Reflections on a New Image
This blog post is about the reflection process and how to interpret feelings you have with your image. It will help you figure out what you want to project with this new image, as well as the best way to do so through a more positive mindset.
Not only that, but it will help you find your personal style and bring out your true creative side in a space where it can flourish.
This blog post is the first in a series of three on Critical Artistry, which will be posted throughout the next few months. You can find previous blogs on "The Basics of Critical Artistry" here , and the first part of this series, "When Your Word is Not Enough." There are a lot of images out there with captions that say something to the effect of:
My mind is going crazy with questions that I cannot shrug off. Is it worth digging deeper until you have an answer? How do I make my words sparkle? How do I get more clarity or create more impact?
But this problem doesn't stop there.
This conundrum seems to be the biggest problem with the way people are making images right now. They either ask questions and try to figure out answers using their own logic, or they turn to others for answers that they should be able to answer on their own.
And I just don't understand why.
Let me start off by saying that no one knows how you make your images as much as you do. You know what your style is, you know how your mind works, and more importantly you know what makes you tick and what it is that allows you to make this art in the first place. You know all of this because you made it, however even though you know this, there is still doubt and fear floating around in your mind.
Your doubts are based on the fact that you have no answers to these questions. You don't have any logical reasoning to back up why you do what you do (for the most part), and as such you don't feel like others can be completely sure of what they are doing either.
But our minds are powerful things, and we must use them to their full potential if we wish to create something that is thought provoking and original. We must use our intuition through reflection, which will allow us to find answers where they aren't readily available.
Now for those of you that are not aware, reflection is going to be a part of each post in this series.
Reflection is going to be the catalyst of inspiration when we need it most, and it will allow us to make all the necessary adjustments on our way to creating something new. When you can let go of your doubts and fears when you sit down to make an image, and instead just let things happen in a natural way without questioning too much what needs to be done, then you know that your image will have a lot more power behind it than if you have kept doubting yourself.
So what do we do? We turn inward, and focus on making sure that there is nothing standing between us and our creativity. We take our minds and turn them into a sponge that absorbs the answers that we need in order to figure out what is going on in our images.
The first step of this reflection process is to become inspired by the image itself and the emotions that you feel when you see it.
In essence, we are taking our own ideas for an image or caption and turning them into a personal piece of art in and of itself. We are finding inspiration in our own thoughts, and creating a work of art from those inspirations.
We are doing this through a process of personal reflection, which is going to allow us to see things that we may not have seen otherwise.
When you become self-reflective and turn inward, you will see answers that the image itself already has.
This is because we are trying to find ways to make our images stand out, and the answer lays in being able to find your own original style.
What I am trying to say here is that there are no answers in this world. There is only a bunch of words with little meaning attached to them, and these words have been mass produced for the purpose of marketing an image or a product for sale.
These words, which you may attach meaning to, are really just hollow shells that do not hold any real value. In order to truly find the answers that we seek, we have to go deeper and look more closely at what is attached to it all. We have to look at the image itself and how it makes us feel in a deep and personal way.
I am not saying that there is no meaning in these words, but I am saying that if you want something truly honest that comes from your innermost being, then you must find it within yourself when you are working on your images.
You must turn inward and let your intuition guide you through the process of making an image for a caption contest like this one.
It is going to take time for you to figure out your own unique style. This is natural and something that comes with the process of making images.
So when you are trying to figure out how to do something, do not question yourself too much. Instead, make a personal reflection on what you are working on currently and see if there any new ideas or thoughts present themselves when you look at it from a fresh perspective.
In order for this process to work, we have to NOT try and analyze everything in depth as this will only cloud our conclusions. We have to be open minded and look into our own minds and see if we can find some answers that way.
We have to take a stand against the common logic that everyone else follows. We have to find our own truth in making images, and not rely on others for it. If we do not follow this logic, then we may find that we are "weird" or different than others, but no one will be able to tell you what you are doing wrong as there is nothing wrong with being different.
This is because being different means you will always be unique from the rest of the world and as such you will never have to follow their rules or listen to their advice.
And the funny thing about being different is that it can play in your favor if you are willing to embrace your true self.
While we are on the subject, when you do embrace yourself and everything that makes you who you are, then there will always be people out there who will want to put you down for being different. I am not saying that everyone will do this, but inevitably there will be some people who want to change you for their own selfish reasons.
Now why would someone want to do this? It stems from the fact that what makes you happy makes them unhappy, and in order for them to feel better about themselves they try and make others feel worse.
Conclusion
I hope that this post has been helpful to you, and I wish you the best of luck in your own personal reflection on how you see things. You may not like what I have to say, but I would encourage you to think about this for a moment before moving on.
You do not have to agree with me or everyone else, but it is important that you find your own truth in your work. It is important that you set aside what the rest of the world thinks, and dictate the rules according to your own values. Don't let other people tell you who they think your images should be based on their superficial knowledge of simple words.