Eye of the Sunflower, available on Imagekind
Now, maybe you understand who I am.
In the city, in the valleys, I wander
in search of legends to begin anew.
~ from the poem, Calla Lilies, by Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda – Poet, Writer, and Artist from Virginia
Sunflowers are so much fun to photograph and their images can be found everywhere. But, I’d like to tell you the story of this particular image, still one of my favorites.
A couple of years ago, the gallery where I show my work locally (Art In Hand) worked on a collaborative event with poets. Each poet was paired with an artist from the gallery (all different types of media) and submitted a poem to the artist. The artist then created a piece of art inspired by the poem.
It was a fun and challenging project. I was paired with Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, former poet laureate from Virginia, who sent me her poem, Calla Lilies. The entire poem is amazing but it was the excerpt above that really drew me in. I truly do feel that I wander in search of legends, and that legends are everywhere.
I tried a number of different subjects, but it wasn’t until my husband brought these huge, perfect sunflowers home from the farmers’ market that I knew I had found my muse. What I love about this image is that the sunflower seems to be looking back at me – a real connection.
Just last week, I took a framed copy of this image to the newly built Glick Eye Institute in Indianapolis, where it will be hung in a waiting area.
Do you photograph sunflowers? Or how about photographing your favorite poem?
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Don’t forget to enter the Photographing Summer Contest over at Adventures in Seeing on Facebook. Upload your summer photo by July 31st.
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