artist – Promoting Passion

Promoting Passion Week 93: Portfolio

brookeshaden — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 14:23:43 +0000

My travels have taken me far away this time around, and in honor of that, I disconnected. I have four videos lined up for you this week to make up for my three week absence, and gosh was it worth it. I had the best time with my friends exploring temples in Cambodia, volunteering with rescued elephants in Thailand, and finally opening a school in India. But more on all of that later. For now, I wanted to share something I’ve been thinking of for a long time, and that is how we represent ourselves as artists.

Not everyone reading this page is a traditional artist, but this thought process applies nonetheless. To understand how and why you create, and to put that out there with everything you do, takes discipline and a unique understanding of yourself. I can safely say I do not have that down yet, but I will continue to strive for it. I’ll be sharing a video soon about a change in my own thought process and how I know myself as an artist, but first, a look into the ever-important portfolio and how we put that out there.

I saw a really casual video a few weeks ago of an artist’s work, and it made me want to know more about them. Alas, it was a video put together by someone else and there was no artist credit, so I never did find that artist. It started me thinking though about how much we can control how our content is consumed, and seeing that video inspired me to make one of my own. We are largely a visual people, so to bee able to set images to music and see them scroll without having to click buttons feels like a good way to do some sharing.

Creating a Portfolio Video:

Find a video editing source, like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, or Animoto.
Choose your images. I chose 30 of my own images to put in the slideshow, and made sure that they flowed together and represented what I feel are some of my strongest works from the past five years, favoring newer works to take up at least half of the video.
Pick a song. When I picked the music to go with my images, I chose something with no lyrics, so as not to put any unwanted ideas into the viewer’s head. I also chose something cinematic, haunting, and timeless…all keywords that I use to describe my own art.
Create a YouTube channel if you don’t have one already. (Or Vimeo, or any other video sharing site!). Talk about easy and free marketing! You never know who is going to stumble on a YouTube channel.
Share it in the comments. Once you have your video complete, share a link in the comments of this post so that I can sit back and enjoy some amazing art.

I created this incredibly simple video of my portfolio, set to music that I feel fits the tone of my work. What I know is that it can’t hurt to put it out there, and it took me about 40 minutes to create in total – from downloading the images to putting them in iMovie to exporting. I licensed the music from SongFreedom.com and it is “Mystery” by Zero Bedroom Apartment. So, for the cost of only $30, I put together a portfolio, shared it for free on YouTube, and it has the look and feel I desire for my work.

I invite everyone to create a little video of your work, and to share it in the comments here so that we can discover one another as we would like to be discovered! Happy creating as always everyone, and I hope your past month was as exhilarating as mine…can’t wait to share!

Promoting Passion Week 66: Balancing Act of Organization

brookeshaden — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 15:03:46 +0000

I am by far the messiest, disorganized person I know, and that is really saying something. I love making messes. I would rather have chocolate all over my face and hands than not, because come on, chocolate is fun! I make messes around my house and I can’t seem to remember to do the simplest tasks, like washing dishes or folding my clothes. And quite honestly, I don’t really see a problem with that a lot of the time…

Unless you can’t function at your optimal level because of it. Disorganization is something I have challenged head on this year. I redesigned my office so that everything has a place. I organized my email so that I answer them quickly instead of waiting sometimes months in between. I have list apps on my phone and desktop to keep me on task, and I have a nightly and morning routine that keeps me organized as well.

Those have been huge changes for me, and the results have been spectacular. I no longer panic about missing emails or wonder as I fall asleep what I need to accomplish in the morning, and those small changes have been really big for my well being. Just by having my emails caught up on and always having clear goals planned, I have decreased my stress. I have more free time, I worry less, and I enjoy working more.

Here are all of the changes I made. The video also shows my new office, and I included some “extras” (re: ridiculous) clips at the very end. Apologies for the focus issues in this video. I think I need glasses.

1. Wake up early. When I am up early, I feel an odd sense of pride, as though I have already accomplished my first mission. I am taking advantage of my most productive hours, no one else is awake then, and I have time to fall into a routine.

2. Drink water. This is another one of those things that makes me feel motivated and healthy. I drink 3 liters of water a day. I drink one of those liters before I do much else in the morning. It energizes me and allows me to feel accomplished.

3. Stretch & meditate. I do this each morning in the open air and it makes me feel invigorated and alive. My body hurts less throughout the day (the Fibromyalgia can really make my joints hurt) and I feel inspired by the time I sit down to work.

