Photography

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I began my vintage camera collection in 2004 when I found this 1920’s Kodak vest pocket camera on a photography site similar to ebay and was shocked to find out that it still worked. It had just one owner who took very good care of it.

It arrived in perfect timing for an upcoming trip I had planned to Montreal and was going to be a great opportunity to experiment with the settings. I had no idea how any of the pictures were going to turn out, but it didn’t stop me from have so much fun playing around with it. It’s strange to work with a film camera after using an SLR or a phone where you can see, adjust and delete pictures immediately. Older film cameras really force you to rely on your natural composition skills in framing each picture. Then, there is the dreaded wait time of one week or so for the pictures to come back. To my surprise one of the picture that turned out was the one below from the most beautiful street in Old Montreal. I was in disbelief (I may have whimpered or cried a bit, but whatever) at the sight of this picture. It reminded me of “camera obscura” photos. Camera obscura refers to early photography with obscura meaning “dark chamber.” The camera, a dark box had a pin hole for light to enter which would cast a foggy haze over a picture and along the edges. In college, I had a failed attempt at making a camera obscura, I made the box and put the pin hole in just fine but then I used printer paper like a dodo head. My friend Joey Checchia, an amazing photographer and artist, shook his head and was way too kind to me. I deserved a little verbal beating for that one. Oh well, lesson learned…the hard way yet again.

You definitely do not need to be a professional photographer or wealthy to learn and experiment with cameras from any generation. My advice is to purchase used camera bodies and lenses. I love the idea of taking pictures today with something that was made so long ago that still functions with the results combining both worlds. Too hippy dippy? Eh, it’s okay, most people have a dirty little hippy living inside them just waiting to burst out and have some creative fun. Let em out, I say!

Here is a link to learn more about early photography. I’ll share pictures of my tin types along with the other vintage cameras in my collection in another post.

Old Montreal, Canada taken with 1920’s Kodak Pocket Camera

Old Montreal, Canada taken with 1920’s Kodak Pocket Camera

Framing

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Seattle, WA

Three Principles of Composition…

Movement, Space and Balance are three of the seven plus principles of composition that draw the eye to an image.

Composition helps to tell the story of an image. Seeing the suggestion of movements like wind, the ocean, a person or animal walking, a wheel or even facial expressions. The mind through the eye knows what to expect as if you were standing right there in the photo.

Space is everything within the frame for the scene that creates depth and perspective or lack-there-of in a flat graphic black and white image.

The balance of elements large or small, natural or manmade add visual weight to an image. Symmetry and asymmetry are achieved through the balance of the focal point of an image. Think of weighing scales with the one of the left having a sack with a pound of flour on it. The left side will be below the right creating a disruption to the mind and eye as something is out of balance. This is intriguing to the eye and creates visual movement and subliminal weight to the image.

Take a look through some of your photos and make note of the ones that attract your eye. Put those in a separate folder while adding new photos to this folder as you take them. In a short time, you will see a commonality throughout your photos. Try to find some of the principles of composition in your photos that you naturally understood just by finding a scene you liked, pointing and tapping or clicking.

Some other principles of composition are; Contrast, Pattern, Repetition, Contrast, Proportion, Movement, Space and Balance…

Here are eight examples of composition from my own picture. I look for graphic shapes (natural and manmade) that carve out a space against the sky.

Weekend Design Project

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Air Dry Clay Project

It’s Clay Time

Hands are a gettin’ dirty!

Take some time this weekend and play like a child. No rules, no restrictions, no experience necessary, just random, in-the-moment playful exploration. Choose from air dry clay (dollar store or 5 below), polymer clay (any store with crafts) or make your own from the recipe link below.

Put on your favorite music or listen to classical music as it helps the mind stay focused in the present moment. Let your hands work through the clay, kneed it, roll it, fold it, sculpt it, cut shapes… Allow the clay to communicate with you and ask it what it wants to be. (I know that sounds hippy dippy, but it works. You can say it in your head and no one will ever know). The point is to move your hands through the clay and create something, anything. The whole body will be working in unison as a mini creation comes to life. Each time you look at your finished piece, you will be reminded of the time you allowed yourself to play and create like the child you once were. You know you’re in there, just let go.

Some ideas for air dry clay or polymer clay would be a jewelry dish, a pen holder, figurines, a bowl for coins, rocks, sea glass or my favorite, “Cape May Diamonds,” (quartz crystals found on a beach in Cape May, NJ.)

