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| February 3, 2005 |
Volume 1 - Number 36
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LAST ISSUE'S IMAGE (ISSUE
#35)-
An unidentified tropical flower.
LAST ISSUE'S IMAGERY -
A longer "story" than usual follows. I
had an insight that some others of you may find
of value also, so I am sharing it here.
I received quite a few e-mails of powerfully favorable
reactions to this image. Comments ranged from the
overall looking like a "Las Vegas Girl's Headdress"
and "Mummers headdress" to comments
on the colors, textures, movement and flow. Ironically
for me, I had few of those reactions for this
cropped view.
Looking at the photo from this perspective, I see
a woman with her head at a 3/4 angle toward the
right cradled and protected by the petals, one of
which caps her head. There is also a bulging-eyed,
pink frog on the left protecting her, where her
knees would be. I could continue with the some of
the other petals and didn't. I suspect that some
of you will now probably start seeing images also.
THE INSIGHT:
Originally I had the full
flower set in this issue to send out in the
morning. My computer was shut down for the night
when I read something that had me reboot the computer,
pull up the photo and crop it to what you saw (link
above).
As I prepare the curriculum for upcoming teleclasses,
I've started reading THE CREATIVE HABIT: LEARN IT
AND USE IT FOR LIFE by Twyla Tharp, dancer/choreographer.
In it she speaks of "Creative DNA" which
we may think of as our "creative hard-wiring
or personality."
She goes on to say, "When I apply a critic's
temperament to myself, to see if I'm being true
to my DNA, I often think in terms of focal length,
like that of a camera lens. All of us find comfort
in seeing the world either from a great distance,
at arm's length, or in close-up. We don't consciously
make that choice. Our DNA does, and we generally
don't waver from it. Rare is the painter who is
equally adept at miniatures and epic series, or
the writer who is at home in both historical sagas
and finely observed short stories."
After reading this I had a "flash." People
have been asking me how I see and take photos the
way I do. In attempting to find answers, I'm noticing
that the pictures subscribers seem to be most responsive
to are those where I've zoomed in and on some where
I've gotten even closer by cropping.
My creative DNA IS that close-up focus. So I became
"true to my DNA", pulled up the picture
and cropped it. I'm thinking when I am being "truest"
is when you get strong feelings yourself and are
most responsive.
On the flip side, once I did the cropping, my personal
response, based on my DNA, was to start looking in
even closer, thus the images I described above.
Years ago, when walking in Manhattan with my mother,
she started describing the spaces between the trees
and the overall of a scene we were enjoying. All
I saw were the branches. It was then that I realized
that I was seeing, what in art is termed, the positive
spaces. She was seeing, what are called, the negative
spaces. Evidently, I was being consistent with my
DNA.
I invite you to become aware of your creative DNA.
As a pattern, are you looking at the world, people,
situations, "from a great distance, at arm's
length, or in close-up?" If you find yourself
in challenging situations, are you in the true mode
for you? If not, would shifting it make a difference
to you and to the people with whom you are interacting?
Lastly, if you've read all of the above, are pondering
it and, then, find that what I've related has some
impact for you, I'd appreciate your sharing that with
me. It doesn't have to be the "what" or
the "why." Simply knowing a difference has
been made would be helpful and sufficient for me.
Thank you.
TODAY'S IMAGE -
on the grounds of our community.
UPDATE from 2 issues ago-
Issue
34's concrete structure, with the "forlorn",
as one subscriber called it, snowy egret is a Weir.
It manually controls the water flow from one section
to another.
Inspirationally,
Sheila
sheila[at]eteletours.com--
© 2005 Sheila Finkelstein
http://www.eteletours.com
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