by Rebecca Cornwell | Oct 21, 2012 | Showcases, Sunday Blues Edit
Rebecca: As the originator of the #Sundayblues edit tag, it was always my vision that the artist would create out of their own personal blue only on Sunday. I had used sundays to get out my blues for years and as a began creating and posting them on Instagram, I discovered that there were others who did the same. Sundays are special. Its a day of rest, contemplation and blues. It’s been a day to review the week and sometimes dread what’s next. In the very early days of the sundaybluesedit tag, Sandra and her daughter would always post. Thoughtfully working out their images and waiting until sunday to reveal their thoughts. For me Sandra is/was the ideal blueser. She brings her beautiful world and tender feelings into my view every sunday and I thank her for each and every image. Happy Sunday!
Sandra: As an art historian I am specialised in the history of photography. For years I have been studying historical photographs. I didn’t take my own photography – holiday snaps and pictures of my three kids – very seriously.
That changed when I started posting my images on Instagram. Going ‘public’ meant that I had to look seriously at my photographs, at least that’s how I see it.
I have to admit that I am a huge Hipstamatic junkie. I love the way you choose your gear beforehand (lens, film, flash) and still be surprised afterwards. Most pictures I post are hipstamatics. But every now and then I love to edit my pictures to be able to tell a story.
About eight months ago I posted my first sundayblues. It felt kind of scary, and it still does sometimes, because my sundaybluesedits are probably the most personal photos in my feed. I love waking up on Sunday and start thinking about the edit I will make. I never start in the days before, for me it has to be a part of what I do on Sundays.
I can’t really describe my photographic style, I don’t know if I even have one. But maybe it would be that I like to show the beauty of the the small things in life, the details you might overlook if you don’t pay attention. The shadow of a glass for instance, or the way the light plays with a tree.
The story behind the picture I posted last week: we sold our country house near the river. It belonged to my husband and his brother and sisters, but we were the only ones using it and we couldn’t afford keeping it. This month is the last month we can use it. That is of course very sad, but I feel there will be other adventures. Like the birds who travel to the south, we will travel to another place where we can escape to when we’re fed up with our hectic life in the centre of Amsterdam.
Please visit Sandra’s amazing feed on Instagram @san_
by Rebecca Cornwell | Oct 14, 2012 | Showcases, Sunday Blues Edit
Rebecca: Vanessa was one of the first friends I made on Instagram. She was always full of genuine kindness and cheer. Her perfect spirit always felt though her thoughtful comments and responses. I looked forward to her every magical post. Vanessa shows me Mexico in a way I have never seen it. Her amazing ‘poster reveal’ shots release surprise at every turn, never failing to thrill with her vision. She’s a master of design and able to find beauty in the most unlikely of places. most importantly, Vanessa has helped me to learn that there is something worth seeing everywhere just go out and look.
Vanessa: I live and work in Mexico City. I’ve been doing motion graphics, graphic design, editorial design and street photography for the past 12 years. It was three years ago that I started using mobile photography and I simply love it. The immediateness of the whole experience has led me to new ways of artful experimentation and expression.
I like a lot of things. I am very passionate about the things I like and a true fan of always discovering something new. It is good to know you can always surprise yourself with yourself. Being in love (with anything or anyone) takes you to a place of extreme creativity, you become extremely sensible which keeps you alert to find beautiful things all around and makes you feel constantly inspired by the simplest idea or detail.
Mobile photography is all about motion and I believe in movement. I think everything has to keep moving in order to function and evolve. When nothing moves, nothing happens. What I love the most of what I do when I take pictures of ripped street posters is that they are constantly changing. You might find something new every day, some new layer that offers a new form, a new message. They also keep a historical track, they talk about things happening in this city at this particular point in time. The same image ends getting all kind of external manipulation which leads to all kind of reinterpretations. I think there is a true form of involuntary art in which we all participate, we all become artists and part of the creative process.
