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My name is Patty Maher, and I am a conceptual photographer from Ontario, Canada. I use photoshop to create surreal conceptual photography. This year, during lockdown due to COVID-19, I spent my spare time creating this series of self-portraits called "The Alchemy of Being." It is a series about the process of creativity that was inspired, in part, by Elizabeth Gilbert's book "Big Magic."

Like so many people around the world, I have found this year to be both stressful and extremely difficult. As a way to combat those feelings, I decided to create a lighthearted series with bright colors and whimsical subjects. I live in the countryside, so I was able to find isolated places to take these photos, and in some cases, I superimposed subjects into the backgrounds using photoshop.

This series celebrates the joy of imagination and the magical things that can happen when we allow ourselves to become immersed in a world of our own creation. Working on each of these photos allowed me some respite from the isolation and stress of the year, and helped me to feel more balanced and positive. I have always found creating art to be a magical endeavor, and this year, it is what has gotten me through the darkest moments.

I hope you enjoy this series and I hope you are keeping safe, well, and happy wherever you are in the world!

More info: Instagram | pattymaher.com | twitter.com

#1

Collaboration

Collaboration

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Bianca Roxas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I get a very Alice in Wonderland feel with this. Though it seems like there are two "Alices" together in wonderland now.

#2

Surrender

Surrender

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#3

Dialogue

Dialogue

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Bianca Roxas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My subjective interpretation is that this is looking back to the branches of the past, and realizing there is no longer any life in it.

#4

Listen

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Bianca Roxas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sometimes it's just helpful to sit in silence doing nothing. The silence makes it so much easier to hear your own inner thoughts and feelings, beyond what others keep telling you by the distractions of society.

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#5

Muse

Muse

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Bianca Roxas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't know honestly why I'm drawn to this strange unpopular photoshoot, but what I get here is that someone who is too shy to stand up for herself is trusting someone else with her ideas to spread to society instead. My experience in activism is that there are often people with ideas but who are too shy, and there are people who are very social but don't have much ideas. Would be nice to see those types of people pair up together -- extrovert and introvert pals, haha.

#6

The Vine

The Vine

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Bianca Roxas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What I personally get here is that the vines are trying to reach heights for her that she can't do alone.

#7

Striped Ideas

Striped Ideas

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Bianca Roxas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This series is so dreamlike, it reminds me of Salvador Dali, a famous surrealist painter. What I personally get here is that someone has a set of two opposing worldviews and decisions, but she decided to take the path of combining these worlds together that have always been enemies.

#8

The Language Of Trees

The Language Of Trees

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Bianca Roxas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My interpretation is that human beings are like budding tree saps in many ways. You can water, fertilize and provide for a plant, but you can't force it to grow. The time calls for more patience. You guide others, but not force them. You guide yourself, but not force yourself.

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#9

Search And Wait

Search And Wait

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Bianca Roxas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even in this repetitive boring environment in quarantine, take notice of the details around you, to imagine that you are seeing the things around you for the first time. Like a child. Then making use of what is around you beyond the conventional use of them.

#10

The Alchemy Of Being

The Alchemy Of Being

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Bianca Roxas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I get something like this advice I remember being given one time. "Rather than imagining doing some grand dream for the world someday, do what small things you can do today in front of you to help. Over time, small actions will lead to bigger and bigger changes over a long period."

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#11

Magical Thinking

Magical Thinking

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Bianca Roxas
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There's a bag of dominos on her head. I imagine that she in her fear of emptiness, looks for something wildly good or wildly bad to happen. The truth is that in this barren wasteland representing quarantine, what happens will often neither be that good or bad. Small bits of progress will happen, but not having radical progress that happens immediately does not mean the other extreme of no hope will result. Real life is more boring than TV. Perhaps the future will be something around the middle.