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Relax and unwind with this month’s Space – inspired Spotify playlist. Whether your head’s in the clouds, you’re snapping photographs of your favorite planets, or just want great music to listen to while you gaze at falling stars, we hope there’s something in our July playlist for you.

Have a song stuck on replay? Share it with us now!

Getting started on a new website platform can be a daunting task. From adding content to learning new design tools, we can see how it can become overwhelming. This is why our liveBooks8 platform was created with you in mind and offers easy-to-use tools that will make help you start creating different pages, content blocks, and calls to action.

In addition, our 24/7 Knowledge Base offers you articles, tutorials, and videos to help you along the way. Take a look at our video below to begin exploring all of the features your liveBooks8 website has to offer.

Still have questions? Contact our support team at help@livebooks.com!

Claire Rosen was name to the Forbes “30 Brightest under 30” list for Art & Design in 2012 & 2013. Her work has also received recognition from Aesthetica Art Prize, Communication Arts Photography Annual, IPA, Graphis Photo Annual, PDN Photo Annual, People’s Choice Photoville Fence, Prix de la Photographie. Her work has been featured in Complex Art + Design, Creative Quarterly Journal, Der Greif, Direct Art, Fast Company, Feature Shoot, The Guardian, Hi Fructose Magazine, Juxtapoz, NPR Weekend Edition, PDN’s Emerging Photographer, Refinery29, Slate Magazine, and The WPO.

Claire has been exhibited from New York to Seoul including juried group shows at the Annenberg Space for Photography, Aperture Gallery, Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA), Concensus , MOPLA, PhotoPlace Gallery, with five consecutive years on the Photoville Fence.

The vivid storytelling throughout Claire’s work has enabled her to construct unique creative campaigns and installations for a wide range of commercial brands. From fashion labels to luxury hotels, book publishers to restaurants, Claire’s portfolio of commissioned images bridges the gap between fine art and commercial work. To see more of her work, visit her liveBooks website: www.claire-rosen.com. 

The Red Eared Slider Turtle Feast, The Fantastical Feasts, 2014 © Claire Rosen

Claire Rosen is an award-wining artist whose elaborate tableaux constructions often feature anthropomorphic animals or solitary heroines, evoking the aesthetics of classical painting, frequently referencing the Victorian Era, with its fascination of the natural world and ideals of beauty.

Up & Away, 2011 for Alex Randall Bespoke Lighting © Claire Rosen

Her book, IMAGINARIUM: The Process Behind the Pictures, published by Rocky Nook in March, explores the artistic practice of photography in a biographical guide for others through advice, anecdotes, images, exercises, and interviews teaching artists how to access their inner world.

“The question ‘how do you come with the ideas for your pictures?’ launched a personal investigation into my own process of how images happen. Upon reflection, I realized that my process is as much (or more) about what I do when I am not photographing then when I am on set. The ideas were all driven by self-reflection and active exploration in the world. My growth as a person resulted in more interesting pictures. I thought that if others could curate their lives more consciously and investigate their own process, interests and personal backgrounds that it could unlock this way of creating what is authentic and unique to them”

Jeremy Fisher, The Traveling Mouse in the Countryside, 2015 © Claire Rosen (right) The Frog Prince, Fairy Tales & Other Stories 2014 © Claire Rosen

The book begins with an investigation of the purpose of art and what makes strong imagery, providing a framework with which to explore one’s own development as an artist: personal vision, artistic roots, psyche, areas of interest and goals. A compendium of practical advice and information — taking a holistic look at art making from idea cultivation through execution. The guidance in this book is written with an understanding of the nature of artists at their core and explores the science of how ideas are born, the conditions that facilitate the productive creation of art, and the elements necessary to make creative work. It includes information on dream recording, meditation, health and lifestyle, topics not traditionally found in books on photography.

The compendium is applicable across genres, for individual artists and for those working in a commercial capacity. It brings together strategies and tools to help readers generate compelling ideas and create unique images. From the simplest ideas to the mode fantastical, practical tools are provided for time management, brainstorming, mindmapping, concept development, pre-visualization, mood board, pre-production, problem solving, and execution steps in the creative process, including practical tools and ideas for overcoming obstacles and achieving success along the way. Finally, the book ends with editing, post-production, critique and presentation considerations.

There are essays by Brand Strategist, Beth Taubner Mercurylab, Senior Photo Editor, Alessia Glaviano Vogue Italia, and retouching master, Rebecca Manson The Post Office.

And interviews with very talented artists; Maggie Staber, Roger Ballen, Sara Lando, Gabriela Iancu, Robin Schwartz, and Eleonor Macnair.

Color Study in Green, Nostalgia, 2013 © Claire Rosen (right) The Quest, Fairy Tales & Other Stories, 2010 © Claire Rosen

“My hopes for the book are that it sparks some investigation into one’s inner thoughts and the world beyond. Empowering readers to generate concepts that allow them to express themselves artistically and uninhibitedly creating deeper imagery.

I hope it provides an understand of the psychological aspects of making work and generates conditions that allow readers to be more productive and motivated to play, experiment, and create work regularly and with confidence. Finally, I hope that this artistic transformation is as powerful to their lives overall as it is to the art-making process as creative thinking and imagination combine to form a fundamental skill set that is useful in all aspects of life.”

The Dreamers, 2010 for Alex Randall Bespoke Lighting © Claire Rosen (right) ARTHOPODIA NO. 2253 2016 © Claire Rosen

50.0755° N, 14.4378° E The Traveling Mouse outside of Strahov Monastery in Prague, Czech Republic, 2015 © Claire Rosen

 Where to buy

Rocky Nook

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indie Book Stores

Michael R. Soluri is a New York City based fine art documentary photographer, speaker and author of Infinite Worlds: the People and Places of Space Exploration (Simon & Schuster). His work is widely published, exhibited and in permanent collections. He also has made presentation at a number of national museums and NASA related venues. Michael’s photography has appeared in numerous American, European, and Brazilian print and online publications like WIRED, Smithsonian Magazine, New Scientist, New York Times, Time, Discover, Air & Space, NPR, Family Circle, Mother Earth News, Wired UK, Grazia, Amica, Vogue Brasil and Claudia. To see more of Michael’s work, visit his liveBooks8 website: www.michaelsoluri.com

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

MS: Visual, elegant, graphic.

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

MS: I seek consistency in my visual branding. As a result, there is not any set time. I typically update when I feel a need to revise gallery images, copy text, or make new additions to my Media.

Q: How do you choose the photos you display on your homepage?

MS: Because my website is custom-designed, I use only one photograph. As a result, it is a challenging communication process based on an essential question that I explore from the user point-of-view: What is the visual essence of what I do?

Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

MS: Personal control over the design specifications, aesthetics, and gallery elements of my site.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer someone designing their website?

MS: Patience. It’s a learning curve. Be prepared for a creative journey in designing and implementing every aspect of your site.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com.