Heavy Metal Relatives & Inspiring Photos

Favorite Relatives (art journal page)

I have to say that the process of taking the Creative Bootcamp Online Class - focusing on creating something everyday in one medium and working with a random prompt - is really ramping up my creativity.  When I read the prompt for today, heavy metal, I groaned because I had no idea how to incorporate it into my plaster work.  Twelve hours later, I had four competing ideas:

• Using some fabulous rusty stars on the dedication page of my gratitude journal.  These are very special and wonderful stars that were sent to me by a very special blog friend
• An art journal page responding to the Creative Therapy prompt "A favorite relative" and that features a picture of my Aunt Vera and Uncle Nano riding a motorcycle together in the 1930's.  I would use plaster to create a road for them to ride on and some wings to go behind a skull.  Journaling reads:  Aunt Vera and Uncle Nano.  How could these two not be my favorite relatives - just look at them!  I became close to them when my parents sent my sister and I to stay with them one summer in Houston, Texas.  Years later, I inherited lots of memorabilia and heritage photos from her when my sister and I handled her estate.  Even though they're gone, they live on in my art.
•  Making tags out of plaster and seeing if I can put eyelets into the plaster.  The tags would be for my art journaling class that starts this weekend and each would have a quote about art journaling.
• A piece for the "On the Clothesline" series, a heavy metal t-shirt painted black with a silver skull and skinny jeans with teeny brads for rivets.  On the front, the journaling reads: "On the clothesline . . . her heavy metal clothes were waiting."  On the back, I would write, "As her soul softened, she sensed her heavy metal uniform no longer fit her."

Now, it's 20 hours later. I have completed the gratitude dedication page and the "favorite relative" art journal page (posted above) .  Plus, I formed the tags but haven't had a chance to add eyelets, color or quotes.  The "On the Clothesline" piece will have to wait for another day.
I also worked on the bootcamp inspirational assignment to go for a walk and take pictures of things that inspire you.  I walked around the harbor neighborhood near my studio and found these inspiring things.  I encourage you to click on any of the ones you like to see them bigger:

Jeff Clark's Maverick's Surf Shop is right down the street.  If you're a surfer or know surfers, then it will mean something to you that Jeff Clark lives in my town, and the Mavericks Big Wave spot is walking distance from my studio. He has a bunch of old rusted out trucks in front and an assortment of surfboard.  I would love to take portraits in front of these!  For now, I really loved this perspective, sky and color combination above.

You may recall that I love graffiti photography, and I loved this landscape of the bluff above Mavericks, which was painted on a container outside the surf shop.  I can tell it's an old painting because the satellite dishes shown on the bluff top have been replaced by new, more modern versions.

One of my neighbors.  I love the industrial nature of the harbor. I also find inspiring the weathered red metal, the blue, blue sky and the shapes in this photo.

I'd love to take portraits in front of this weathered wood wall.

My favorite find of the day - a beautiful statue of an angel reading.  I'm submitting this photo as my "final" for the Get Out of Auto Mode photography class.  It was taken in aperture priority with an fstop of 5.6, ISO 200 and WB set to full sun.

Crabpots, weathered wood and rusty metal - wonderful textures.  Crabpots are everywhere, and I love them.  Here's a look inside one:

I find the jumble of robes and floats and metal very intriguing.  I also love the barnacles and shells trapped inside. Next up, s simple flower photo.  I found the color and shapes very inspiring, but admit to having trouble getting a proper focus:

And finally, I took a real (not an i-phone) photo of the red truck and green tree outside the studio:

I have no idea why I find this view so inspiring.  The colors and the old-fashioned feel of it are definitely a part of it.  Sorry for the long, long post today! I hope you found something inspiring in it!