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

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

Artist Talk Companion Guide

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'll be presenting an artist talk tonight at Open Show #41 at Pasadena Photography Arts. The topic is "This is a photograph because I say it is" and I'll be presenting with 3 other artists who create photo montages. I am thrilled to be included with such talented artists:  Diana Nicholette Jeon, Deborah Kaplan, and Roger Guetta. We all have very different styles, and it should be a very interesting talk.

In order to help with fundraising for Pasadena Photography Arts, we were asked to donate a print for them to raffle off to people who make a donation. Instead of a print, I decided to donate a magazine....a companion guide to my talk. 

Ordinarily, I wouldn't go to all that effort as it takes quite a lot of time to put together a publication like this. However, I was working on one for my upcoming Haven exhibit (scheduled for May at the Chester Art Centre) so I just modified it slightly for this talk. Plus, I must confess, it's a great piece of shameless self promotion.

You can view the 32 page magazine online by clicking on the link below. Once you arrive on the page, just click on the cover to move through the magazine. If you click on the diagonal arrows at the top right, you'll be able to view the magazine full screen.

Hope you enjoy...if you have any feedback about the images, please let me know. At this point I haven't selected the final images for my exhibit....and I'm still creating new ones...so this is a work in progress.

Haven

By Sara Harley

2021 Point of View Magazine

Point of View 2021

By Sara Harley

This is my third Point of View publication....a little later than usual. Time is getting away from me these days. I usually publish my annual magazine in December. This time, I'm sneaking it in just before the calendar turns to February!

The creation of this magazine helps me recognize just how much one year can hold. Looking back at my favourite images also helps me see the overall picture of my creative journey...how my interests change, how my images change as well. 

To view the complete magazine, just click on the image above. You can page forward and backward through the magazine by clicking on the pages. To view full screen, click on the diagonal arrows on the top right.

Enjoy!

Inspiration Collaboration

Since January 2020, I have been hosting a collaborative inspiration group with Arkansas painter Helen Eaton. Helen and I met online a few years ago...one thing led to another...and at the end of December 2019 we were madly pulling together ideas for an art group. After 24 months of providing inspiration to a group of artists in Canada and the U.S., we have wrapped up our project.

I won't lie...there were times that I thought I just couldn't think of another image to provide for the other artists to use as a spring board for their own creations. And there were times that I just had no idea what I would create in response to the paintings that Helen provided for inspiration each month.

But we did it! And...if I must say so myself...the results are a joy to look at.  We created three magazines that summarize our two years of creativity.

This first magazine shows just the work of Helen and myself....72 images that were provided as inspiration...and 72 images that were created in response...over a two year period. If you click on the info below, you'll be able to view the whole magazine online at Blurb. Just click on the pages to move back and forth through the magazine. You can enlarge the magazine by clicking on the diagonal arrows at the top right.

Inspiration Collaboration HELEN and SARA

By Helen Eaton and Sara Harley

The following magazine is a summary of the artwork produced in 2021 by the whole group:

Inspiration Collaboration 2021

By Helen Eaton and Sara Harley

And this magazine is a summary of the artwork produced in 2020 by the whole group:

Inspiration Collaboration 2020

By Helen Eaton and Sara Harley

I am so proud of what Helen and I accomplished!

Book Cover

I was thrilled to receive notice of a royalty payment recently. I supply images to a company for book covers, which is a very simple process after going through the initial application. I upload images online...the company decides whether to accept them or not...if accepted, the images are included in their library...I get paid if someone purchases them. In my case, this is not a "get rich quick" plan...lol.

I haven't found an image online for the actual book cover, but here is the image that was purchased:

The image will be used on a book by Chilean novelist Isabel Allende... El plan infinito (The Infinite Plan) originally published in 1991. There are many, many editions online and I'm not sure what country this will be published in. Hopefully someday I'll be able to track down an image of the actual book cover.

Here is the summary of the book from the website of Isabel Allende: A saga of one man’s search for love and his struggle to come to terms with a childhood of poverty and neglect, The Infinite Plan is Isabel Allende’s first novel to be set in the United States and to portray American characters.

Gregory Reeves’ father is a self-styled preacher who wanders the American West with his family in a caravan during the 1940s, preaching “The Infinite Plan,” a divine vision of the meaning of life and the nature of the universe. But when the preacher falls ill, the family abandons its nomadic ways and settles in a Hispanic barrio of Los Angeles. Gregory begins a new life in a Spanish-speaking world: school (for the first time), gangs, sex, books and ideas, and work. As he explores the mysterious world of the barrio, he meets the people who will shape his future, among them Pedro and Inmaculada Morales, who become his surrogate parents and provide him with the love and security his own family cannot give him; Carmen Morales, their daughter and Gregory’s friend for life, who grows up to be an earthy woman who teaches him about love as well as friendship; Juan José Morales, their son and Gregory’s buddy, whose experience in Vietnam will change the course of his family’s and Gregory’s lives; and Cyrus, the old Communist intellectual who feeds Gregory books and inspires him with a passion for social justice.

As Gregory’s story unfolds, we follow his struggle to survive—persecution by gangs in the barrio, the horrors of the war in Vietnam—and to be successful. After his return from Vietnam, Gregory becomes a lawyer in San Francisco, where he pursues money and possessions, looks for love with the wrong women, parties, abuses alcohol, neglects his children, and loses himself in an illusory and wrongheaded quest. Eventually, after many false turns, Gregory’s search for love and for his soul brings him full circle back to his roots and to a new life.

Original image (unedited): 

original photo file

 

Point of View 2020

Here is a summary of my photographic projects from 2020, a second annual edition of my Point of View magazine. Just click on the cover below and you will be taken to my page on Blurb Books where you can view the entire magazine. Once you are there, just click on the cover image and click on each page to move forward or backward through the book. If you click on the arrows at the top of the page you can view it full screen, which makes it easier to read....especially if you have older eyes like me :) I'm not trying to sell these...it's just the easiest way for me to summarize and share my work.

Point of View 2020

By Sara Harley

Point of View - 2019 in review

Point of View Magazine

I decided to put together a magazine to compile some of my favourite images from 2019, along with some thoughts.

To view it online, click on the link below and then just click on each page to move forward and backward. 

There are arrows at the top right that you can click on to make it go on full screen so it's easier to read: https://www.blurb.ca/books/9735099-point-of-view-magazine

Sandscapes Magazine

From larger than life vistas to intimate landscapes, the tides and sand create visual art that is constantly in motion. If I was to wish for anything I might wish that I was more comfortable with change, adapting as well as the sands and comfortable with new challenges. But in the meantime, I find solace in the ever changing gifts and joy in the peace of mind that a walk on the beach can bring.

I have compiled some of my favourite images and verse into a magazine called "Sandscapes". Click on the link below to view the magazine online. Just click on the pages to move forward and back through the book. Enjoy!

Sandscapes

​

By Sara Harley

Sandscapes Magazine

After years of making photographs during our beach walks, I decided to put my favourite images into one publication. A magazine seemed the perfect format....nice glossy pages, but not too precious to feel the obligation to keep for years on a bookshelf. 

From larger than life vistas to intimate landscapes, the tides and sand create visual art that is constantly in motion. More and more often, I focus my camera on the details in the sand, what I refer to as "sandscapes".

Sandscapes is available to view and/or purchase online.  

View the complete magazine at this link (click on the cover to page through the magazine)