My friend Stephanie asked me if I would help her make this photo softer. Because I know Stephanie well enough to know what she likes, my mind didn't have far to scramble to come up with the softness I knew she'd like.
This is what I came up with. It's very simple but very effective. She asked me to emphasize the nest without losing the hands and she wanted it softened. I know she loves muted greens so I kept the green background. Always a woman prefers to be seen as beautiful and although I suspect the woman holding the nest is very earthy and therefore would not mind her wonderful, earthy hands being shown as they are, the softness I added to her hands only emphasizes the nest.
Stephanie and her mother-in-law needed the image because they had been asked to participate in a quilt by making a quilt block for a newborn baby. This is how they used it. It is quite lovely...not a typical baby quilt block. But, then, that's Stephanie. :)
Seeing sideways and working with clients can be very tricky. How does one work with a client and give them what they want/need while being innovative (seeing sideways) and still be true to their own artistic vision? That's a real tall order! As I worked with my client (Stephanie), I had to take into consideration her final output. Knowing that she, herself, is an artist, I had to deliver to her something she could work with that would fulfill her artistic vision. She gave me the elements and parameters to work with -- a photo that she wanted softened, with the hands still visible yet it had to emphasize the nest. I don't consider what I did to the photo anything spectacular -- I didn't "see sideways" with it because in the end I knew that Stephanie would take care of that part. What I did, though, was deliver something that I felt good about, that I knew she would like and could use, and that was still within my own artistic sensabilities. The "seeing sideways" came from Stephanie. She and her MIL created a piece of art that is not typical for a baby quilt. Stephanie was true to her artistic vision, making a baby quilt block that has a sweet theme to it but done in such a Stephanie way as to make it unusual.
I wonder about seeing sideways...when does one be different and when does one not? I believe that the crux of seeing sideways is being true to yourself. All things considered, being true to yourself, to your own voice, to your own vision as you work with others is the germ of seeing sideways. No, I didn't do anything special to the photo. But when I finished working with it, it felt good to me. Why? The final product was not going to be mine, but Stephanie's, so I gave her something to work with. Being true to myself in this regard was not about producing a piece of art that is different from all the rest but about my love for Stephanie and giving her what she could use. So...sometimes seeing sideways isn't even about the art but above and beyond that....
2 comments:
I think you actually get the spirit of seeing sideways. I had a student ask how sideways should they be, and my answer was that it is always an individual decision - after I had an inner cringe at being asked the question in the first place... But we all have to start from our own home base. And it is not surprising that people who are churned out of the public school system need to ask questions like this. At least they are asking... Plus, you are right in that clients may have a problem with the sideways approach. It all boils down to, "Will it make me money by selling my product/idea/organization/etc.?" So how do you take a sideways approach to a traditional design and slip a little creativity into the run-of-the mill production work? For some people being sideways is putting laundry detergent on an egg and photographing it, like Leana did. She didn't get away from her love of aestheticism, but she did try something that was completely new for her by combining those disparate things... It was sideways for her, and created a very compelling image. For others, it is taking a piece of the egg carton to work with when asked to take an egg, like Elizabeth did. Her product wasn't the most sideways interpretation, but her reaction to the instructions (or rules) was very sideways. It is a different journey we are all on, and that is what makes it so exciting! It is all relative... You started this journey already sideways so your evolution will be much different from someone who started in a very traditional/conservative place. The whole thing about being sideways is that it is merely tapping into your own creativity and seeing what happens. Bravo to you for seeing this!
Lately I've been having "out of the box" experiences. I had a couple of classes this past semester that I consider a wash by way of content. And I could have dwelt on the frustration of "wasting" a semester. But I always ask myself, what is it about ME that is allowing this frustration. There's a whole semester's worth of answers in that question, but the point is, this past semester was not about content. It was a study in the peripherals...in relationships, in discovering myself, in learning to love myself in ways I've never been able to love myself. The content of this past semester no longer means anything to me but all the rest is invaluable. I learned to look beyond what is directly in front of me to see the bigger picture. And that's sideways.
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