Saturday, October 5, 2013

BLOGTOBERFEST13 (Day 5) American Oystercatcher rising: a work in progress

AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER RISING (art by Hallelujah Truth)
Hallelujah for process--the artistic process! The dailyness of it is some times shockingly slow. 

 This morning, I spent some time on the internet, googling images that would support the conversation I had with Jen Hilburn, St. Catherines ornithologist, concerning the American oystercatcher's gestation, the egg tooth, and pipping. All the while, I kept in mind Jen's dance, THE BIRTH OF A BIRD (see this blog entry).
WHERE TO BEGIN? Should I start a new image using the ideas Jen and I discussed on Thursday or finish an image to get an idea about how to portray a young oystercatcher? (photo by Ruth Schowalter)
Yet, after printing off images of American oystercatcher parents in which I imagined them listening to their babies "wheeping" as  Jen described the communication between them, I felt compelled to finish the more imaginary image I had started the other day. I want to figure out the patterning on the birds.
INVERTED IMAGE
Just for fun, I scan the original and play with it in photoshop. In addition to playing with the image, I also get a different perspective of what I have made and figure out how to proceed with future images.
CLOSE TO THE ORIGINAL. I have played with the original image in photoshop here. However, this image is very close to the color of the original. I feel "initiated" now in the process of making a baby American oystercatcher. I might complain that this image took me far too long, but I enjoyed the process and feel much more entrenched or engaged in the co-creation of the LIFE CYCLE OF THE AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER story in both word and image. (art by Hallelujah Truth)
That's Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me about the way you engage in your creative process. Is you art always a work in progress?
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8 comments:

  1. UnknownOctober 5, 2013 at 4:29 PM

    I love watching your process - you are such a talented artist and inspiration my friend!

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    1. Ruth SchowalterOctober 6, 2013 at 8:29 PM

      Thanks for cheering me on Christine! Truly! Working in isolation is not fun. Having your support means so much to me!

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  2. Darlene SperberOctober 5, 2013 at 4:44 PM

    I think it is wonderful how much you are learning about the American Oystercatcher and how much you are passing along to the rest of us who read your blog and other posting about the American Oystercatcher. How fortunate we are to have you, Jen and the internet to learn from. Otherwise I for one would not have even known what an oystercatcher was. I would have continued my journey through life thinking it was a fisher of oysters..Love the journey and revel in the process of learning.

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    1. Ruth SchowalterOctober 6, 2013 at 8:32 PM

      Darlene, I love your love of learning! One of the reasons I have chosen the American oystercatcher to focus on is what its dire situation represents for endangered species.

      It is a long-lived bird, so we are lucky in being able to see it up and down the eastern coast of the U.S. However, its population is in decline and there is the likelihood that it species will die out.

      That is so sad! But the scientists are doing what they can to help it reproduce and live a bit longer on this beautiful Earth.

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  3. Cecelia KaneOctober 5, 2013 at 4:56 PM

    How triumphant these new babies are as they emerge from the egg and rise to meet the dawn!

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    1. Ruth SchowalterOctober 6, 2013 at 8:33 PM

      Cecelia! Yes! You get it! Hurray! I draw this kind of image to cheer me along while I make the more prosaic ones.

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  4. UnknownOctober 6, 2013 at 2:45 PM

    So interesting to see your process - the researching, the scanning, rethinking, playing with colors - all very inspiring!

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    1. Ruth SchowalterOctober 6, 2013 at 8:33 PM

      Thanks for reading about my process. I would love to learn more about what you do!

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