ellyolsen

Friday Finds... EllyOlsen


This is my 20th interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy!

It's Friday! So that means a lovely interview for today!
It's not often I find new artists to Etsy that happen to be photographers. The hot topic in terms of catagory always seems to fall within jewelry making and crafts! As much as it's wonderful to find talents in all faucets of one's field of speciality, I always hope to find the odd new painter, illustrator or photographer because I think these are the catagories that probably struggle to gain a voice on Etsy the most with it being such a vastly craftbased scene. It's just always so nice to find something that you yourself take pride in as your own primary talent because of the familiarity when it comes to talking about it with eachother. I guess it's the same kind of feeling when talking to anyone that specialises in the same thing you do yourself, and not wholly restricted to the new talents! Yet as you know it's the new talents I like to give a heads up, mainly because we all have to fight that battle starting out on Etsy, and most of the time we don't even realise that promotion is the key to getting noticed!
So today I want to focus on the photographic talents of seller EllyOlsen a nature photographer and what I'd have to describe as a fine art photographer, as her work is absolutely stunning! Visiting her store is like entering a virtual botanical gardensm, everything looking so crisp, bright, fragrant and colorful. Even some of her more abstract pieces take you into another world full of texture, surrealism and absolute beauty. Definitely check out her store... and read on for her interview :)


(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)







-- Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) Elly Olson, 26, New Berlin, WI. Random fact: I'm super short standing at only 5 ft tall. This past summer I started embracing my height and wore flats for the first time :) Now I am constantly wearing sneakers and all kinds of shoes and sandals with no extra height!


-- What is your business about then? My business is about photography prints and I'm going to be adding handmade magnets, keychains and necklaces as well.


-- How did Etsy come into your life? A coworker and his wife have an Etsy shop and their stuff is amazing. I don't care about making a profit on Etsy, I just figure that maybe someone else will like my photos as much as I do and will want to put it up in their home :)


-- Are you working a day job too? Yes, I work full time at the corporate office for a large department store chain. I work in their marketing department.


-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? I'd say I have always been an "artist". As a young girl we didn't have much money, but my dad said if ever I wanted something that was art-related, he'd purchase it for me. My dad is very artistic and I think that's where I get it from. I've always been into photography from the time I had my first camera. I think when I started taking more trips is when I really 'unleashed' because I wanted to make sure I was capturing our travels as much as possible so when I returned home I would always have those photos to remember our time away.

-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? Just seeing beautiful things in nature. I really take in my surroundings and embrace all that there is to see wherever I go. I remember being in Lake Tahoe and along a hiking trail me and my husband climbed these huge boulders to look over the lake and it was just nice to take all the beauty in with him. You realize how much there is in life to explore.


-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Photography, Nature, Colorful

-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? I get up at 6am to start my work day and arrive home around 4:30pm. I check my Etsy throughout my workday and also when I get home. I find things to 'heart' and also play around in the forums. I make dinner for my husband and myself and we catch up on tv shows we like to watch together. I'm usually on my laptop off and on throughout the night messing with my photographs. I really like enhancing them in post-processing software by adding textures and adding filters.

-- What's your favorite material and techniques to work with? Of course my Nikon DSLR camera :) I currently have 2 lenses that I switch out, but am pondering getting myself a true macro lens. I also love developing my pictures using Lightroom and a little bit of Photoshop if need be.

-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? I would love to build up my library of images and in a couple of years do some street fairs. I also have my photographs displayed at an Art Gallery shop and am curious to see how that goes for me. Other than that, I will continue taking pictures because that is what I love to do!

-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I love being outdoors no matter what I'm doing. I enjoy going out on our boat during the summer months and our snowmobiles during winter months :) We also try and plan a couple trips throughout the year and check out some place different each time.

-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? I really only search for supplies. I find most of my favorites though by using the pounce feature.

-- Any last words? I hope everyone fancies my shop and finds something beautiful there that they could see hung in their own homes :)

"Sydney Opera House"

The vector silhouette of the famous Sydney Opera House.
Author unknown.
1 AI : 1,3 MB

Download

"Taj Mahal"

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, that was built under
Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
The Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example of Mughal
architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish, Indian,
and Islamic architectural styles.
Author unknown.
1 AI : 1,7 MB

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The Bridge

Martin Heidegger, German existentialist, writes:

"to be sure people think of the bridge as primarily and really merely a bridge; after that, and occasionally, it might possibly express much else besides; and as such an expression it would then become a symbol of those things mentioned before." (Poetry Language Thought)

So just what is Heidegger getting at when he says, "much else besides"?

