As I questioned my art and methods of expressing myself through photography over the past couple years, I found that my normal routine of composing, mending, and displaying a photograph felt incomplete.
I can’t remember how many times I’ve captured, printed, and hung a photo on my wall and felt as if there was still, somehow, more work that needed to be done. Despite the vivid colors, haunting shadows, and near perfect composition in the photos on my wall, I could see and feel in my heart my pictures still lacking personality and artistry. That they held beauty, but lacked character, and portrayed a subject, but not a story. And not just the photographs- but I too, lacked all the above.
I felt empty. But I continued creating.
The void dug into my skin, and drove me to work harder than I ever had before. I really didn’t know what I was chasing, but over the next two years I explored every art form and idea that popped into my head. I tried painting, curating my own photography blog, oil pastels, a photography and poetry collaboration with my former roommate, and countless other artistic endeavors that I can’t even remember. None of them lasted, nor did they fill my void inside. Every passion and artistic expression that I've pursued over the past two years has faded, and thankfully, failed; except for photography and one other craft I dabbled with along the way- writing.
Through my artistic wondering and exploring over the past couple years, I realized that photographs often need more than to be seen, they need to be heard. Hence why so many photographers nowadays have lyrics or quotes posted beneath their photos. When the eyes peer upon a photo, I've found that the soul often still asks for more.
This realization pushed me to start writing. I couldn’t settle with quoting a lyric or phrase that wasn’t my own. My art had to be me, all one-hundred percent of it, without exception. My only problem was that I was a terrible writer. But regardless, I forced myself to put words on a page.
For two years I wrote, journaled, and crafted poetry in private, and only now do I feel as if I finally have something worth sharing- a story worth telling and being heard. As you may or may not know, I've been working on writing and a self-publishing a book over the past two months called Journeys Within, and it's my response to the unwanted silence that I found in my artwork and photography.
In summary, Journeys Within is a collection of photography & poetry about the wilderness and the soul. The content has been fully written, edited, and formatted and I'm now waiting for my first proof copy to come in the mail. I don't have a set release date yet, but I am aiming for it to be released sometime in March.
I’m looking forward to sharing more about this project in the weeks to come.
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