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Learning How To See

My quest to literally see the world differently.

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Satellites of Soap Satellites of Soap Blackout and Candles: A Dark Night Experiment Blackout and Candles: A Dark Night Experiment An Optical Illusion For Your Inner Nocturnal Animal An Optical Illusion For Your Inner Nocturnal Animal
Satellites of Soap
Cameras Nature

Satellites of Soap

From household materials, a new night sky. The emptiness around us mirrors the emptiness within

By Emily Wick /
Blackout and Candles: A Dark Night Experiment
Optical Illusions and Effects

Blackout and Candles: A Dark Night Experiment

For the month of February I am using only candles for light at night. I

By Emily Wick /
An Optical Illusion For Your Inner Nocturnal Animal
Color Blindness Non-human animals Optical Illusions and Effects

An Optical Illusion For Your Inner Nocturnal Animal

I have an animal within who can see at night. And so do you. Humans

By Emily Wick /
Ancient Life and Modern Love at the Center of a Geode
Geodes

Ancient Life and Modern Love at the Center of a Geode

I have been sanding through an enhydro agate geode for over a year, slowly wearing

By Emily Wick /
Searching for Scorpions at Night
Non-human animals

Searching for Scorpions at Night

To get close enough to a wild scorpion to take its photo is scary: the Arizona

By Emily Wick /
The Shimmering Slime Drawings of Snails and Slugs
Non-human animals

The Shimmering Slime Drawings of Snails and Slugs

It’s hard not to notice crushed snails on sidewalks. But I usually didn’t notice the

By Emily Wick /
The Flower-Popping Power of Purple Lenses
Color Blindness

The Flower-Popping Power of Purple Lenses

To see things differently doesn’t always mean seeing more. Limiting the senses– a candlelight dinner,

By Emily Wick /
Rainbows in the Dark
Cameras Optical Illusions and Effects

Rainbows in the Dark

Nighttime isn’t colorful, and was even less so in the days before artificial lighting. Human

By Emily Wick /
Stare at the Flame // Light the Candle With Your Mind
Optical Illusions and Effects

Stare at the Flame // Light the Candle With Your Mind

As part of my continuing experiments in visual perception, I set out to create a

By Emily Wick /
Timelapsing the Timekeepers of the Sky
Cameras

Timelapsing the Timekeepers of the Sky

No matter what happens during the night, the sun always returns. Pretty much every human

By Emily Wick /

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Learning How To See was created by artist Emily Wick in 2016 as a quest to literally see the world in new ways. Its projects have been featured on KQED Arts and Medium.

Emily Wick on Instagram

em.ily_wick

More inauguration week silent fireworks, including More inauguration week silent fireworks, including a circuit board piece of toast, a golden peach, and (last slide) our moon. 

The end of a guy like that in power after such a long time foreshadowed what the end of this pandemic might feel like... something that seems like it will never end but one day it does. I especially missed seeing friends this week. 

All pics from Thursday night: the palindrome 1-21-21
A new era dawns 🍾 A new era dawns 🍾
Thursday night: shiny, steamy, bursting, radioacti Thursday night: shiny, steamy, bursting, radioactive
Weekly pandemic portrait #39 @briancharlesbrooks Weekly pandemic portrait #39 @briancharlesbrooks
3 Gumdrops🍡🍭🍬 #fridaynight 3 Gumdrops🍡🍭🍬 #fridaynight
Just another thursday night Just another thursday night
Instagram post 17880837845025427 Instagram post 17880837845025427
Monday night pink and yellow 7:03 PM Monday night pink and yellow 7:03 PM
Siding and shine ✨#shinepig #shinehunters Siding and shine ✨#shinepig #shinehunters
It was so foggy tonight that my breath created clo It was so foggy tonight that my breath created clouds inside the bubbles. #2021
A vision of an unusual new year is already upon me A vision of an unusual new year is already upon me. I made this collage yesterday as part of the 7th week of the “Artist’s way”, a 12-week course I completed in the late 1990s and  am doing again with small a group of old and new friends (including my sis!!). 

It helped me a lot 20 years ago, and revisiting the exercises has been a welcome touchstone to get through this pandemic winter. 

Having zero magazines lying around the house (and the Depot closed), I searched a half dozen of our neighborhood’s tiny free libraries to find the assignment’s required 10 magazines, including an old Martha Stewart holiday special ($20 in 1995!), a Saveur Food and Wine from 1999, and recent issues of House Beautiful and Birds and Blooms and Vanity Fair.

I enjoyed how the limitations - especially the completely arbitrary selection of magazines - made the process more focused, and how many connections emerged that appeared planned in hindsight but were not. It seemed to fit together like a puzzle with only one solution. 

Since it happened to be New Year’s, it felt a little bit like a vision poster laying out 2021 as a year of colorful moths,  black flowers, fire and ice, glorified grapes, and peanut butter. 

Wishing an especially happy new year to @erinmariesickler who organized and leads this group. Faraway friends do seem a little bit closer this year. 

 @marthastewart @marthastewart48 @housebeautiful @saveurmag @vanityfair 
#collage #90saesthetic
7:42 PM Sunday 7:42 PM Sunday
Our conceptual fireplace, 2020 and 2010. Merry Xma Our conceptual fireplace, 2020 and 2010. Merry Xmas to all 🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔 @briancharlesbrooks
Christmas Eve Golden egg 8:23 PM Christmas Eve Golden egg 
8:23 PM
An unusual cat showed up to our weekly portrait se An unusual cat showed up to our weekly portrait session today
Instagram post 17865157226203057 Instagram post 17865157226203057
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Top Posts

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    Stare at the Flame // Light the Candle With Your Mind
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    Painting the Palette of a Color Blind Artist 
  • Reversing the American Flag Optical Illusion
    Reversing the American Flag Optical Illusion
  • The Flower-Popping Power of Purple Lenses
    The Flower-Popping Power of Purple Lenses
  • Satellites of Soap
    Satellites of Soap

Learning How To See…

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Learning How To See

My quest to literally see the world differently.

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