When I stand in front of a poster being about to rip it, I get this fantastic feeling of not knowing what is about to happen. You don’t know what will come out, you can imagine what is underneath but the truth is that you never know.
I think the fact that knowing you can change the meaning of the message no matter the carrier, the form or the means, entitles you with a magical power to look at the beauty within everything around you.
This picture I shot during a fantastic instawalk I shared with very talented and beautiful friends. What caught my attention finding this image were all the associations it brought to my mind. First of all about someone I’m fascinated about and not being able to see because we live in different countries. That brought yearning. Then I thought about blueness feeling. I remember the very first time my mom told me that blue also meant something associated to emotions and not just a color. That took me straight to “sundaybluesedit”. This I wanted to share with this beautiful community since I feel like a heartwarming space created by beautiful Rebecca who I thank IG for giving me the opportunity to come across.
Please visit Vanessa on Instagram @missmota. Her world is unexpected and truly beautiful.
by Rebecca Cornwell | Oct 7, 2012 | Showcases, Sunday Blues Edit
When I Close My Eyes
Rebecca: I’ve long admired Lynda’s work from a quiet distance. Her beautiful Texas brings a peace to my restless urban Texas heart. Her images are the Texas of my dreams. The desolate, deserted and decaying Texas I hope someday to find myself living in. For now I live in the hectic, ultra modern and americana city Texas. I live through Lynda’s images and long for my quiet future. Take a slow Texas stroll through Lynda’s gallery. Mosey along and image yourself kicking the rocky soil in the blazing Sunday sun.
Keep dreaming…Happy Sunday.
Lynda: In August my husband and I took a long road trip from our home in rural north central Texas to the California coast. This photo was taken in Utah at Capitol Reef National Park. All recent landscapes have been from this journey west, and not my usual Texas and Oklahoma scenery. The mood though is very typical of the solitude I attempt to evoke in all my images.
Several months ago I became aware that I have a couple of themes running through my work. It was not something I planned, but it is there and I think it speaks to who I am as a person and an artist.
My work is deeply personal and often self-reflective. Many of the images can be considered self-portraits although you will not see me in the image. You will rarely see a figure in my work. I particularly identify with structures, especially old rundown buildings. Each detail of a building is a private internal dialogue with its own iconography. I am often drawn to explore the same types of things like broken or covered windows, or views through a small opening. All of these details have a meaning for me and the nuance of each similar image adds something to the conversation. It is my way of trying to understand myself, knowing my own mind.
Landscapes also figure prominently in my work. For me, they symbolize a longing for connection to spirit. I like to photograph desolate empty landscapes and wide open spaces because I feel the most solitude in these places. When I am alone and quiet I can more easily feel connected to something greater than myself. As I edit these landscapes, I frequently return to that meditative place of connection. They are my remembering, possibly a kind of prayer.
I find these two themes work together since many of the old buildings I photograph are well on their way back to nature. Many of them are completely broken down and covered in vines with trees encroaching. Sometimes birds or animals have moved into the building. I find it strangely comforting and humbling to remember that nothing lasts forever. We are all on the path to becoming a memory and eventually not even remembered. This may be a depressing thought for some, but I find it a great motivation to enjoy life.
Please go look at Lynda Martin’s incredible gallery on Instagram @imageconjurer. Its well worth your time.
by Rebecca Cornwell | Sep 30, 2012 | Showcases, Sunday Blues Edit
Little Miss DecemberRebecca: 32 weeks ago, when the #sundaybluesedit was still in its infancy, a new face, to me at least stealthily arrived in the tag. Up to this point, most of the artists were artist I was very familiar with on Instagram. They showed up to support me and join in the Sunday fun and I was grateful. Jenn @shadowleitner started posting quietly at first. Beautifully blue crafted images would arrive and I would always sigh at Jenn’s creativity. As the weeks have gone on I’ve watched Jenn truly find her voice. I’m very proud to be able to showcase her today. I hope you will take a few moments and enjoy a fantastical walk through her ever-wonderful profile. Happy Sunday!
