Just Keep Going

images created to date, May 2025

My office is quite small, measuring a meager 7 x 8 feet, large enough for a desk and a small printer table along one wall, and a low bookcase running along the opposite wall. This little office is my haven, my sanctuary. As a full time caregiver to someone who sleeps a lot, my office is a refuge where I go to create.

After my husband's stroke in 2017, I started focusing on the theme of emotional healing. Through my images and words, I have tried to raise awareness of linking creativity to wellness. Creating is my therapy. I journal, I work with my photography, and I create my composited images in my little office.

My own health had a major set back in 2022 when I was diagnosed with lung cancer despite the fact that I never smoked one cigarette in my life. Approaching my three year anniversary from surgery, I realize how much I was impacted. Combined with my husband's declining health, my creative energies were quite depleted. I felt empty of any inspiration to create with my photography and turned to other mediums.

I (mostly) stopped blogging, I (mostly) stopped sharing online. I turned to art journaling, hand making books, and hand stitching diary cloths. I created "ransom notes", using letters cut from flyers and pasting them to make cards to inspire myself. The learning and the creativity carried me through. I did make a couple of composited images (my favourite thing to do) in 2024. Somehow, some way, I started to feel a stronger creative urge in February of this year and shared a few of them on Instagram. 

I have a large bulletin board mounted above my desk. For the past few years it has been filled with things I found inspiring, or simply just beautiful to look at. This board has gradually changed and is now filled with my own images, all created in the past couple of months. Are they good? I don't know. But it's definitely uplifting to see my own work filling up the board.

Are you stuck? Just keep going.  

Journal Page Feb 2025

 

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!

Building a Composite Image

Ride the Gator, 2024

I often have to supply an artist statement and struggled with writing one. This is the current way I describe my process:

Using my photographic library to illustrate visions I have in my mind, I include elements from many different photographs to make a composited image that is open to the viewer's interpretation. Predominantly using elements of nature, I create painterly and surreal pieces that deal with a range of subjects to help promote emotional healing. 

Quite a mouthful.

Basically, it boils down to this:

Something triggers an idea in my mind. It could be a dream (as in the case of Ride the Gator, above. More on that if you keep reading) or it could be a concept that I'm struggling with, developing a theme I want to work with, etc.

Once I come up with my idea, I decide on a setting and take a look through my photo library for something suitable. I build the image from the background, adding and subtracting details as I go. 

Ride the Gator started with a dream I had two years ago.  I had been diagnosed with lung cancer, a real shocker as I had never smoked and they found the cancer quite by accident, and I was waiting for surgery. The dream was so vivid, I wrote in down in my workbook the next morning:

After my surgery and recuperation, the idea of creating a "riding the alligator" image never left me. However, my artistic drive seemed to leave me for quite some time and I felt unable to work with photographs. The idea transferred to my 2023 workbook, then my 2024 workbook, and finally came to fruition in February.

I started with the background and created it with several layers using elements from different photographs:

I added a moon from another image, created some stars, and blended them to get to this point:

Next came the alligator. I purchased this alligator on Amazon in 2022 and photographed it in September of that year. Then he sat on my shelf, and the photos sat on my computer, waiting patiently until 2024. I took photos from many angles, and you can see by the one I chose to use that the photos were quite terrible:

I flipped the gator and inserted him into the image:

Now, who was going to ride the gator? I tried a couple of things...a ceramic dog, a real dog, and settled on a raven. The balloons were added while giving the first rider a trial:

 

Satisfied with the raven, I added some layers of texture and colour, and fiddled with the lighting and position of the balloons for the final result:

Ride the Gator

The whole process takes quite some time, usually some time working at the computer and searching for images to use, then a lot of thinking time, then back to the computer for changes and tweaking. Sometimes images get abandoned, with me not knowing how to "fix" them, but this one was smooth sailing. Probably because I had a specific idea in my mind.

Is it a strange image? Probably to most people. Am I happy with it? You bet! It was worth the two year wait to create.

Minimalism vs Maximalism

Minimalist versus Maximalist

 

I am intrigued by home design, and confide that I used to be an addict of the many home renovation programs on HGTV. I recorded the shows, and most often just watched the beginning and the end...skipped through all the middle parts...to see the "before" and "after". I have become quite tired of the repetition and similarity of all the programs and seldom watch anymore. I do, however,  subscribe to a couple of home tour channels on YouTube. I prefer the "real people" episodes and not the designer features. Designer home tend to look the same to me. I like the comfortableness of the thrift store, antique store sourced homes.

