This is a photograph of a mesquite seed pod I found on the grounds of the Miraval Resort during my artist-in-residence there this summer. The mesquite trees are about all the shade you get in the heat of the desert, and the crunching of the pods underfoot is a common sound as you walk the grounds.

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abstract of a mesquite seed pod

An abstract photograph of a mesquite bean pod, created while at Miraval.

Each work of art I make, whether I am in the desert or my studio at home, starts with me being mindful of the natural world and my relationship to it. I disconnect the analytical side of my brain, and quiet the chatter in my head. I try to calm the brain’s reflexive need to process and categorize, and just allow myself to absorb what my senses perceive, unfiltered. Even when I am out gathering subjects to photograph, I cannot worry about the past or plan for the future: I have to just be aware of the present, and experience my environment as openly and simply as possible. Only then do the ideas and images come to me. In a way, my art has become my own form of meditation or prayer, helping me be more mindful, more present, more centered.

Annother photograph of a mesquite bean pod created at Miraval.

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Mindfulness and my artistic process

I spent most of today working on a new photograph of the same leaf from the last two posts. (This leaf just keeps inspiring me!) This photograph offers a completely different perspective from the previous ones, being less abstracted and focusing more on the quality of textures in the skin of the leaf.

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another abstraction of that same leaf

I am continuing to work with the same leaf I started shooting last week, and it continues to bring me new surprises. I’ve been working on this specific photograph for a couple days now. I really enjoy its mysterious sense of motion and energy, as if the form in the center is being held aloft in a gust of wind.

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new abstraction of a leaf

Trying to decide between two variations of the same photograph

These two photographs are a good example. For the last few days I have been working on this one leaf I collected last fall. Dried, brittle and deep orange-red in color, it has been a surprising source of inspiration. In this photograph, I have created two variations that I am quite happy with. Although roughly identical, each has a slightly different focus and mood. The one of the left captures more of a sense of motion and fluidity, while the one on the right explores the textures and details.

I’ve been going back and forth, trying to decide which of these two photographs is the “correct” version of the image I am seeing. But sometimes I realize that one image is better expressed through multiple photographs. While nearly the same, each offers a different perspective that is crucial to the meaning of the whole image.

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Variations on a theme