Today, the day before the new decade begins, I wanted to share with you another photo from the Art of Precious Scars series, created in collaboration with make up artist Olena Al. It was inspired by Kintsugi, a Japanese pottery practice where you repair broken artifacts with gold to ‘glue’ the broken parts. The idea is that the object becomes more beautiful exactly because it was broken and put back together. '
In this photo, featuring model @wolf.rylee, we thought about the concept of mending a broken heart. I was looking at the photo earlier today, in the context of new beginnings, and thought that we usually focus on the ‘broken’ part of our lives, and not on finding the gold to put it back together.
This holidays I wanted to send a small gift to my listeners and readers as a thank you for your support and sharing this creative journey with me. So I decided to send everyone who sign up a personalized signed postcard with one of my favorite fine art photos. Go to pedrobonatto.com/gift to get your postcard :)
Today I released my first composition. Saharetni (She Put a Spell on Me) is out on all music platforms.
As a photographer and musician, I am in love with mixing ethnic elements from different cultures and exploring ancient places. These are themes that come back again and again in my work, and today I’m happy to share a little experiment with the talented model and dancer Tetiana Tesliuk in Egypt. This is the first in a series of photos showcasing Ukrainian artists in traditional outfits at landmarks around the world, during my travels this year.
My 8-month stay in Egypt comes to an end in 10 days. I suddenly realized I’ve been on the road - technically with no home - for almost four years. The goal was not to become a perpetual traveler, but to take the time to experience cultures that call to me, to go on a creative pilgrimage and stay at different places around the world long enough to make them feel like home.
My favorite author, Carl Sagan, once wrote an essay called ‘Dreams are maps’, where he talked about how visions can become reality, create purpose, and inspire next generations.
Yesterday I got a new metal drum. It has been on my to-have-done list since I came to Cairo. I resisted it. I am not a collector.
I thought I was close. There was a fog up there, but at times I could see the peak reveal itself, for a brief moment, as a vision inviting me to keep going up. Keep climbing.
In this episode we talked about balancing being a mother with pursuing a career in the arts, about getting inspiration from travel, about the role of graduate school for an artist, and setting up conditions where you just have to do the work.
Thoughts on my experience of doing a diary entry every day for a year.
In this episode I share some thoughts on how art can be seen as a call to adventure, as understood by Joseph Campbell in the Hero's Journey.