A big piece of Joy for me is mining images.
I am still going through boxes from storage, even though I moved in here over 4.5 years ago. Every box of papers that I bring in has to be gone through and filed (Most of it goes in the big round file marked “recycle”). It’s a bit of a stretch to find the Joy in that job. A big piece of Joy that does stem from that job, though, is mining images.
I have been doing art all of my life. I have lots and lots of old sketchbooks, paintings, ideas and photos. Years ago I took yet another photography class so that I could figure out how to create my big .5mm pencil drawings using photographs and darkroom magic instead, in a sort of chemical montage process that I was inventing. I had to back away from the project when I got pregnant as there was no way I would risk my babies health with exposure to a toxic chemical soup.
When computers came to be more available, I kept imagining that there would be a way to create my vision with them. Years later now with a scanner, a digital camera, Illustrator and Photoshop and Painter, the tools available for my palette are so far more sophisticated than anything I could have imagined back then. I am so grateful for programmers and technology! YES!
So I mine images in my files, redraw or repaint them, add pieces, cut out pieces, scan or photograph them, pull them into Photoshop or Painter and have at it, emerging in a short while from the instantaneous creative flow with another jewel to add to the treasure of images I have available for my work. What a joy!
A few samples of prints created from images that I have mined in this way include: Fanny, Kady, and Remembrance:
