The evolution of ideas

Perhaps I'm a creature of habit, or maybe I have a limited imagination? However, I prefer to think that I am persistent in my pursuit of working with an idea until I create something that satisfies my imagination and pushes my boundaries of creativity.

2017 was a devastating year for me. My husband had a major stroke, and my world changed significantly. However, I used art to pull me through the darkest of times and worked on several projects that allowed me to express my emotions and frustrations in a visual way.

One project was during the year 2018. I took photographs and then wrote a verse to pair with the image.

One of my favourites was I Had a Dream:

I Had a Dream, 2018

I reach for the light

but the stars

have fallen

and lay submerged

glittering their promise

like diamonds

beneath the sea

The image is a simple double exposure with no further editing.

During the early stages of the pandemic, I spent a lot of time improving my photo editing skills and started to create digital collages...images composed of elements from many different photographs merged into one. Last year, 2023, I revisited the verse I wrote in 2018 and decided to create another image using this photo collage method. The Stars Have Fallen was the result:

The Stars Have Fallen, 2023

This image was created with elements from four or five photographs. The background is a photo of the side of an abandoned car! To be frank, I prefer my original image, the double exposure photograph.

Fast forward to today, when I watched a video on YouTube made two years ago by an artist in the UK. Mrs Bertimus, episode 4  I discovered her work and YouTube channel several weeks ago and was quite intrigued by her artistic style. So haunting and beautiful. Every few days, I choose one of her older videos and watch them. This particular video shows how she created her image If The Stars Fell Out Of The Sky. Oh my, be still my heart! Her painting visually captures what I was trying to say with my verse from 2018. 

I have contacted her and fingers are crossed that I am able to purchase a print of her image (her website says she ships only to UK and US). Edited to note: she kindly sent me a print, and has added shipping to Canada on her website.

And...I am motivated to work yet again on creating a new image for my verse I Had A Dream. Maybe version 3 is in my future.

I reach for the light

but the stars

have fallen

and lay submerged

glittering their promise

like diamonds

beneath the sea

Note to myself: keep trying!