How does home design relate to the artistic process, you ask? The extremes in home design are minimalism and maximalism. I love watching homes where maximalists live. Not hoarders, but people who collect things they love and fill up their spaces. I would love to spend time visiting those places and hearing the stories behind the collections. But I can't live like that. I lean towards a comfortable-to-me amount of things that other people may describe as more minimalist.

My photography and art are a contrast as well. When using my camera to capture what interests me, I am definitely a minimalist. Simple subject, simple background, minimal colour. (see left, above)

When I create composited work, using elements from many different photographs and blending them together into a new piece, I am definitely a maximalist. (right, above)

Advice from professionals stress that an artist should have "a look", a portfolio should be consistent. I have often struggled with this concept and have come to the conclusion that there is room for more than one way to express myself. 

As I am currently not striving towards creating an exhibit, or looking for representation, that approach seems the right approach for me. Creating art should be fun!

A different kind of travel photo

England Street Art Mosaic

 

I was so fortunate in 2023...I had not one, but two getaways. I has been 10 years since I've been on a plane, and over 30 years since I've been overseas. I traveled to Toronto in August to have a reunion with 3 high school friends. Although I have seen all three friends over the years, it has been over 20 years since the four of us have been together. Then in November I flew to England with my daughter-in-law (and friend). We visited London, Brighton, Oxford, and London again over ten days. It was a whirlwind! 

I put together the mosaic above as a first step in gathering my memories from my England trip. It's a compilation of mostly street art, signs, and window displays from all three cities I visited, with a few photos of flowers thrown in...72 images all blending together into one memory. 

Art in this compilation was done by, or featured in the following stores: (my apologies if I've missed someone)

@roo_art
@bodleianlibraries @casimiramostyn @themoominshoplondon @heavenforbirds @thegardenofoxford @lukeadamhawker @hairbyfairy
@bighugbrewing @patrick.tulloch.art @hanningtonsbrighton @hugoandgreen @tinadavies70 @scriptumoxford @blackwellbooks colinruffell.com @boushamgallery harbourlightsgallery.com/ben-pritchard/
@amoretcoffee
@ciaonelius
@beavertownbeer
@namastecamden
@cherryon_nottinghill
@akajimmyc
@pret
@bricklanevintagemarket

 It was great fun to put together, and a good reminder of how much I love mosaics.

Commissions - are they right for you?

Sanctuary

Years ago, when I was creating and selling glass art, I adopted the policy of "no commission work". I found it very stressful to create someone else's vision. I was much happier creating what felt right to me.

Earlier this year, I was approached by someone putting together an exhibit to create an image with a specific message. The project involved many different aspects of nature, soil, information and artworks. I came up with my creation Sanctuary. 

This was not at all what the person who approached me had in mind, and I was asked to create something totally different. This turned into quite a dilemma for me. I was asking myself... why did I say yes when I was approached with this request? Should I attempt what this person wanted? (keep in mind, this was an unpaid assignment). 

I spent a couple of days working on various ideas to accommodate this project. In the end, I decided that creating something that didn't resonate with me was not of benefit to anyone. 

However, I do have a happy ending after all. This image was published by Forget-Me-Not Press in their Bloom issue. This is also an unpaid gig, but having something published provided me with some much needed validation.

Time Marches On

Time Marches On

The past 10 months have been challenging for me creatively. Dealing with my own health issues, as well as being a caregiver to my husband, has taken a toll.

This is not to say that I have not been creative, just that I didn't feel I had the energy to create the way I had been. I turned to a different hobby and spent months using my hands. I sewed quilts by machine, a quilt by hand, many, many small slow stitched pieces, and have started on a few larger slow stitched wall hangings. 

My mind seemed to need a slower process...I found the stitching therapeutic. I could turn my mind off and feel calmness settle in as I pushed the needle in and out of the fabric. I enjoyed the tactile sensation of the fabrics in my hands (all second hand clothing purchased for how they felt just as much as how they looked).  

I made the above image in February, and it was my first post surgery photography based creation. Using photos I took with my phone, I layered shadows on the wall with a walking crow, a still shot of a watch and various textures to come up with Time Marches On. 

In retrospect, I believe this image was a message to myself. It was time to resume doing what I love...creating images to express my feelings and emotions. I still haven't done that, but I now feel that I am ready to take a step back on my creative path.

