Artist Date Idea: A Photographic Adventure

"What constitutes an Artist's Date? Well, it has to be done alone. You can't take your hubby, your mom, your friends. As for what you do on your date, well, sky's the limit. I recommend being playful, being adventurous and daring and creative, listen to that small voice inside you, ask it what it would most like to do, what sounds like fun? If it helps, schedule your date in advance and write in on your calendar, so you won't forget." - http://artfulwater.blogspot.com/

Now, let's begin . . .

Step one: Determine which day of the week will work best for you, keeping in mind that this particular artist date idea will be broken up into several days. Write this date in your planner or on your wall calendar, whichever you consult most often (and where your family can prominently see that you're busy).

Step two: Purchase one or two disposable cameras or load up your personal camera with film. For this particular project, I don't recommend using a digital camera. I've had better results using a standard (or disposable) camera.

Step three: Pick an "outdoor retreat" for your date. Here are some ideas:
1: your backyard
2: the local park
3: the downtown area
4: a bird sanctuary
5: a nature trail

Step four: dress appropriately and go on your date. Take pictures of the details of the nature surrounding you. The branches on the trees, a rotten log, rocks on a path, the petals of a flower, leaves on a tree, a close up of the bark on a tree and so on. Focus on subjects that interest you and don't forget the clouds in the sky or how the trees line up along the horizon. Take A LOT of pictures, more than just one roll of film if possible.

Step five: develop your film getting doubles of all your prints. When you're waiting for your film to develop, find a shoebox sized container at the store if you don't have an empty shoebox at home. After your film has been developed, put all your pictures into this box.

What do you have? Pictures to use in backgrounds of scrapbook lay outs, the ability to create interesting punches, borders for picture frames, collage embellishments, altered art embellishments and greeting card backgrounds . . . just to mention a few. The possibilities for creativity is endless with these pictures. Here are some projects I've created with my pictures:

1: greeting cards
2: ATCs
3: additions to altered book pages
4: I was using an autumn picture and cut them into leaf shapes for an assemblage painting
5: layered scrapbook pages
6: themed handmade book cover embellishments

Focus your next artist date on taking more pictures to add to your collection or to putting these images to use. Using pictures you've taken to your art projects gives them a more personal and whimsical feel. Don't be afraid to cut them up, rip them, make punches in them and alter them for your work. The more you manipulate them and use them in your work, the more you're going to want to head back out with the camera and take more. I've taken myself on this date twice, once in the fall and once in the winter. I decided to go to the same place each time so I was capturing how changes with the season created a new beauty to the same area I was photographing.