Jenn: I’m very honored to be feature here by sundaybluesedit. The #sundaybluesedit is a very magical place for me and I’m inspired every week by the beauty and courage displayed there.
Of Little Miss December…happily being carried off by birds. It is one of those images with something just a little bit off tilt. And that was before I put it through decim8 and blender, two of my favorite apps. I do love images and edits with peculiarity and have affection for the macabre. This one in particular led me to create the series “months of mayhem” and even though she made her appearance last, she is the one who inspired me to start it. I enjoy mixing elements of story, symbolism and word play with my images, which is how I relate to my world in general. I think that is why I gravitate to old images to use in my edits, they connect me with the human story, which is universal and transcends time.
I have had a life-long love of storytelling and art and have dabbled in many mediums. Then about a year ago, in an attempt reconnect with my creativity, I got the crazy notion to start a 365 project called Shadow a Day. I originally joined IG to just post this project but was so enthralled by the art there that I immediately jumped down the rabbit hole into the world of Mobile Art. The community there has been as supportive and encouraging of my editing experiments and self-exploration as theirs has inspired me. And I so look forward to experiencing this next chapter of my life.
You can find Jenn’s always inspiring work at @shadowleitner on Instagram
by Rebecca Cornwell | Sep 23, 2012 | Showcases, Sunday Blues Edit
For this weeks sundayblues selection I’ve turned the writing over to Izzy. Although I have long admired the work of @booksandshit, the connection that Izzy has to this artist is deep and intense. Ultimately, I believe this is what is behind the beauty of the #sundaybluesedit, identifying and finding artists and friends who’s work and experience you can identify with so deeply. It’s through this tag that I have found so many places that feel like home. Have a wonderful Sunday.
Izzy: Becoming a part of the #sundaybluesedit is still somewhat surreal for me. Its a tag that has been dear to me for some time especially since this year has been a year of turmoil with my marriage shattering and me grasping with desperation to keep it together for the sake of my kids. Pretending to be happy is probably the most miserable thing I’ve ever attempted, as I’m a rather straight shooter in my day-to-day life. It was a mask I didn’t wear well. With the #sundaybluesedit tag I could take off the mask and pour forth whatever was left behind at the end of the day. Depression was my daily life and it hung on me like a lonely wet suit I couldn’t wait to get off of me.
I found myself immersed in taking pictures to escape my grief. For a long time I had envied my friends that had time to paint and draw, for me it became an utterly impossible task, but Instagram has taken my interest in photography to new heights. Realizing after years of carrying an iphone that I could make art with it was like getting glasses for the first time. I began to see the world completely differently because of the freedom of mobile arts photography.
So the door sprang open and with it a sea of amazing others out there doing the very same thing across the globe with their own flair. In places like Switzerland, where @booksandshit resides. He takes the most ordinary of items like a pile of immature hazelnuts he discovers on a walk with his niece and makes it into a story in black and white and his self-portraits are always undeniably sensitive. He purges his soul with his portraits and shows himself in every light possible. I always have questions when I look at his pictures as he makes it impossible to double click quickly and scroll. He makes one linger with his unrestrained beauty and this is what makes @booksandshit mesmerizing for his gallery is truly a photo diary worth unlocking.
Here are @booksandshit thoughts on his gallery:
Self-portraits are a wonderful way to try out new ways to edit and edit oneself without hurting others’ feelings (even thought I’m always eager to edit others “selfies” and am always open to collaborations). In addition to that I learn a lot about my own face and myself, which is ever changing.
However, landscapes and animals or strange out of use objects are also fantastic subjects to photograph. I love to unwrap forgotten objects to others and show them just how I view them but nothing is better than human expressions they inspire me most.
You can experience the amazing world of Michel on Instagram at @booksandshit