The Struggle is Real

Although I realize now that it's not uncommon among creative people, it is always a struggle for me when I go into a creative slump. I feel that I have not been productive since my cancer diagnosis in April.

However, when I look back on the year and tally up my "successes", I realize that 2022 has been my most successful year ever. A solo exhibit, my best year financially from sales, several covers, and many images published in various magazines.

But what is success? What if one's view of success shifts?

In late 2021 I decided that one of my goals was to get my work published and I set out to submit my work to various magazines. I searched online for calls for entry and selected the ones that I thought my images would work with. All but one of the submissions were sent in during the first half of the year. I answered 14 calls for submission and my work was accepted 9 times...a 64% success rate. Fantastic results, and I was thrilled each time.

After my life altering surgery in June, I spent a LOT of time thinking about my artistic life (thinking, not doing...lol) and wondering "where do I go from here?".  What does success mean to me now? 

As 2022 comes to a close, I still haven't come to any conclusions. I think I settle on the "answer" and then my mind drifts off on a different path. And then I chastise myself for having to come up with an answer at all. I am not trying to earn a living with my art. Why does any of this matter at all?

In order to try to capture some creative energy, I turned to quilting and have finished two quilts since October and have almost finished a third quilt. This has caused more speculation for my artistic life. 

Perhaps more thoughts to come...lol.

My year wrapped up by having six of my images published in the Wander Magazine's Issue 10 - Lines. Instagram: @wamagazine.ca

 

Creating opportunities for yourself

Inside - Thoughts from a Pandemic published by Nevermore Press

In April 2021, I read an article in our local newspaper about a proposed book. There was an open call for authors to send stories and poetry for a "pandemic isolation anthology". The book would be published by Nevermore Press as a fund raiser for the South Shore Regional Public Libraries bookmobile.

Although there was no mention of a request for images in the open call, I prepared an email and sent some samples of my work that I thought might be appropriate for a cover. At the time, the proposed title of the book was "Isolation".

The editor responded enthusiastically and selected an image he would like to use for the cover. I was thrilled! 

Days later, I was horrified to read about his tragic death. Hearing about someone's sudden passing seems to hit close to home even when you haven't met them personally. I put all thoughts about the book aside.

Six months later, I was contacted by the new editor who had taken over. The project was going to go ahead. One year later, the book is being released!

An interesting online article about the background of the project is available to read at this link.

The book is being released on October 22nd, 2022. Inside - Thoughts from a Pandemic is available for purchase at this link. I am thrilled to be part of this project!

The Antigonish Review

Way back in February, I was contacted by the editor of The Antigonish Review to see if I'd be willing to have my Colour My World image published as the cover of their upcoming Spring issue. I was thrilled, and that was before I found out I would be paid for the honour :)

One thing led to another, time went on, and the spring issue was finally published in October!

 

 

From their website: The Antigonish Review is the third longest-running creative-writing journal in the Maritimes and one of the oldest continuing literary magazines in Canada. TAR is supported by St. Francis Xavier University with the welcome assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts, and by our generous donors. 

Humana Obscura Issue 05

 

I am thrilled to have two of my images published in the Fall/Winter 2022 Issue #05 of Humana Obscura Magazine. You can read the entire magazine online or purchase a print copy of the magazine at this link: https://www.humanaobscura.com/issue-5

From the "about" page on their website: 

Humana Obscura is an independent literary magazine that seeks to publish nature-focused poetry, prose, and art by new, emerging, and established writers and artists from around the world.

As our name suggests—“obscured human”—we focus on work where the human element is concealed but not entirely absent, aiming to revive the nature genre.

Humana Obscura’s mission is to publish and promote the best work of today’s voices and talents. Our intention is to inspire readers and enrich their lives while providing an inclusive space for elevating the voices, expressions, and creative work of our contributors. 

Founded in 2020, Humana Obscura is published online and in print twice yearly, and features work from around the world. The magazine accepts poetry, short prose under 1,000 words, and artwork in various medium. 

Memories, from my Flight of Fancy collection

Ripple Effect, from my Trailings Project

The self promotion game

During my two months of recovering from lung surgery (two surgeries in two days), I have been doing a lot of thinking about "where do I go from here?". Do I want to continue on the path of the exhibition circuit or not? There is a lot involved in exhibiting, both in time and money. Creating the art is just a small part of the process.