  • Here are a few tips for working with clay. Air dry clay and polymer clay are not food or liquid safe. As far as I know, there are no safe glazes that would make air dry clay or polymer clay items food safe. It is to be used as a modeling clay for decorative items. Polymer clay can be baked in the oven to harden. Do not use a rolling pin or utensils that you use for food. Acrylic or wood rolling pins are inexpensive and found at any of the stores listed in this post. Add small amounts of water to the clay in order to smooth out bumps and finger prints. Small amounts of water are also used to thin out a thicker part and even the weight of the item.

Feel free share the finished piece on Instagram @natalinidesign or natalini Design & Wellness Group on Facebook.

Coupons, Sales & Recipe:

Wearable Sculpture

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Sculpture Jewelry for the Body & Home

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Balancing Act

Wearable Sculpture is inspired by Architecture throughout the ages. There is a balance of masculine and feminine or yin and yang or fluidity and stillness in all things. It is a great reflection of what we as humans on this planet work with as gravity holds us on earth while we navigate, create and contemplate. (Cheesy rhyme was unintended, just go with it, I’m writing in a flow state.) Continue…

THE NEED FOR BALANCE

Balance in life and at home is a constant work in progress for everyone. I’ve found some creative balance over the years in creating sculptural jewelry. Although, not appealing to the masses, it hasn’t stopped me from doing it and personally benefiting from the creation process. I encourage everyone to find a creative expression where time ceases to exist and the pressure of making a profit is lifted. (Of course these expressions are all for sale, a girl’s gotta eat her organic veggies.)

Silliness aside, use today to think outside your scheduled day and look up, stare at a product, deconstruct something in your mind, think about how and why it was made. Use one of my pieces for example, the image above, the Nix Cuff. This piece has movement as it twists around and sits atop the wrist. What was I thinking at the time? Why did I do this and who did I think was going to wear it? The what and the why is that I was learning how to solder metal jewelry from a talented multimedia and jewelry artist named Nix, in Philadelphia. It was in Nix’s studio where I channeled one of my favorite architects, Frank Gehry, and started moving the material around and stopped when the metal “told” me to stop. I wasn’t thinking at all and that was the best thing I could have done. Anyone who creates or cooks will understand. Sometimes the material or ingredients silently instructs us on what to do with an instinct of, that’s enough or just a pinch more. So who was going to wear this? Welp, at first it was me or at least my museum gala attending avatar. (She’s fancier than me, always put together and doesn’t trip up stairs.) In as much seriousness as sculptural jewelry can have, I see the person who would wear this piece as having a love of art and a bold confidence that makes them an unintentional trendsetter. I saw them having a minimal home with meaningful treasured art and collectables happy to add Nix to their collection to be displayed when not out on the town.

I have to admit that I have a personal connection with this piece and when the day a permanent owner comes along, it will be a bittersweet one for me. I will be happy knowing someone will be wearing them for special events or proudly displaying them in their home.

Happy staring at products, deconstructing something in your mind or pondering anything at all today. And, no you cannot get back the 3 minutes you spent reading my inner thinkings. Ha

Sculpture

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Frank O. Gehry

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Walt Disney Concert Center, Los Angeles, CA

This structure/sculpture/building is one of the most breathtaking forms I have seen. The drive around the building was surreal as I felt like a child seeing my imagination come to life. I took this photo along with many others with this composition standing out the most to me.

Frank Gehry, 91, has been on my “if you could have dinner with 10 people,” list for twenty five years. I have been deeply inspired by his work and outlook of his creative process. Frank, (along with family) have been the voices I hear to “keep going and creating what you love,” when I’ve been unsure of my path and place in the creative world. Frank is okay not being liked, he is actually his own harsh critic and always goes with his gut no matter what. Frank’s grandmother gets the credit for enabling his childhood creativity through mixed material from his grandfather’s shop. They would make futuristic cities and structures with a mixture of available scrap materials. I love that he retained that child-like playfulness to be part of his process. I hope anyone with children in their family encourages the exploration of their creativity, it will only enhance whichever career path they choose in life. It’s never too late to rediscover your limitless inner child. My freeFORM events (activating creativity) will be returning soon to the Philadelphia area. For information or to host a freeFORM even in your community contact me here.

Side note: This long awaited “Gehry Lair” will open at the Philadelphia Museum of Art set for 2028. Fingers crossed for a sooner date.

For any Frank Gehry admirers, I recommend his Masterclass. https://www.masterclass.com/classes/frank-gehry-teaches-design-and-architecture