I’ll bet it’s the same for you and I think today’s quote might help us understand better whether we are… or not.
“A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.” – Louis Nizer
Am I a laborer, a craftsman or an artist?
At any one time I am one of the three. I suppose it depends on the task at hand. I always aspire to be an artist but at the very least I hope to be a solid craftsman when I make my photographs and artistic images. Sometimes I am just a laborer. And I then try to either elevate the work on the next go ’round or not to perform that particular job again.
How much of yourself do you put into your work?
Laborer? Craftsman? Artist? Which are you??
And why do you think so?
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
Louis Nizer practiced law (successfully) for the rich and famous. In addition he wrote, spoke and advised some of the most powerful people in the world… Here’s another quote that you might not know where it came from and is attributed to Nizer, “When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of his fingers are pointing at himself.”
I feel like I’m catching up with an old very good friend who’s been away adventuring. You know, the friend when you first met felt like you’d known each other forever? The friend who’s been away for years but you sit down and begin chatting and it’s like you were never apart and just pick up the conversation where you left off.
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia– by Elizabeth Gilbert
I don’t normally share my personal reading material on the blog but I’m making an exception here because I think you will enjoy this book, find a new friend, and share thoughts with someone who’s art is in creating pictures of environments and stories with words.
Meet my new friend Elizabeth Gilbert.
I met Liz (figuratively) while listening to an interview with her on NPR about her book, Eat, Pray, Love. That night I asked my wife to order up a copy for my Kindle. I just knew immediately that I would enjoy it. I think you will too.
Shared Words from the Book
During the radio interview Liz read a couple passages from her book. I’d like to share a taste of her writing style so you can get excited and find a new friend, if you haven’t already.
“The amount of pleasure this eating and speaking brought to me was inestimable, and yet so simple. I passed a few hours once in the middle of an October night that might look like nothing so much to the outside observer, but which I will always count amongst the happiest in my life. I found a market near my apartment, only a few streets over from me, which I’d somehow never noticed before. There I approached a tiny vegetable stall with one Italian woman and her son selling a choice assortment of their produce – such as rich almost algae-green leaves of spinach, tomatoes so red and bloody they looked like a cow’s organs, and champagne-colored grapes with skins as tight as a showgirls leotard…
“I walked home to my apartment and soft-boiled a pair of fresh brown eggs for my lunch. I peeled the eggs and arranged them on my plate beside seven stalks of the asparagus (which were so slim and snappy, they didn’t need to be cooked at all). I put some olives on the plate, too, and the four knobs of goat cheese I’d picked up yesterday from the formaggia down the street, and two slices of pink, oily salmon. For dessert-a lovely peach, which the woman had given to me for free and which was still warm from the Roman sunlight. For the longest time I couldn’t even touch the food because it was such a masterpiece of lunch, a true expression of the art of making something out of nothing. Finally, when I had fully absorbed the prettiness of my meal, I went and sat in a patch of sunbeam on my clean wooden floor and ate every bite of it, with my fingers, while reading my daily newspaper article in Italian. Happiness inhabited my every molecule.”
From further in the book in the India section…
“The truth is, I don’t think I’m good at meditation. I know I’m out of practice with it, but honestly I was never good at it.I can’t seem to get my mind to hold still. I mentioned this once to an Indian monk, and he said, “It’s a pity that you are the only person in the history of the world to have this problem.” Then the monk quoted to me from the Bhagavad Gita, the most sacred ancient text of Yoga: “Oh Krishna, the mind is restless, turbulent, strong and unyielding. I consider it as difficult to subdue as the wind.”…
“When I ask my mind to rest in stillness, it is astonishing how quickly it will turn (1) bored, (2) angry, (3) depressed, (4) anxious or (5) all of the above. Like most humanoids, I am burdened with what the Buddhists call the “monkey mind” – the thoughts that swing from limb to limb, stopping only to scratch themselves, spit and howl.”
I hope you enjoy this read as much as I have. As this Sunday Photo/Art quote often explores a slightly different path to creativity, may this inspire you to better photography as I believe it has me… Well written words create pictures in the mind. I think having more pictures in your mind enables you to create better images.
An interesting thought for today’s Photo/Art Quote from Freeman Patterson. It’s not really something I’ve thought about much over the years. I guess as I’ve been exploring photography as more of an artistic endeavor verses a realistic process I would be attracted to this thought.
“The camera always points both ways. In expressing your subject. You also express yourself.” Freeman Patterson
I’m going to guess that this is the reason if you give ten photographers the same subject to photograph you will end up with ten different images. I also believe that the story given when the subject is presented to a photographer can have a huge impact on the final outcome.
Witness Canon giving six photographers the same person to photograph who told each photographer a different story about his life and got six VERY different photographs in return.
Canon video of six stories and six results. One subject.
Spend some time thinking about this and please share your thoughts. This is one of those things that fascinate me.
We are photographers but within our chosen medium we have many ways of bringing attention to our subjects. Composition, lighting, color, tone and contrast all plat a part. But if we examine our work a bit more in depth we will see we at, any one time, one of these tends to come forward more often than not in our images.
Which brings me to today’s Photo/Art Quote by prolific artist Georgia O’Keeffe.
“I found I could say things with colors and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no other words for.” Georgia O’Keeffe
So may I suggest when creating your art you give thought to the idea, whether it be portrait, fine art or move to the forefront, your message in the creation of your images. I believe if you think with this in mind you will begin to see your creativity grow.
If you’ve been following me for very long you know I’m a big fan of self-assignments to grow skills and earn new business. As a matter of fact, in putting together programs to teach other photographers about this I came to the realization that I’ve built a large part of my career by doing just that. I’ve built skill sets and gained new clients by giving myself a project as if I was the client. What kind of things?? Things like designing an art piece featuring a business or designing a magazine cover or line of T-shrts. Then taking the resulting work to the potential client and often ended up with pay for doing work I did to learn. At the very least, even if the client didn’t buy that piece of work, they were made aware of my capabilities. In addition, I would enter the resulting images in Competition and sometimes be fortunate enough to win an award or two and generate press release opportunities.
Which brings us to today’s Photo/Art Quote which I think shows you that even if you get no work it’s a great way to jump start your creativity.
“Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart.” (Elizabeth Gilbert)
Sponsored Speaking Program Available
If you are part of a photo group looking for inspired speaking programs I am available. As a Panasonic Lumix Luminary sponsorship is available to eliminate or cut down the cost of having the presentation. Check on the seminars page for more information about this program or others available or give me a call to chat about options and possibilities.
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“A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.” – Louis Nizer