An important part of the process is self promotion. When you don't have a "following", how do you generate interest in your art? One thing I try to do is find free resources to promote my work. 

When I was preparing for my Haven exhibit, I found a Canadian magazine called smART Magazine, published by Lighthouse Immersive, that encourages submissions of all forms of art. Submissions are free. I prepared a short statement, included my exhibition location and dates, and a short bio and sent off an email with ten samples of my work.

Much to my surprise, I received an answer a short while later. My submission was accepted! I had to laugh when I read that I would not receive any compensation for the submission since there was a promotional aspect to the submission. It never occurred to me that I would be paid! lol

The first bit of promotion was included in a newsletter they sent out by email in March: (click the image to view it larger)
 

The magazine was supposed to be published in May, which would have been perfect timing for my exhibit. However, due to supply issue problems faced by many businesses this year, it wasn't published until July. No matter, I am thrilled to be included in this high end publication. 140 pages of interesting art and articles...and two pages are about my art!

This was quite a success story for me. I won't get into how many rejections I have received!

Rough Waters

Rough Waters - work in progress - Stage Series

Sometimes it's difficult for me to decide how much of my personal life to share and I generally try to just post about my creative process. However, the two are tied together in my life so I decided to talk about it.

I was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of April...a huge shock to us as I have never smoked. Apparently 10-15% of the people diagnosed with lung cancer are non-smokers.

Despite the horrid state of the Nova Scotia health care system, I was rushed through many tests and had surgery on June 10th. This was followed by a second surgery on June 11th to fix some complications from the first surgery. I must be the luckiest person in Nova Scotia...a mere six weeks between diagnosis and surgery.

Did you know that the left lung has two lobes, and the right lung has three lobes? I didn't. My surgery removed the lower lobe of my left lung. The good news is that when you have surgery, you don't have chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Although I was told to expect recuperation from surgery to be a long and painful process, I can't complain. I'll kid you not...it has been tough. The past week (four + weeks since surgery) was a significant turning point for me. I have been walking every day since I was released from the hospital, and I am now able to walk with my normal stride and not look like I have been beaten up recently...lol. I am sore, but not hurting. I can walk 3 to 4 kilometers each day. I still need a nap most afternoons, but am down to only 2 Tylenol each day. Progress!

I created the above image, Rough Waters, just before I went in for surgery. It is part of a "Life is a Stage" series that I have been working on. You may have to zoom in to see the details. I don't think it's quite finished yet, but I created it with my general philosophy that making art is a healing tool.

Magazine Cover Design

Back Cover                             Front Cover

There is a first for everything, and this is the first magazine cover I have designed. 

I discovered Salt & Citrus a couple of months ago. It wasn't through any effort of my own...it was a "sponsored" post that came on my Instagram feed. Always curious about art magazines, I clicked through and discovered it is a free online Canadian magazine founded by Ciara Gordon in the early days of the pandemic. 

Always interested in supporting entrepreneurs, I submitted some work to the Liminal issue published in March. Ciara and I communicated through email a few times, et voila, I was asked to design the cover for the May issue Rebirth.

There were very few "must haves" for the design....Salt & Citrus, Volume and Issue numbers, Title on the front cover....Contributor names on the back cover.

My original idea was to use a variation of my image called New Beginnings. I took the image I created for my Haven exhibit, flipped it, and moved some things around to fit onto front and back covers. This is the initial draft:

First idea - Rebirth

I really liked the concept (obviously, since a variation of this is in my upcoming exhibit). However I decided that it was too "busy" and too visually dark for a magazine cover.

So...I used the same "portal" theme with a simpler background. I chose a winter field for the background, added some doors, created a summer scene for the "portal" and kept the flying robin.

I wasn't sure about the font I selected, but the font name is Rebirth....the same as the title for the magazine issue...so I thought it fitting.

It was a fun challenge for me. However, I do find it quite different creating for someone else rather than just for my own satisfaction.

Artist Talk - Chester Art Centre

Last week I gave an artist talk for the Chester Art Centre in Chester, Nova Scotia. If you are interested, you can click on the box below and watch the talk on YouTube. 

 

My exhibit will be running until May 29th. If you'd like to see the exhibit virtually, there is a tour on my previous post.

Haven Virtual Tour

In case you can't make it to see my Haven exhibit in person, here is a virtual tour of the gallery before the opening.

