A Creative Collaboration
I had the pleasure of collaborating with other talented individuals at Gallery Nouveau in downtown Corvallis in 2008. The seven artists represented at the gallery developed a great appreciation for each other’s unique abilities.
As we shared stories of creative inspiration an interesting idea, known as “Call and Response”, was brought forward. This process corresponds to traditional human communication patterns. One individual hears the “call” of another and then “responds” with creative commentary before sending it back.
This was the process: Each artist brought a piece of their work wrapped up such that no one could see what it was or what it looked like. This piece was our CALL. We exchanged our piece with one other artist. We then had one month to create a RESPONSE. After one month we would attend another meeting and exchange again. This process continued for six consecutive months.
In May of 2009 we unveiled the astounding results. We exhibited our works to the public at the LaSells Stewart Center on the Oregon State University campus for the entire month.
The beauty of this experience was how it forced me to move outside the proverbial ‘box’ and beyond my comfortable patterns of behavior. This particular process allowed me to RESPOND to others works not just as a photographer but as artist. When I received a beautiful handmade basket I was initially at a creative loss. Over several weeks I agonized over what to do; looking at the piece from all angles and experimenting with some macro shots. Nothing seemed satisfying. At one point I called a friend who does stage lighting and borrowed some colored gels from him. As I began to look at the basket with different colors, my world opened up. I ended up loving the results.
The lesson here was one of constant examination of how we live our lives. Are we willing to try new things and look at the world differently? I maintain that stepping beyond our comfort zone leads to pure growth and evolution as a person.