“I shut my eyes in order to see…” — Paul Gaugin
“Seeing” is something we do every day. In its most common usage, we think of seeing simply as visual perception. We open our eyes, we look at something, and we make a mental record of what our eyes have seen. Simple.
In its most common usage, we think of seeing simply as visual perception. We open our eyes, we look at something, and we make a mental record of what our eyes have seen. Simple.
Simple.
What would happen if, instead of opening our eyes to make such recordings we opened our hearts or our minds to create them? In doing so, the recorded image becomes something so much different; it becomes something personal and unique to you. And it becomes your own personal story to share with others. So, then, how do we close our eyes and open our minds? Let’s get started!
And it becomes your own personal story to share with others. So, then, how do we close our eyes and open our minds? Let’s get started!
Let’s get started!
1. Close your eyes to the scene before you and open your mind to the world within you.
Imagine you are alone in the world as you immerse yourself in a world of light. Feel the uninhibited joy of a new discovery as you dance in the light and become one. Listen to the sounds surrounding you as you run and play. Feel the elements of the world wash over you. Roll in the grass as you inhale the scents of summer. Allow the salt spray to engulf your entire being. Respond to the simplicities of your world with wonder…as if you are experiencing them for the very first time in your life.
Feel the uninhibited joy of a new discovery as you dance in the light and become one. Listen to the sounds surrounding you as you run and play. Feel the elements of the world wash over you. Roll in the grass as you inhale the scents of summer. Allow the salt spray to engulf your entire being. Respond to the simplicities of your world with wonder…as if you are experiencing them for the very first time in your life.
Respond to the simplicities of your world with wonder…as if you are experiencing them for the very first time in your life.
2. Recognize the value in the familiar and use that familiarity to explore new worlds.
Tell a new, unexpected story full of creativity and spontaneity. With total abandon, lose your inhibitions in the scene.
Tell your story using the visual design of the subject without limiting yourself to the confines of the literal subject. Delve into your imagination and make your subject sing to your own heart…others will follow as they join in your personal story.
3. Move from realism to impressionism and from reality to the imaginative.
Let go.
Be extreme.
Make it so obvious that this is not a real place, but an imagined place — a place that only exists in the mind, a place where everyone longs to go, and if their eyes are closed and their minds are open, they can. Strive to create a lasting experience for your audience, not simply an image.
The more you experiment with “seeing” with your heart and mind, the more you will be able to create a whole new world of experiences both for you and for your viewers, and you just may notice your own world will never quite be the same.
So what are you waiting for?
Close your eyes, and start creating!