Haven Exhibit Guide & Artist Talk

A project just wouldn't be the same for me if I didn't have a way to document the event. I have just as much fun putting together a book or magazine as I do in completing the project itself. 

This is the exhibit guide for my Haven exhibit at the Chester Art Centre. The exhibit runs from May 5th through May 29th. I have printed up a number of guides and am hoping to raise money for the CAC through the sales. 

Click on the image below and you'll be taken to the website for Blurb Books where you can view the complete magazine. If you click on the diagonal arrows at the top of the page, you'll be able to view it full screen. Then just click on the pages to move forward and back through the magazine.

Enjoy! 

Also, I'll be giving a free artist talk on Zoom on Thursday May 19th at 7pm ADT. If you'd like to sign up for the talk, go to this link: https://www.chesterartcentre.ca/haven . Scroll down under my profile photo for the sign up box. Hope to see you at the virtual event!

Haven

By Sara Harley

Exhibit Update - Haven

Everything for my upcoming Haven exhibit has been delivered to the Chester Art Centre. The exhibit opening is on May 5th from 5-7pm. Here is a little invitation from me that was sent out in the CAC newsletter recently:

I have created an exhibit guide and they will be available for purchase at the opening. Most of the proceeds will be donated to the Chester Art Centre. I'll post a link to the exhibit guide after the opening so you can view it online.

Funny story about the exhibit guides (not so funny at the time)...I had ordered the guides early in April and was guaranteed a delivery date of April 13th. On April 22nd it occurred to me that I hadn't received them yet and checked online to track them down. The information said the package was damaged on April 13th, and also said the package was "abandoned" on April 13th. Panic time! I contacted the printing company and received an automated reply that they were behind and it may be weeks before a response is sent. At this point, what do you do? I decided it wasn't meant to be, and tried not to fret about it.

But, I did hear back from the printing company and they processed a re-print and guaranteed delivery to arrive three days before the exhibit opening. They arrived yesterday...yay! Happy endings do happen.

Another piece of good news...16 images from my Haven collection were published by the online art magazine Tagree along with a lovely article about my project. You can read the article at this link (scroll down...it's a long one): https://tagree.de/haven-by-sara-harley/

Podcast - You Can Learn Photography

A few weeks ago, Trevor Awalt of You Can Learn Photography and I discussed my photography. The podcast has been released and is available for your listening pleasure at this link:

You Can Learn Photography Episode 9

Be forewarned! It's 90 minutes long. Who knew I could talk that long about my own photography?

It's always interesting to hear your own voice....it never sounds like you think!

It was a pleasure talking with Trevor. He made me feel relaxed and natural...not nervous at all.

Artistic Vision

Spring Idyll

Spring Idyll is my most recent creation. I worked on this as it was snowing outside....I'm definitely ready for more spring-like weather!

Before I get started on a fresh topic of conversation, I'd like to pontificate just a bit more on the topic of titles. Click on this link to read the original post. In the end, I decided to keep the original title of Forgotten. Why? I decided that the word forgotten could lead the viewer in several different directions when looking at the image. Sure, changing the title to Gratitude may put a more positive spin on the image, but do I really want to point someone down either path...positive or negative? After I thought about it for a while, I decided that using the title Forgotten might make a viewer take a moment to really look at the image. There is a solitary crow...is it the crow who has been forgotten? Has the crow forgotten something? There is a lock on the gate...is it the church that has been forgotten? The parishioners? Is it a larger story about religion being forgotten? Each viewer might think of a different story. That's why I stuck with my original title. Here is the image:

Moving on to today's thoughts...I was recently interviewed for a photography podcast which got me talking (and later, thinking more) about various things. One question I was asked was "what advice would you give to a beginner?" 

In a nutshell....I believe that artistic vision is just as important....perhaps more important...than techical knowledge. Having the confidence to pursue your own artistic vision is the best advice I could give, and something I continue to struggle with. It's tough to remain confident when people don't "get" what you have created.

How do you find your own artistic vision? Go through your own portfolio rather than comparing your own work to other people's work on social media. Pick your favourite images. Why are they your favourites? Is it the subject matter, the style, what is it that speaks to you? Experiment with the things that you feel drawn to in your own work and build on that. Sure, learn the "rules" of photography or whatever medium you work with, but learning the rules is less important than learning about yourself and what makes you happy to create.

I just received a newsletter from Cole Thompson Photography, and he talks about vision in a much better way than I could. Here is the link if you'd like to take a read (scroll down past the quotes)