4. ToDoist. This is an app that I have for my desktop that allows me to write out, per category, what I need to get done and then check it off the list when I finish. It also has tons of other features I haven’t even tapped into yet. Absolutely adore this app to pieces.

5. Email organization. I have my email categorized into three main folders: My immediate folder. Anything I put in there needs to be dealt with within 24 hours. My pending folder, where emails that require follow-up go. And my assistant’s folder, where emails that deal mostly with scheduling go. If I hit inbox 0 for my personal immediate inbox everyday, I feel significantly less stressed and I sleep better. I try to do this in the morning before any other tasks so that I am still excited to complete the other things on my to do list.

6. Happiness & resolution documents. I keep two text files on my desktop. One says “Happiness” and the other says “Resolutions”. The happiness document lists all of the things that makes me feel healthy and happy on a regular basis so that I can always check in on it to make sure I am doing what makes me feel good. My resolutions document simply lists all of the things I want to accomplish this year. It is always in sight and I can keep on track that way.

7. Inspirational quotes. The image on my desktop background is always rotating through inspirational quotes that I’ve downloaded in image form. Mostly from Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland, these quotes remind me all the time of who I want to be and inspire me to reach for more.

8. Hard drives. I keep my work backed up on two hard drives that are almost always at my computer plugged in. One I travel with and the other stays put. Because I have them out in the open, often plugged in, I never have to worry about finding a document because they are all, essentially, already on my computer waiting to be found. I organize my images based on folders of: YEAR — TITLE.

9. Uniform password. For my passwords on my computer and social sites, I have a root word for my password. Take LANTERN, for example. And then I add on a signifying word to that for each website. Let’s say we are signing up for Flickr, you would write LANTERNFLICKR so that you never forget your password and so that they are always different. I have two base passwords – one that my assistant and husband know, and one that is for personal use only.

10. Colornote. On my phone, just as I do with ToDoist on my desktop, I use a to-do list app. This allows me to write out a checklist or text document that I can later transfer to ToDoist if I am traveling.

11. Inspiring workspace. I have never had a space of my own that I have found inspirational, so this year I redecorated. I got new desks, a filing cabinet, and I even decorated my walls. I filled my office with props that I have used in photo shoots and hung my work on my walls (other artists coming soon). Everywhere I look there is a touch of something personal and special, and it makes me feel excited to sit down to work every day.

You can check out the video for what my new office looks like.

How do you keep organized? Any special tips that make you feel extra healthy, productive, or motivated?

Promoting Passion Week 62: Blue Sky Days

brookeshaden — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 14:39:58 +0000

My life is built on the foundation that I have control over my actions, reactions, and thoughts. I take extraordinary pleasure from that control. I love to test my limits, see what pushes me and what scares me, and live according to my own rules. The reason why I believe in this philosophy so strongly is because I believe in imagination. I believe that reality is what we make it, that we can choose to see or hide.

I’ve heard people counter the idea that with imagination we can create anything we want. Someone once said to me:

“I know that imagination is nice, but it won’t make the gray clouds outside go away.”

And I remember thinking about how very wrong that person was. Yes, the clouds will still be there no matter how much I will them away. But the way I see them can change, drastically, in an instant. Instead of wanting them to go away, I can accept them. Instead of seeing them in bad light, I can learn to love them. And instead of casting doubt on the power of my thoughts, I can believe in them to the fullest. Gray clouds are just blue skies in disguise.

We can see through the darkness if we bring our own light. We can imagine and create and believe and see the world as we want to see it. If I didn’t believe in this, I would not be living the life I am living, and that is a life I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. We build our own fortune. We carve our own book of words to live by. We write the song of our life.

Art allows us to manifest these desires and visions. It allows us to spread our messages. It gives us power where once we felt nothing. It gives us hope where once we saw despair. And above all else, it gives us a voice. It allows us to speak through universal words that contain a thousand different meanings.

Imagination is the life-blood that flows through the veins of an artist. I believe all people to be artists. We do not manifest our art in the same ways. We do not all see the artist in ourselves. But it is there, sometimes sleeping silently, but always there, waiting. It is up to us to wake it.

What is your relationship with IMAGINATION?

Creating New Worlds

brookeshaden — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 15:00:43 +0000

I’ve been going through old files in an attempt to do a comprehensive update of my CV. In doing so, I’ve been looking through various publications, but none caught my eye so much as this one…that has nothing to do with photography, but instead about a short film I made. Seeing it unlocked so many memories of how I used to create. Sometimes it feels as though photography is my only passion and the only one I had ever pursued. But the fact is that before I ever picked up a still camera I wielded a motion picture camera. And before that, I wrote.

