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Monday, July 18, 2011

Photography is like exercise ... how?

Photography — like exercise — is the first thing to go missing when I allow the busy-ness of my life to take over. 

Writing that sentence brings to mind a recurring dream in which an infant or child is neglected to the point of starvation. Fortunately, in each version of the dream, I find the child just in time to save its life.

These dreams appear when a core part of myself is being shoved aside: my creativity.

Haven't had the dream in a while, but I recognize—by the nagging sense of neglect that I feel when it comes to my photography—that it's lurking somewhere in my subconscious, waiting for the right moment to appear.

Staving off the dream, I suspect, is the fact that I'm currently being encouraged to consider effective new ways to 'monetize my life' through my creativity.
 Sian Lindemann's 5X5 is a group of dynamic women who, through weekly conferences and assignments, are exploring what gifts we bring to the world, and how to bring these gifts forward with integrity. We have been asked to consider how we can turn our creative passions into financiallly sustaining lifestyles, working from our core values.

I can be the best ________ in the world, but unless I actively develop and promote whatever might be filling that blank, it will remain in the realm of 'hobby' and will not pay the bills.
It's time to pay the bills with my creativity. It's what I've been encouraging my clients to do, so it makes sense to do the same for myself.

One of the members of the 5X5 group, Pamela Rice, recently posted a blog entry in which she suggested that we look at our passions—what truly motivates us—and then to develop a step-by-step plan for bringing that passion into the world. Her simple words spoke directly to my heart and to my core belief that Art Can Change The World.
That's a bold statement, I know, but it's worth considering how many lives have been saved by art: the young, the disenfranchised, those in emotional pain, those without a sense of purpose or community, all can be literally 'saved' by the arts.

Consider also the power of those who, at the top of their creative careers, have influenced politics, raised money for causes such as eliminating famine and promoting healthcare, human rights, safe drinking water, and the environment. Consider the array of jobs and the benefit to regional economies that are created because of the arts. I can easily name a dozen off the top of my head.

The arts bring people together and allow for the development of specific skills, as well as expertise in the art of collaboration. Collaborative creative projects galvanize people into communities, allowing those who wouldn't normally seek each other out to find commonality and a shared purpose.

It's my belief that this power to influence life for the good comes from each person embracing and developing their creative passions and from living with integrity. Walking my talk will give me the opportunity to inflluence and hopefully inspire those around me to follow their passions, too.

I now have three primary focuses. The first: Communications Director for Clear Cut Love. The second:
flairCreativ. The third, is to give my personal vision and creative drive free-reign and to share that vision.

My plan for implementing this goal is to utilize Social Media platforms, including ANIMOTO, through my blogs and YouTube. These will be supported by developing a sales site for Lora Fisher Photography via Fine Art America within the next 14 days.
I am stoked! I also suspect that the recurring dream I mentioned will have no need to rear its head during my hours of rest, as long as I move forward with passion and purpose and allow my creativity to have its rightful and prominent place in my life.

LoraFisherPhotography via animoto; clip 1: digital sampling

1 comment:

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