Fine Art Photography by Lillian Merritt
What a journey.
These 52 weeks have been some of the busiest, most stressful yet fulfilling weeks of my life. When I started the project at the beginning of 2018 I wasn’t fully aware how big of a commitment I had just made. I essentially dedicated every waking moment of every day to this project. It, very quickly, became a huge part of my life.
Time is a delicate thing.
Every moment that passes us by is gone forever. We cannot stop the flow of time. There is nothing we can do to change what has happened and there is no way to tell what will happen. Often it seems like we are at the mercy of a ticking clock, unable to slow its pace or control what is happening.
A year ago when I turned sixteen I decided to set 17 goals for myself to accomplish before I turned seventeen (you can read more about what motivated me to do this challenge through this link). They were difficult to accomplish and I must admit that I had to replace a few of the goals with something else when I realized how impossible they had become. But nonetheless I accomplished 17 things within a year and now on my birthday I want to share with you exactly what they were and how I managed to accomplished them.
Nothing says creative storytelling better than Regan Nishikawa’s work. The amount of detail he puts into the characters and the storyline within each image stands out as they are displayed in a beautiful array of colors. Every location he chooses for the images he produces wraps up the whole atmosphere perfectly, creating alternate worlds and realities. I am honored to feature his work and to have the opportunity to delve into his mind. Continue reading below to take a peek into his creative process.
Ideas were found, mistakes were made, and a world was created.
All of these things were accomplished within a week, in that week I discovered a very important element of creating. In fact I discovered that element all over again. During this past week I reverted back to the original way I created and found ideas. I reverted back to a time when I would to create something in the style of another artist.
In life it is very important to have people alongside of you, supporting what you’re doing and offering you friendship. As artists our work can often be solitary, we spend hours upon hours alone while we work and even though we may not be lonely it is important to keep people close. There will always be a need for someone who is willing to offer us a hand in life and in the 21st century these people don’t always need to be within our town. The internet makes people extremely available and connections can be made through any social media form.
When I embarked on this 52 week project I wasn’t exactly certain what would happen. Both in 2016 and in 2017 I decided to create an image every week for a year, but within the first quarter I fell behind and eventually stopped. When I joined a group on Facebook that was doing a 52 week project I didn’t know if I would be able to commit entirely to the challenge. Saying I want to do something is always the easiest part, the area that I struggle with is staying focused. But here I am, surpassing the half way point.