Clearly he is not talking about the physical and concrete bridge.

My guess is that he means: bridge as symbol, bridge as metaphor, bridge as analogy.

Literal and figurative meanings of words seem to stand at opposite poles of representation.

Let us begin with a concrete bridge. And instead of a bridge, let's use a building.

What makes a building unique? A house, a museum, a skyscraper, a stadium. These are structures that serve a purpose. Right? The purpose of a house is to give shelter. The purpose of a museum is to display artifacts or artwork. The purpose of a skyscraper, generally speaking, is to give shelter or provide office space. The purpose of a stadium is to stage sporting events.

The hollow-space inside a structure makes it usable. This is the practical dimension of a building. The concrete.

What is architecture?

To me, "architecture" refers to both the building itself and the style of the building. Architecture is also the construction of the building.

Besides serving a purpose, we can position ourselves outside of the building merely to look at it. That is, to see the building objectively. To see the building as art.

I am aiming to discover a linkage between two worlds. The first world is the concrete world. The second world is harder to describe. But let me try.

Bernard Tschumi, a renowned architect, reports to the NY Times Magazine (June 7) in an interview:

"My apartment reflects my views as an architect. It is minimal, austere. The architecture doesn't impose itself upon you. The apartment is a stage for other things to take place."

I am very interested in this aesthetic: "a stage for other things to take place."

Call it the aesthetics of negative presence.

A building is a container, a vessel of sorts.

The container should not intrude upon the space inside. The words on the page should not draw too much attention to themselves. The vessel should be clear, transparent. Through the vessel you should be able to see other things.

Two elements come into play: the material and the non-material (or spiritual).

They are intimately linked, although they do not appear to be. Heidegger writes that buildings "are locations that allow spaces." He goes on to say, "That is why building, by virtue of constructing locations, is a founding and a joining of spaces."

Tschumi prefers an apartment that is "minimal". Too many objects take up floor space in architecture and in life.

The more you do, the less you feel you have accomplished. The more you buy, the less you feel you have. Our lives become increasingly more diminished with each new acquisition and activity. We will always crave freedom so long as we are bound to a collection of things.

Lin Yutang writes, "It is that unoccupied space which makes a room habitable, as it is our leisure hours which make life endurable."

I do my best thinking when I am not intending to think. I do my best thinking when I am walking outside, among the trees and the whistling birds. The only roof over my thoughts is the sky. My intellect can spread into a larger vessel, the vessel of nature.

A writer builds structures, not unlike buildings.

These structures "allow spaces" for conversations. Writing invites participation by an audience just as buildings invite people to come inside.

How do we "stand inside" a poem or a novel?

Sometimes when I'm reading a novel, I feel as though I am immersed in a vivid, dreamlike world. But I'm also aware of my reaction to that world. The imagery may evoke sadness or joy in me, or produce a train of exquisite thoughts.

It seems as though a structure has gone up around me without my realizing it. An invisible structure was errected, a container, a vessel for my thoughts and emotions. And now I am baffled by this fourth dimension.

Where does the material end and the spiritual begin? Or are they so conjoined that it is impossible to seperate them?

When I'm reading I'm only aware of physical sensations and mental ones. But somehow they mix inside my experience. The spiritual and physical intermingle.

But why am I curious about this topic? Why has it nagged at my conscience, propelling me into this essay?

This essay is the conjoining of disparate ideas, the founding and joining of spaces. And these are new spaces for me to stand in and inquire about the material and the non-material. But what does it mean? What am I trying to accomplish? I am not sure yet. Perhaps I will continue to examine these ideas. I am afraid they have not been penetrated yet.

So there are visible and invisible structures. A poem is an invisible structure although it's meter and stanza breaks may be visible. A marriage is an invisible structure; sealed by the trust between two partners. A symphony has an invisible architecture. We listen from the audience and hear so many layers of sound built one upon the other.

I want to erect buildings. Not concrete ones. But I believe in the architecture of ideas. I believe there is a harmony to life and a harmony to our relations with others. There is perhaps no secret to discover but only a monument that we have been creating for the longest time. The monument contains our history, our meanings, our vast disconnected thoughts and it connects them all through this great edifice of time.

Who know? The edifice may not be here tomorrow. But whatever I build, I know, will remain in someone's mind.

I will repeat the sentence I quoted at the beginning of this essay. Maybe it will shed greater meaning on the topic now that I'm through; maybe not:

"to be sure people think of the bridge as primarily and really merely a bridge; after that, and occasionally, it might possibly express much else besides; and as such an expression it would then become a symbol of those things mentioned before." (Poetry Language Thought)