Peace in the Storm
Artist Statement
My collage, titled “Peace in the Storm”, conveys the balance between peace and the stress of daily life. When we become overwhelmed and stress threatens to overtake us, we can lose that balance. But, we can always find peace again in the things we love. The simple photograph of the dark trees against the clear, blue sky represents this peace. I find peace when I am in nature, for instance walking in the woods where this photograph was taken. The image of the trees is the base layer of the collage, because being in nature is something I love, and the things I love are at the heart of how I live. The second layer is my selfie. I took my selfie with a neutral expression and plain clothing, because my overall image is not specifically "happy" or "sad". I wanted my selfie to simply be a representation of myself. The next layer, a photograph of a brick wall, represents the various responsibilities in my life. The many bricks of varying colors represent the amount and variety of tasks I must accomplish every day. This image is on top of the trees and my selfie, because daily problems often distort my sense of peace. The image of the sidewalk crack across my face represents the way I begin to fall apart when these responsibilities overwhelm me. The crack, however, does not take over the entire image, because this overwhelmed state is not the end of my story! The final layer of the college represents my ability to overcome the stresses of my life when I take the time to do what I love. This image is of something I love: my horse, Hope. Caring for her and riding her always takes my mind away from my problems and makes me feel at peace. “Peace in the Storm” represents how overwhelming my life can be, when responsibilities overtake me. However, this collage also is a reminder that the stress I feel is never permanent, and in doing the things I love, I can fill in my “cracks” and find peace again.
My collage, titled “Peace in the Storm”, conveys the balance between peace and the stress of daily life. When we become overwhelmed and stress threatens to overtake us, we can lose that balance. But, we can always find peace again in the things we love. The simple photograph of the dark trees against the clear, blue sky represents this peace. I find peace when I am in nature, for instance walking in the woods where this photograph was taken. The image of the trees is the base layer of the collage, because being in nature is something I love, and the things I love are at the heart of how I live. The second layer is my selfie. I took my selfie with a neutral expression and plain clothing, because my overall image is not specifically "happy" or "sad". I wanted my selfie to simply be a representation of myself. The next layer, a photograph of a brick wall, represents the various responsibilities in my life. The many bricks of varying colors represent the amount and variety of tasks I must accomplish every day. This image is on top of the trees and my selfie, because daily problems often distort my sense of peace. The image of the sidewalk crack across my face represents the way I begin to fall apart when these responsibilities overwhelm me. The crack, however, does not take over the entire image, because this overwhelmed state is not the end of my story! The final layer of the college represents my ability to overcome the stresses of my life when I take the time to do what I love. This image is of something I love: my horse, Hope. Caring for her and riding her always takes my mind away from my problems and makes me feel at peace. “Peace in the Storm” represents how overwhelming my life can be, when responsibilities overtake me. However, this collage also is a reminder that the stress I feel is never permanent, and in doing the things I love, I can fill in my “cracks” and find peace again.
Summer thoughts
Artist Statement
At the beginning of this photography course, I didn’t think there was much I needed to know about photography. I enjoyed taking pictures for fun and had taught myself a lot, however, looking back at my selfie collage, I realize I have learned so much in this trimester. My photography skills improved as I learned how to draw my viewer's eye to certain parts of my photos and make them more interesting. I learned about rules and techniques I didn’t even know existed, and when I implemented them, my photography became drastically better. I also learned how to use Photoshop, which was a totally foreign program to when I began this photography course, to edit the photographs I took and do anything from touching up parts of them to making masks and double exposures.
The differences between my initial selfie collage and my double exposure are proof of the growth of photography skills I have experiences. First of all, the photos used to create my double exposure were much more planned and purposeful than those in my selfie collage. I took more time to take my selfie, and planned what I would wear so it could not distract from my photo. I also took a more meaningful background photo, of Torch Lake from the porch of my family’s cottage up north. In my selfie collage, the photos were of generic and boring objects, like bare trees and a brick wall. Additionally, I was able to edit my photos in Photoshop before creating the double exposure. My photos were drastically improved simply by adjusting light and shadows. Finally, the viewpoint of my photos and placement of subjects in my double exposure was much more effective to draw focus to the subjects. When I took photos for my selfie collage, I didn’t understand the rule of thirds and and took most of my pictures straight-on, instead of experimenting with different viewpoints. In my double exposure, I placed my subjects at the intersections of lines in the photos, and paid attention to the angles from which I took photographs. Overall, I think my double exposure is a huge improvement from my selfie collage. I am amazed by how much I have learned in this class, and am excited to continue using the things I have learned to take photographs in the future!
At the beginning of this photography course, I didn’t think there was much I needed to know about photography. I enjoyed taking pictures for fun and had taught myself a lot, however, looking back at my selfie collage, I realize I have learned so much in this trimester. My photography skills improved as I learned how to draw my viewer's eye to certain parts of my photos and make them more interesting. I learned about rules and techniques I didn’t even know existed, and when I implemented them, my photography became drastically better. I also learned how to use Photoshop, which was a totally foreign program to when I began this photography course, to edit the photographs I took and do anything from touching up parts of them to making masks and double exposures.
The differences between my initial selfie collage and my double exposure are proof of the growth of photography skills I have experiences. First of all, the photos used to create my double exposure were much more planned and purposeful than those in my selfie collage. I took more time to take my selfie, and planned what I would wear so it could not distract from my photo. I also took a more meaningful background photo, of Torch Lake from the porch of my family’s cottage up north. In my selfie collage, the photos were of generic and boring objects, like bare trees and a brick wall. Additionally, I was able to edit my photos in Photoshop before creating the double exposure. My photos were drastically improved simply by adjusting light and shadows. Finally, the viewpoint of my photos and placement of subjects in my double exposure was much more effective to draw focus to the subjects. When I took photos for my selfie collage, I didn’t understand the rule of thirds and and took most of my pictures straight-on, instead of experimenting with different viewpoints. In my double exposure, I placed my subjects at the intersections of lines in the photos, and paid attention to the angles from which I took photographs. Overall, I think my double exposure is a huge improvement from my selfie collage. I am amazed by how much I have learned in this class, and am excited to continue using the things I have learned to take photographs in the future!