I blur the lines between art and Music....

ValeriGail

ValeriGail

MobiLurver
Real Name
Valeri
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My entire life I have been surrounded by guitars and other musical instruments. Music has been an essential part of my existence for as long as I can remember. I don't think there was a moment growing up when the house was quiet, with out some kind of music playing. My dad always had his stuff going (he is/was a minister of music), or my mom had the radio playing... or I was singing and my brothers were telling me to shut up! LOL.

My dad builds guitars. I can remember sitting in his work room as a child watching him at the age of two, maybe younger. I remember sitting next to him playing on the piano , wishing I could play too.. Longing to learn. But, that wasn't in the cards for me. I couldn't get my hands to cooperate for either the piano or the guitar. Bitter sweet, and I was filled with anger over it for years. Regret. thought it was a short coming with in myself. I didn't have enough will power.. Didn't learn until I was 29 that it was because of my muscle condition. But, That doesn't stop me from loving the guitar with a passion and passing that down to my children. We have three in our house, all out in full view and accessible.. though two of them are actually claimed by the big brother who threatens bodily harm to the little ones! LOL But the third one is actually the perfect size for the little ones to start learning! And today I broke that one out for a photo shoot, and let baby girl have a sing along while I edited. And, with that begins my very first projects and ongoing work thread... I blur the lines between art and music.

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A tribute to my dad....


A quiet man of music , denied a simpler fate. He tried to be a soldier once, but his music wouldn't wait. He earned his love through discipline, a thundering, velvet hand. His gentle means of sculpting souls took me years to understand. The leader of the band is tired, and his eyes are growing old. But his blood runs through my instrument, and his song is in my soul. My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man. I'm just a living legacy to the leader of the band..


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This is a wonderful, and moving, project. Keep the images and stories coming!!
 
What a beautiful and moving thread... Your tribute to your dad brought tears to my eyes. :inlove:

I grew up in a houseful of musicians too. My dad played piano his whole life; all my brothers are musicians.

I can feel your love for music in these heartfelt and expressive photos....thank you for sharing your feelings with us.

So glad you created this - eagerly awaiting more! :inlove:

Sent from my iPhone using MobiTog
 
lisamjw said:
This is a wonderful, and moving, project. Keep the images and stories coming!!
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Thanks, Lisa! I hope to keep them coming. Hoping to get some images of my dad playing this week. He's in on vacation. That is what sparked the idea to do the photo shoot with the one guitar yesterday. Anxious to photograph him and tired of waiting. Lol
 
RoseCat said:
What a beautiful and moving thread... Your tribute to your dad brought tears to my eyes. :inlove:

I grew up in a houseful of musicians too. My dad played piano his whole life; all my brothers are musicians.

I can feel your love for music in these heartfelt and expressive photos....thank you for sharing your feelings with us.

So glad you created this - eagerly awaiting more! :inlove:

Sent from my iPhone using MobiTog
Click to expand...

Thank you so much, you have no idea! I'm always afraid I'm not expressing enough in my edits for the emotion that creates them to come through. That is something I'm still working on, not losing the integrity of a photo and emotion while editing. Most the time I get half way through an edit and realize somewhere along the way, I messed that up.

All of us kids have musical inclinations.. Yet none of us can settle. (there are 5of us) We all seem to be chaotic, high strung and unable to focus. We all tried to be in band in school and all of us dropped out for other things. My passion became choir. I wanted to sing. And sing. And sing. I love lyrics. I felt, and still do today, grounded when I was singing. Like I wasn't spiraling out of control anymore. I wanted to sing on stage, but it's not to be. Dystonia stole that too. But I sing every day at home, even on the worst of the worst days. Music simply grounds me like nothing else. I find honesty in lyrics, and answers. Helps me think through the world. I used to write them too. Been thinking of doing that again.

My oldest is showing great promise playing bass. I'm really proud of him. The twins have just now started showing some interest, with Zachary shocking me knowing the meaning to songs. He is my thinker. I might have a writing buddy there. And baby girl... She is the whole deal. I'm gonna keep my eye on her. She's already making up songs that sound real and singing that sounds good. Yesterday during her sing along, she went and got a note pad to write down all the songs she was gonna sing and the changes she made along the way. Was adorable. She was in heaven. Her favorite tv show is Austin and Allie and she got to be like Allie for the afternoon. I don't think I could have given her a better day if I had planned it
 
ValeriGail said:
I find honesty in lyrics, and answers. Helps me think through the world. I used to write them too. Been thinking of doing that again.
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Oh, please do!! You could write them, and apply them to your beautiful photos... Then create a Blurb book out of it all. :inlove:
 
RoseCat said:
Oh, please do!! You could write them, and apply them to your beautiful photos... Then create a Blurb book out of it all. :inlove:
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ahh there is an idea!! My biggest stumbing block with writing lyrics is I'm so very long winded and want to stick too many freaken words in. Man, getting a lot said with few words is HARD. ;)
 
You have a real knack for matching song lyrics to your photos; one of the things I enjoy about your IG photos. :)
 
lisamjw said:
You have a real knack for matching song lyrics to your photos; one of the things I enjoy about your IG photos. :)
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I second that!!!!
 
lisamjw said:
You have a real knack for matching song lyrics to your photos; one of the things I enjoy about your IG photos. :)
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:) thank you Lisa. Means a lot. Ive been trying to decide whether to continue the lyrics on IG. I go back and forth on the decision, on a daily basis. Took a lyric break for a few weeks now. I can't decide either way so probably going to stay in limbo until I figure it out.

I was searching a lyric for every post, finding the right song. It became part of the process for me. Sometimes, the song came to me the moment I snapped the pic, sometimes later during editing... Or I directly edited for the lyrics. I have so many edits that I've planned to do based on several sets of lyrics. Snaps of ideas that jot down. But lately I've been feeling burned out on so many levels, I'm trying to find a new balance. When I got sick in July, I think it knocked more out of me than just energy. I have yet to bounce back.. Physically, mentally, artistically. I'm terribly off centered. I can't seem to find my way back to completely where I was and figure that means its a good time to re-evaluate and see if I should or could do things different. Trying to find a medium, a middle somewhere in there where I get to have my lyrics yet maybe less dominant or all consuming on IG.

Which is basically a lot of words to say I don't know what I'm doing anymore but I miss my lyrics.
 
In my experience this part of the creative process is very intuitive and, therefore, can be the most frustrating. Re-evaluation is good. Trust in your talent, take a deep breath and it will all come together!!
 
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