are the names of their products infinitely confusing and forgettable?) I have 11 shots left and am torn between slowly savoring it, or going whole hog.








I am remembering a story my German language teacher told me about growing up in Hungary during World War II. Butter was rationed to one pat a month and people would use the tiniest amount possible to stretch it out for the month. But my teacher proudly shared that she would put the whole thing on a roll and eat it in one go!

There is savoring, and then there is full out indulging.









Off to find some more light ...

my dandelion girl

What I want you to know
is you were born
with all that you will need
to survive this life:

independence,
loyalty to those
who've earned your trust,
the ability to love
with your whole being
eyes closed, face lifted.

My weed child -
you grow and thrive
with abandon.

Brave dandelion girl,
never questioning your right
to seize what you need;
your gifts -
laughter
heart
imagination.





You unpack the fear
I have carried
stone heavy in my heart;
to journey with you
I've discovered
my wholeness resting
quietly,
a seed
awaiting
this very moment
to sprout.

Together
let us take over
this field
carpeting it in yellow,
proclaiming our
courage to be
true.

in search of light ... and water ...

This week's theme for 52 Photos Project is water. I have wanted to practice using my SX-70 camera in preparation for a family trip to Italy later this summer. As The Impossible Project film requires oodles of light, my poor camera has been packed away during this Spring of gloom and doom. So on a rare day of sunshine, I excitedly pulled her out and shot the only water nearby ... my kitchen faucet.


What I love - and what drives me crazy - about this film is its unpredictability. You have to shield it when it comes out of the camera and let it develop upside down. It can be very unstable, turning magenta in places where there is a lot of white; eventually it will turn blue. Many of my shots have an insipid baby blue cast to them.

There are lots of discussions on how to work around these problems. You can try peeling the image within ten minutes of shooting it (talk about frantic antics! and I always get chemical goo all over me); you can tape the back with electrical tape (black goo problem); storing the picture upright can slow the blue blobs down somewhat; and now there are drying bags you can store your finished polaroids in that is supposed to help.

The latest talk has been around heating the images while they developed. I foolishly put some shots in a warm oven and got bubbly pictures! But this day being warm and sunny, I shot the pictures into a box and then placed that outside on a step where the sun would heat it. I am really pleased with the results which show better color saturation. Italy should be nice and sunny, so fingers crossed I get some decent shots. (And I have those drying bags just in case.)




Any additional tips for this film would be welcome! It definitely transforms the experience of taking pictures into an adventure. And I am an official card-carrying Pioneer of Impossible film. Perfect for this prairie gal and her cowgirl. ♥

Monday Inspiration Celebration: a family affair

This past week was filled with lots of surprises, the majority of which made me want to dance my happy dance because it seems like goodness and inspiration is swirling all around me.

First off ... and I know this is a total coincidence and not to expect goodies in the mail with any kind of regularity BUT I received 3 pieces of snail mail from some of my favorite lovelies in my art world. Two cards






and (drum roll please) to add to the community of fairies, elves and dwarfs that call my house their home, a pair of Flower Monsters of our very own!






Of course, Cowgirl's monster is blue and mine green with an orange flower head. :) Not only are we their new family, but how many people can see the birth of their very own monster? Check it out!

So wanting to showcase our new monsters, I pulled out my first pack of the new Color Shade polaroid film by The Impossible Project called PUSH. I am loving the results!







The film is somewhat unstable and eventually could/would/will turn more blue? It is advertised as being peel-able (and the only way to stabilize the color) so I decided to give it a go. Naturally, I took my pictures and then read the website and flickr discussion forum where I learned it was best to peel within 10 to 15 minutes of shooting the picture. And so there I was, flipping through the instructions online which left out the part about white and blue goo oozing out (and I am wondering if it is toxic? Of course, I sacrificed safety for Art as I fumbled onward) and then I went to peel and apparently you have to do so in one confident, authoritative pull lest you get this effect:





But I still like it ... maybe because of my memory of those frantic minutes and my perseverance under pressure?

Speaking of pressure ... I have officially past the half way mark in my Moleskine notebook that is part of The Sketchbook Project. I began the journal in August and have until January 15th to finish the second half. Which means an average of three spreads a week. I've been maintaining that pace for 2 weeks now, my hands permanently in gesso, my face flushed and eyes twitching, but I know I can do it! Two pages from this weekend (the topic assigned me is "A Day in the Life"):










Go figure a break from art journaling would be sewing! Not a time consuming project, but a new challenge that required zig zag stitching to prevent edges from unraveling and sewing in elastic ... a spanking new ironing board cover! (because when you sew, you need to iron a lot more!)







And while my mother is proud of me and my efforts to learn how to sew, I was blown away when my mother, goaded - I mean, inspired - by me, finished this amazing piece of crewel work I wrote about here.