What was most interesting about this writeup was the drastic similarity between the film I made in 2008 and the images I create now. The headline reads: “Shaden Creates Three Worlds…” while my quote inside reads, “We wanted to blur the lines between fantasy and reality.”

I worked on that film for one full year of my life. I put my heart and soul into it. And you know what? It really wasn’t very good. I had little concept of how to create characters and how to write a script. But at the end of the day, good or bad, it was so unbelievably me.

We can get so caught up in our craft that we forget to look at the bigger picture. For an artist who has a recognizable mark, it shouldn’t matter if they are working within their comfort zone, medium, or space. It is likely that an artist with a strong voice will be able to create their art in different genres. It might not be immediately similar, but it will have the same life, the same soul.

I can’t claim to be one of those artists; I haven’t tried hard enough to test myself. But what I am reminded of today is the amazing talent we all possess to find the voice inside that wants to be let out. When I was in my early teens I used to write morbid stories of blood and supernatural happenings…think of a Radiohead song turned into a short story. When I was in high school I took a filmmaking class on a bet, and fell in love with visual storytelling. The first film I created was about a girl hanging herself in a basement. The next one was about a girl who went crazy, broke out of an insane asylum, and drowned herself in a pool.

No one can say my heart wasn’t in it.

I know what I want to say. I know that my artistic voice makes people uncomfortable. It always has, ever since I can remember. From teachers telling me to cheer things up to my family wondering why I concentrated on death so much. But along the way there have been certain markers that have given me the confidence to keep going. A certain teacher telling me I wrote well. My short film of that girl drowning herself winning a local film festival. This article of my college film in Kodak magazine. And in photography…it is you. It is community. It is having a space to share what I love and being able to do so with people who do not judge me for it, but support me.

Milestones come in many ways. Sometimes they are concrete, and we can point to a product and date. But sometimes, and I believe them to be the most important times, are when they are substantial yet intangible; when you look around and have nothing to hold or write down on your resume, but instead have a full heart and a community of people who spread the love.

Thank you for being my milestone in photography, and for giving me the confidence to keep creating, expanding, and sharing.

Promoting Passion Week 34: Creating a Series

brookeshaden — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 14:12:17 +0000

I think that for most artists, of any variety, there comes a time when practicality and reality meets the dream world that we so often live in. We create because we love it, and in doing so, produce works that are meaningful and special to us. I fully believe that the vision of an artist should never be compromised; yet that doesn’t mean that artists must be oblivious to business.

I create because I love to create. Whether it is writing, photography, or filmmaking, I am constantly searching for a new project – something to excite my creative juices. When I started out in photography it didn’t occur to me to make it a career. I did it because I loved it. But at a certain point I realized that I could either continue going to a job that I hated while doing what I loved on the side, or I could change all of that.

I had a specific idea of how my business would be run. I told myself I wouldn’t turn photography into just another job, doing something that I didn’t like for the sake of money. I would have rather gotten a job outside of the photo world to maintain purity of the craft, and that is just what I did for some time while I was trying to grow my business.

My first encounter in the professional world of photography came when I had my first meeting with a gallery. That gallery told me that if I could create a cohesive series around one of the images in my portfolio, I could have a show with them. And so I went on to create a series, or in other words, a set of images that all link together in one form or another. The gallery explained that if they exhibit a series, they are more likely to sell multiple prints during the show.

Creating a series also helps to identify a style within an artist’s work, which can be paramount for creating a recognizable name in the industry. Creating a series creates trust between artist and client, no matter who that client is. It could be that you are creating a commissioned portrait or selling a print; but no matter what the medium of the exchange, you have proved that you can create consistently by creating a series.

This video explains why creating a series can be so important and goes over some tips on how to not only come up with a series, but stick with it as well.

I hope that you have an amazing week filled with creativity!

If you have an idea for a series, share it!

If you have already created a series, share that, too!

Here are parts of some other series I’ve worked on over the years…

I created a more narrative storyline in this series that I did called “The Re-Imaging of Ophelia” in which the classic character was put center stage to take hold of her own destiny.

Underwater photography has long fascinated me due to the other-worldliness of it. We cannot exist in this space, and a photograph allows us to linger.

