Water towers

Peering over my open passport, the immigration agent carefully looked me over. "Why are you going to New York?" she asked.

"I'm going to visit some art shows," I answered.

"You're just going to look at art?"

"Well, I plan to take some photos of the city for my own art."

"You can't take photos of Montreal?"

"They don't have water towers in Montreal."

That's what I blurted out when I was unexpectedly put on the spot about my "aesthetic vision". And the agent let me enter the U.S. anyways.






Thinking back to that conversation, and sorting through the photos I did take, I realized that the water towers in my photos make for very good focal points: isolated cylinders perched like lonely, watchful crows overlooking a jumble of cubes and rectangular prisms.


I've started a new piece, based on one of my water tower photos. Who knows? Perhaps I'll make all four.

Of course I have made pieces based on Montreal photos too. What I need to do more often is get myself downtown with the single-minded purpose of finding interesting subjects for my work.







Here's what art quilter Leni Wiener had to say when she was asked about using photos to inspire her work:

"I always start with a photo because all the information I need is right there for me; I don’t have to figure out the perspective, the proportions or where the light and shadow would be.  Taking the photo into Adobe Photoshop and applying a cutout filter reduces the image into manageable masses of color.  I print the resulting “pattern” in the full size of the finished piece.  Fabrics are assigned, paying close attention to value.  Then I use freezer paper to cut out each piece and lay it in place like a puzzle."





You can find the rest of the interview with Leni on Deborah Boschert's blog. I'm a big fan of Leni's. I met her at the SAQA conference in Santa Fe this April, where she gave me a coaching session. Leni, a New Yorker, is unapologetic about using her camera, rather than a sketchbook, to make her art.

And if you can direct me to some water towers in Montreal, please let me know!