The theme for the 12.12 project for the month of March was (To) Breathe. I submitted a portion of this collage, the top two sections. Why not the whole thing, you may be wondering. Good question. Because it is too large to scan in one piece, and it was not until later that I realized I could actually scan the collage in a series of triptychs and merge them using Lightroom, which is what I did here. It took me a couple of days to figure out that solution, however. And so I am sharing the result here. :)
In thinking about the theme, I wrote down words that I associated with it: air, sky, blue, light, space, flight, feathers, meditation, peace, nature. And this collage was born from wanting to capture something that embodied all of those elements, that embodied the feeling of lightness and freedom.
Writing for me, especially writing in a journal or creating poetry, provides me with breathing space. I inhale and gather up the words that are swimming around in the seas of my mind. I exhale, and they flow down my arms and out through the tips of my fingers, spilling like raindrops upon the page.
And here you see a repetition of the elements listed above, with a nod to writing and to the written word. Each photo has a lot of negative space in it, giving an overall sense of serenity to the piece. The center photo is an emulsion transfer onto 140# paper, made with 600 color film from the Impossible Project. The color layer separated from the emulsion layer as I was in the process of transferring it, resulting in something that is whisper soft, barely even there, almost as invisible as the breath.
Participating in the 12.12 Project has changed my approach to making photos. I am seeing things differently and learning how to put them together in new ways. Inspiration creeps into my dreams, and I awaken with my head buzzing with ideas. The theme for this coming month has me very excited too. But you'll have to wait until the end of the month to find out exactly why. So, stay tuned for more.
And, in case you haven't noticed, my website has a whole new look and layout. You may want to check out the photo galleries, which are organized by the types of cameras I used to make them, with the focus being on the polaroid sx-70; one of the greatest loves of my life is that camera. I asked it where it had been all my life, and it replied, "Waiting here for you to discover me." I guess in this life we come to things when we are ready for them. And that is when the magic happens.
Until next time...
Anne