I began working in Photoshop one day to create a dress out of a small, found object, largely inspired by Maggie Taylor’s incredible works. I expanded the idea into a series in which the constructed dresses told something fundamental about the character within.

Photographing skin has always been inspiring to me, and when I pair that with nature it seemed the perfect fit to start a series.

The Visual Flow

brookeshaden — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 13:53:21 +0000

When your voice finds a visual flow you tend to love all that you create, whether that love lasts or not. Visual flow is another name for having style, assuming that style is something that you worked for out of personal desire. Flow, in any context, refers to the feeling you get when you are completely immersed in a feeling or activity. I recently watched a documentary about this and read part of a book while waiting to catch a plane, and I was fascinated at the importance flow can have on our lives.

As a visual artist, visual flow is incredibly important to creating art that is meaningful and that you love. It does not always come about quickly, but is usually within everyone whether it has been confronted or not. If I were to ask you to create something based solely on what you love, what would you do? If I asked you what you like to daydream about most, or what your favorite color is, or where your most precious location is…what would you say?

When we are honest with ourselves and, consequently, with how we portray our craft, we are much more likely to enter visual flow. To understand who we are, why we are, and how to hone in on those things is to begin to understand your visual flow. It is different for everyone, but ultimately results in creating in a more personally fulfilling way.

I think that it is important for an artist to love what they do, and I use the term “artist” very loosely. I do not identify an artist as someone who makes money from their art, but instead someone who sees what they do as a craft. Being a mother can be an art; being a painter can be an art; being a skydiver can be an art. All of these could also have nothing to do with art, depending on your relationship with it.

Finding your visual flow has nothing to do with how other people judge your art, or even how you judge it compared to others.

This is your bubble of creativity, and it refers to genuine happiness while in the creation process. The more you love the process of creating, the more respect you will have for the finished product.

If you are creating solely for the pride of whatever results, the process is diminished.

I love everything that I create, especially while I am creating it. I enter into my personal workflow with reverence and happiness, knowing that what might result could be the greatest thing I have ever created or it could be the worst; this is of no consequence. The more I love the process, the more I love the result. I love everything that I create because of this. Make no mistake, however, in thinking that I always love what I do; quite the contrary. Years down the line I look back at my works and cringe, yet do so with no less respect for the image and process.

The love and excitement of a new piece of art might fade, but the respect and love for the act of creating never does.

One can begin to enter into visual flow by learning more about the creation process. Question how you create vs. how you want to create. They may be two very different things. Think about what you would create with no constraints, and then understand that those constraints may only be temporary, or may not exist at all.

Visual flow is not about conquering the world with your art, it is about conquering your own little world with your art.

See the process, understand the process, love the process. It is inside us all.

UK Artist Retreat!

brookeshaden — Sun, 11 May 2014 14:08:36 +0000

My biggest passions in life are finding inspiration and sharing that inspiration with others. It was my desire for more personal connections and a love for that intangible creative buzz that pushed me into hosting retreats, and it has been the most creatively satisfying thing I have endeavored to complete.

This retreat that I’m hosting in the UK is a unique creative experience. Focused on art photography, yet designed to allow all attendees to find, cultivate, and pursue their own creative voice, this retreat is 3+ days of hands on learning, sharing, giving, and adventure.

The UK retreat is the longest I’ve hosted, running from the evening of August 7th to the morning of August 11th. From shooting at ruins to photographing on a lake, in boats, in a forest, on rolling hills, and even inside our giant studio space, we will have the opportunity to shoot in many different inspiring situations.

The premise is simple: We all live under one roof for the days of the retreat. The price ($2,450) includes your lodging, all meals, and helps to cover model fees and location rental. Once you arrive at the house, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. That’s what we’ve been planning behind the scenes, and our hope is that you show up, relax, get creative and have fun.

We will discuss many different topics like…

Inspiration & Fear
Business & Goal Setting
Editing & Image Compositing
Creative Shooting & Set Design

We will focus on creating a small series while we are together. One afternoon is dedicated to practice shooting. The next day we edit and talk business. And the final full day is dedicated to 1-1 meetings as well as shooting at all of our inspiring locations. With 5-7 models available each person can grab their model of choice and run with it. The retreat is capped at 12 participants for an intimate gathering.

We’ll be eating healthy meals, staying at an amazing “green” facility that caters to retreats in a small town in Norfolk, UK, and enjoying activities outside of photography like a bonfire, t-shirt making, and movie-watching.

