Tuesday, June 28

Making cards happen (Part 1)


For years, I've been toying with the idea of printing my work and making cards with it. I want to share my work and figured cards are an inexpensive way to do that. But, I want the cards to look professional, to be affordable, and to be "not for profit" in some way.

I started making cards for profit when I was a little girl, selling hand-drawn cards to the merchants of the small town I grew up in. Since then, I've experimented with making photography and hand-made cards and envelopes. I've never come away very satisfied. They either didn't look the way I was hoping they would or they were too expensive to make; either the paper or printing costs were too much or it took a lot of time and energy for me to make them. I wanted to also add a dollar to the selling price so I could do something that my philanthropist great-grandfather did: for every dollar earned, a dollar went to charity.

Considering this recently, I think I've come up with a solution. I'll be putting together some cards made from inexpensive card stock and printed on my printer at home. Hopefully the final product's cost will be about $2-$2.50.

I'll post the results of this latest experiment later. My goal is to get my materials together, print the cards, and see if they sell at my next art show, coming up on July 8, 2011 (see Art Invitation post). Bon chance to me and to anyone else working on their own creative endeavors!





Monday, April 19

Visual Research

I was looking at the photographs of Grace Kelly featured in the May 2010 Vanity Fair and was feeling inspired. Calling my sister the model (who has a Grace Kelly look)! I'm planning a photo shoot with my sister to do some shots based on Grace Kelly's style: confident, perfectly coiffed, serene yet vibrant.

Saturday, April 3

Visual Research








Uta Barth


Maybe with Uta Barth's work, it's not about creating mystery for the viewer. It's about paying attention to small details;











and to light, or atmosphere;


















and, to color, like painting.


Personal Work


This is, I guess, an 'abstract study'. I saw this scene before me and thought it would make an interesting, head-scratcher picture. Since I took the picture, I know what it is, and I'm excited to have captured what I saw.
I'm also excited to share it with people and learn what they think it is.
So, what do you think it is?
I wonder, is it important for a photographer to take shots in a way that makes it very clear to a viewer exactly what is being shown?
In Uta Barth's photographs, I appreciate her abstract, hazy/fuzzy images. I'm able to provide my own stories for what she's captured. I don't need to know where she was or what she was taking a picture of. Her final product is captivating as it is.

Visual Research




I have a book of Abelardo Morell's work. His photograph (left) Paper Bag is my top favorite image out of many other favorites in the book. I like it because I enjoy staring at the image, training my eyes to see into the shadows of the bag's interior. After several seconds of focused gazing, I swear I'm able to see the bottom seam of the bag. Seeing something 'new', something I hadn't seen the first time I looked at the photograph makes me happy.

Copyright © Kara Q. Lewis 2007-2013





"You can't force things. If you do you are lost." - Henri Cartier-Bresson (translated)
“It’s been a slow growth, but extremely fun for me,” he says. “For me, it’s about expanding and working from a place of joy. If I can enjoy what I do, and make new art that inspires me, everything will work out for the best.” - Mason Jennings
"We are nourished by studying the past, though we must also be fully involved with the moment." - Cartier-Bresson

Intellectual Property