One of the great joys of fatherhood is learning with your children, especially while travelling. We have more time to hangout, walk and talk when the usual routines are put aside for exploration of unfamiliar places. Everything is somehow new and the light different, more subtle. It is undeniably true that Time is needed for creativity to flourish. I also suspect that the joy that comes from being ‘in the flow’ is a more positive creative force than is generally acknowledged.
cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo shared by Darcy Moore
For example, Sarah (5) is fantastic at mixing using Groove Maker. One cold, autumnal morning in Mudgee, while processing photos, without me even realising it, I was carried away by the music. She really had her groove on. Lucy (8) even commented, ‘that is cool, Sarah’!
I suspect it is a perfect example of being in the ‘flow‘.
Another example, using a different language to create, is her storytelling later that day. Sarah loves Artmaker and it was pretty much the first app she used on the iPad. It is simple and allows for story to not be impeded by technical difficulties while making the film. Listening to her stories in the back of the car, as she used the app, was joy. She was lost in a world of her own device.
Once again, time and creativity go hand in hand. It seems to me that this is learning and that more time should be allowed in school for students to freely explore!
cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo shared by Darcy Moore
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive…
Wordsworth
Wandering, with my camera at dawn, is the time when I feel most creative and clear-minded. I certainly find, as the sun’s rays creep above the horizon, that my thoughts are consumed by the shot and I feel in the flow. Often, just after that, walking, my mind seems most alive and ideas, sometimes from years ago, are viewed afresh. New ideas emerge and recent thoughts coalesce.
cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo shared by Darcy Moore
Photography is a useful tool.
Degas
Michael Forster has recently moved to Mudgee and his works are being exhibited at the Fairview Artspace. Helen Harwood was kind enough to invite my family to attend the opening. We looked at Michael’s art and listened to him explain his processes of making his ‘transpositions from live or imagined images to traditional art mediums and back to the digital palette.” I chatted with him and liked what he had to say about using his ‘camera as a sketchpad’. Michael has no reservations about using technology in his art and gushed about Photoshop.
While looking at approximately 30 of Forster’s pieces we played a game. Each girl, before looking at the title, had to name the art work. It was truly engaging for all of us and certainly made my daughters inspect each work very closely. Later in the evening, as the lights were dimmed and a poem read aloud, I could see their eyes shining in the candlelight.
Michael’s work and ideas have certainly got me thinking about my photography and what else may be possible. Many of his ideas are instinctively, naturally how I see the world. My fledgling attempts may be more often ‘printed’ as a result of Michael’s influence.
cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo shared by Darcy Moore
I know both girls were rapt with this experience too, as on arrival home, they started drawing, even though it was well after bedtime.
They also liked the canapes. 😉
Slider image: cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by Darcy Moore: http://flickr.com/photos/darcymoore/6920744948/
Fairview ArtSpace
Great to hear that your family had such a wonderful “Mudgee” experience and that everyone was able to engage with Michael Forster’s exhibition. It has certainly encouraged a lot of thought amongst the weeks visitor’s and hopefully will continue to do so till May 14th.
Lovely to meet you all.
Regards
Helen Harwood
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