The great thing about a retreat is that while I’ve got our days jam-packed with activities, we can adjust as we go and work on the fly…so if you’re feeling inspired, you can run out and shoot with our resident model (the amazing Jen Brook, who will be living with us for your shooting pleasure…any whim or fancy, she’s your girl!).

I hope that you can join me on this retreat!

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These two U.S. workshops are the last traditional workshops I will be doing for some time: Bordentown, NJ & Phoenix, AZ.

We Are Infinite

brookeshaden — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 16:33:25 +0000

In so many ways I am torn in two pieces. I am me, and I am her. I am happy and light and inspired and passionate. I am dark and whimsical and thoughtful of the stories in my imagination. Everyone has more than one side that we show, and I separate the two in my mind very easily. I am inspired to create photographs. I create dark works, and yet I am happy. I am obsessed with how to find beauty in darkness, yet I am consumed with finding my passion and light.

I don’t think that the things we do and the people we are have to be wholly connected. Once you give yourself permission to be any number of people while staying true to your core, you become comfortable in your many skins. We are all chameleons, shape-shifters and skin-shedders. We take on new personas as we grow into the world. As we accept ourselves, we become ourselves.

It is easy to get caught up in thinking that there is one person we are supposed to be, yet with all the possibility in the world I think it is narrow-minded to constantly try to fit into one version of yourself. We are infinite. We change into the person we want to be everyday. Each new moment is an opportunity to recognize who you want to be and to be that person.

I was thinking of all these things when I created this image. For me, it is an image of desire. It is an image of the future and the past and the present colliding. I photographed this in Dubai, in an old street with cobblestone and aged concrete. I photographed a young woman, beautiful and carefree. I photographed the ever-changing sky moving past us. And those three elements came together to represent past, present and future. One cannot easily exist without the other in a meaningful way.

We are so many people wrapped into one. The ways that we express those different personas are as varied as the personalities that inhabit our bodies. It is okay to be many in one. It is okay to accept what makes us different. I can say with confidence and pleasure that I am not the same person I used to be. Who I am now is evolving, and who I will be is exciting. We have the power to be whoever we want to be. We have the power to create the art that represents us. We have the power, always.

The Power Within

brookeshaden — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 15:02:16 +0000

I remember the exact moment that I truly believed I was an artist. It wasn’t the day I picked up my camera, or the day I made myself a website, or even the day I quit my job and decided to write “Photographer” on my Facebook page in the “Occupation” section. It was sometime in between there, on a day roughly in June of 2009. Someone looked at my photos, then so new and unpolished, and said, “You could be an artist”.

And suddenly, by the time the sentence was out of her mouth, I was.

Nothing actually changed in that moment. Nothing qualified me to be an artist. But suddenly, I was, simply because I believed.

I feel like I have some elusive secret hiding inside when in fact it is the most obvious thing I can think of. There is nothing qualifying me, no piece of paper stating a fact about a college degree, and certainly no merits that somehow make what I do “art” instead of an alternative. The only truth is what I believe.

All of this seemed particularly poignant when recently I was filling out a piece of paper for a lecture I was preparing to give. On the piece of paper, it asked, “Tell us about your educational experience (to get the crowd excited):” to which I responded, “I fail all the time, and so I learn”. I feel fairly certain that was not the answer anyone was looking for, but it was the only answer I could think to give. A lot of formal training will not prepare someone half as well as the inevitable trying and failing of your art. In fact, trying and failing is what makes what we do an art.

So, what makes you qualified to be an artist? Everything and nothing, and this is the truest thing I know. You may not have formal training. You may not have prestigious awards recognizing your talent. But the moment you take time to recognize your own talent, the world will catch up. When you believe in what you do, others will follow. When you let everyone know that your art is worth creating, it becomes relevant.

There does not exist, in my experience, a power so great as the power we hold within.

Networking and socializing and an endless rambling of achievements does not so much as come close enough to tickle the power of kindness, confidence, and creation. The more we create for ourselves, the more others will appreciate what we create. Our art has no merit based on the amount of people that think it is great. Our art has merit simply when we believe it does. If others follow, our art is not built up or diminished but simply accepted personally into the hearts and minds of those who would identify with our stories.

I ask for no greater power than to share a story with a stranger. I want no greater responsibility than to spread kindness and I want no greater gift than to receive it in return.

The next time you find yourself pondering if you yourself are an artist, answer boldly and bravely that you are. Because in that moment when you whisper to the artist within, the Artist will answer out loud.