Nashville, TN: Two years ago, I went on a women's photography retreat in Hawaii, led by the author on the how-to book on Polaroid Image Transfer & Emulsion Lifts. In theory, the experience should have been life-changing, since I had already been creating my own pieces of this type of art since 2004, but as most things go in life (specifically on retreats... hmmm....), it didn't happen quite as I had planned.
Days before I headed to the
Big Island, I had encountered some personal turmoil, so the majority of my stay in one of the most seemingly beautiful places in the world was clouded by a mix of disappointment, anger and sadness. Then, I was frustrated that the retreat was turning more into a photo shoot of the island instead of a focus on the art techniques which drew me there in the first place. When we finally did get to work on our own transfers & lifts, I was losing patience with myself because I didn't feel like anything I created was good enough.
And then there were the roosters. The loud, annoying, punctual roosters that work me up every morning at 4am. But that's another story....
However, there was one small piece of art I made during my week that became the apex to the trip. I found a small rock in the shape of a heart. I took a picture of it and photoshopped it red. Then I printed it out to an 8x10 photo. I cut the photo into fours and transformed each corner into its own emulsion lift. Carefully, cautiously and honorably, I pieced the heart back together again.
It wasn't perfect -- it never could be after it was cut apart the way it was -- but the only way it was going to be put back together again at all is if I did it myself. I adhered it to canvas and added some red scratches and cuts around it -- war wounds, if you will. Finally, I searched for a title to the piece; a bow to add to the finished package. When it came to me, I decided to add it directly on the piece itself:
Free.
Art is up for interpretation, so I don't necessarily want to explain my exact meaning behind it. However, simply creating the piece itself gave me a freedom I had been searching for in quite a while. And even today, two years later, I can look at that piece, now on my bedside table, and be grateful for the freedom I still feel today.
I've decided to take my art one step further and enter it into a contest on the website
AlternativePhotography.com. It's for placement in their 2011 calendar. It's all voter-based and there are
96 other entries (but there's only one other emulsion lift entry!) and if I got chosen as one of 12 winners, all I'd win is a free calendar and perhaps a free photography manual. So, it's really not a big deal, but I would love to have my piece of art out in the world. And perhaps have others see the beauty of (my version of) truly being free.
You can vote HERE by Saturday, October 16.
However, there was one small piece of art I made during my week that became the apex to the trip. I found a small rock in the shape of a heart. I took a picture of it and photoshopped it red. Then I printed it out to an 8x10 photo. I cut the photo into fours and transformed each corner into its own emulsion lift. Carefully, cautiously and honorably, I pieced the heart back together again.