anika mari

Over the past few weeks I’ve been in a creative lull. I’ve been somewhat busy with other stuff, but I just haven’t felt incredibly inspired to do anything. I’ve been working on some daily drawings in my sketchbook, but that’s about it.

However, at the tail end of my last creative burst, I did a few drawings/painting that I just now got around to photographing and uploading. I love being in Saipan, but there are a few things working against me: the humid heat which makes me prefer to swing in the hammock with a cool drink instead of working on art, and the slow internet connection which makes me want to do almost anything else than hover over uploads that can take hours. It took me almost 8 hours and a few false starts, but I eventually got the new photos uploaded.

My sister-in-law, Rachel commented that she really liked seeing photographs of my art in their environment. I started taking photos of the artworks hanging on the clothing line or carefully propped on one of the back steps because I don’t have access to a scanner here. I also zoomed in and took some closeups, but uploaded a variety of shots to give a good sense of the scale of the drawings and prints. After hearing her feedback, I embraced the idea and worked with the concept a little more deliberately. I am pretty happy with 2 of the art in environment shots in particular.

I think it’s fitting to photograph my drawings in this manner since I get so much inspiration from everything that I see around me. Not that I can pinpoint exactly where the inspiration for these works come from–they tend to be a general response to visual cues that surround me. Although the cinder blocks didn’t directly inspire either of these works, I like the visual similarity they offer to the drawings, as well as a certain amount of contrast to the surrounding plants.

Perhaps I’ll continue doing this when I’m back home, and I can use my scanner just for the details.