I have been photographing amaryllis flowers in December and January for the past three years. So winter and amaryllis flowers have a deep connection in my mind. There’s something about these big beautiful flowers and the way they emerge from their bulbs in the deepest darkest days of winter. With tall graceful leaves, straight tall stems, and over the top huge bright beautiful flowers, they simply fascinate me.
A New Series of Photos
I created the series of images in this post using photographs of amaryllis I created this year. These layered images express many feelings and emotions I have about winter, beauty, aging, amaryllis flowers, and the seasons of life.
Each image starts with a photograph I made of amaryllis flowers in various stages of their life cycle. Then each image is layered with an image that I made at Carver Park on a bright frosty winter’s day. I use different blend modes and techniques for combining the images.
But I think that the central theme of amaryllis flowers in winter holds the series together. It’s been an interesting creative journey.
Today I think this series might be complete. But as in all new creations I will need to let it be for a few weeks or months and come back to it then to decide if I still think it holds together and that each image still feels like it belongs.
“What do you love doing so much that the words failure and success essentially become irrelevant?”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
The Creative Journey
I created these images very quickly. But…it took weeks of explorations and experiments before I got to the point where I could create them. A photographer friend with whom I shared my new ideas and experiments gave me excellent feedback and encouragement. In fact we discussed them just yesterday and it was late last night and this morning when everything finally gelled for me.
I love it when that happens. The creative process is so unpredictable. It can seem like I flounder and struggle for weeks or months with an idea. And sometimes the idea simply will not pan out. I’ve learned that struggling and failing is part of the growth process.
Watch a baby learning to walk. Most babies don’t just simply get up and start walking with ease across the room. They try and fail, get up and fall, take unsteady steps and fall again. Yet they don’t give up and seldom become discouraged.
“Creativity is sacred, and it is not sacred. What we make matters enormously, and it doesn’t matter at all. We toil alone, and we are accompanied by spirits. We are terrified, and we are brave. Art is a crushing chore and a wonderful privilege. Only when we are at our most playful can divinity finally get serious with us. Make space for all these paradoxes to be equally true inside your soul, and I promise—you can make anything. So please calm down now and get back to work, okay? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Find something you love to do
The creative journey is very similar to a baby learning to walk. Find something you love to do, something you can’t not do, and then do it—without worrying about if it’s good enough or whether others will like it. The joy is in the doing.
How is your creative journey going? Are you allowing yourself to fail and fall down again and again, knowing that it takes time and persistence for creative ideas and skills to grow and gel?
Wishing you a creative week.
May you walk in beauty.
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