It seemed like everyone was in the grips of creative inspiration last week. Even Cowgirl has been painting and coloring up a storm. She has a passion for scotch tape which is unparalleled. She has been creating a series of train pictures which require two if not three sheets of paper taped together. (I am now realizing she may have been inspired by BIG and my 4 to 6 panel paintings.) What I love about her art are the stories her pieces tell. Here is my favorite:






Me as an octopus wearing a pearl necklace and holding stones for my octopus's garden. Below me is a giant submarine which is labeled "Me" by Cowgirl. Her sub-self (complete with 8 propellers) saves me from a shark and we go on to rescued a family of baby eels. Overhead, an airplane and a jet fly by.

Recounting this all, it seems like I worked at a break neck pace, but in actuality I found the days full and spacious as each activity flowed into the next. There was time to sit with Cowgirl and listen to her stories; I went with my mother to a matinee; I took extra long walks with Moose to center myself. Helpful was this insight that came to me while I was sewing:

Daily practice card for THIS Moment course

I tell my students in yoga again and again, to be sure they are breathing. Finally, the teacher heeded her own advice!

Is it me, or is the fact that I am thinking about creative inspiration on a regular basis making me more prone to finding it all around me? Do share your adventures!

Confessions

I've never understood Foodies. I mean, I love a good meal and all but I have a hard time justifying the high cost of a fine dining experience. $100 and I have a beautiful necklace to wear over and over but a meal? I mean, it is with me for a little while and then, well ... you know. And I understand it is the concept of the total pleasure of this experience and the memories it creates and the fact that it is by nature a passing thing. You taste, savor, sip and smell and wave after wave of sensation rolls through you. And I've had some incredible meals: Michelin Star restaurants in the Loire Valley; an epic afternoon lunch in Umbria where bottles of wine were swilled down like so many juice boxes at a daycare; and family meals of all my comfort foods. I get the concept of a Foodie, but I guess I am too practical, too materialistic a person to indulge myself that way.

Until now. And what is my passion? Is it savory, rustic fare? Or the fresh, bold flavors of fusion cuisine?

It is film. To be precise, Polaroid film.




I am always late to the scene with any trend and it comes as no surprise I am embracing the notion of Polaroid photography when the last vestiges of original Polaroid film are long gone - or being hoarded in refrigerators and saved for a special occasion (or the right amount of money). So I have been experimenting with the equally experimental film from The Impossible Project which appears to be the Apple of the film world. People either love them, or hate them ... but we all will probably be using them because they are the only game in town.

I posted my first experiments - and experiments they are as my Ebay purchased Land Camera is a totally foreign beast for me. I have no idea how sensitive it is or how it reacts (over or underexposing) and the film being costly does not encourage much experimentation. And like a true beginner wandering into a casino, pulling a handle on the slot machine and hitting a modest jackpot right off the bat, I was hooked. I got some interesting first shots and having researched online how others were working with the film (the first batch of color film appropriately called "First Flush") I felt ready to whip out another pack and capture some real polaroid magic.

Did you get the analogy of this process with gambling? With winning right away and then endless chasing the dream "this next pull will be it!" Add the image of dollar after dollar being dumped into the slot machine and each pull resulting in ... yes, lemons. Or in my case, Sludge.




There are 8 shots in a pack, which makes each shot cost a little over $2. Unless you factor in all the wasted shots, in which case here is my $17 shot - the only one not looking like a close up of coffee with curdled milk:





After this experience you would think practical old me would hang it up and wait for things to get less experimental. But here is where I finally get the Foodies - where the experience and the allure of Polaroid photography and The Impossible Project make sense and indeed sink their hooks into me. There is the mindset of knowing each shot is precious and costly and that I need to take my time, not rush things and savor each potential shot. Then there is the moment of pressing that magic red button, hearing the snap and then the whir of the film being ejected from the camera. With Impossible film you have to shield it right away and let it develop upside down for at least 90 seconds before stealing a peak to see what you got. The anticipation is palpable. And this film can take days for all of the details to flesh out, so there is a lingering enjoyment, if indeed it rewards you with an image.

I love all this. I love the excitement of not knowing, of hoping, of trying again and again. And the rush of success when a picture is captured. Yeah, I am probably loving some pretty mundane shots, but they are my shots won after much toll and determination. I will hold out for the new batch of color film. I did send in samples of my Sludge work to customer support for feedback. They were incredibly prompt in answering another question I had and actually issuing me a credit for film that had stuck together, two shots coming out at once. I appreciate what they are trying to do and I love that in a small way I am part of a Pioneering movement. But instead of a rifle over my lap as we cross the plains, I am holding my lovely ivory and chocolate SX 70.




So in the spirit of Fearless Adventure, I opened up a new package of the sepia-like PX 100 Silver Shade film and began a new adventure. Only one picture, but at least I got one! Looks promising ... and as any gambler knows, you've got to play to win!

Or in the case of a Foodie, you have to risk indigestion for the chance to taste heaven.





Fingers crossed, I'm through with my Sludge stage!