I really love what Tracy Clark wrote today for Best Shot Monday:
"Capturing these elements of my daily life helps me not only better appreciate my life, it helps me to see what is beautiful in the mundane. It tends to bring out the best in things. Click after click I am being mindful and living in the moment of my life right now. Even after all these years, it still never ceases to amaze me how something as seemingly simple as "taking pictures" can be so transformative."
I am marveling at the camera's power to capture the little details that might otherwise go unnoticed or forgotten. I marvel at how my camera is empowering me to reach out and embrace my life, to live with my eyes and heart wide open and to be on the look out for the next miracle, the coming gifts and emerging magic. I know of the camera's power to clearly acknowledge what I see matters and what is seen is worth looking at. Deeply looking, deeply seen. In an effort to sharpen my skills, I have make it a priority to take a day every week or so just to take pictures. Photo excursions I am calling them. I'm not always able to take many pictures; Cowgirl keeps my eyes and hands busy.
I am finding photography is one way to engage with Cowgirl in a way that nourishes both of us. She is an energetic child. She is a forceful presence and parenting her can be challenging on the best of days. Somehow the camera reins us both in. It gives me an outlet while she is burning up energy but it also magically keeps her orbiting near me. It is something we create together and I am realizing it feeds her need to feel empowered and contributing in some way. Her sense of being a grown up is then you can do whatever you want and can boss others around. Yeah, we have to work on this skewed perspective.
Over the weekend I finished this project for week 5 of the Artistic Mother Group (project from the book The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole):
I loved this piece ... it hangs in my yoga room and is a daily reminder to slow down, enjoy and be sure to celebrate through art making. Art-filled living and a life celebrated artfully.
I love finding ways to use my photographs in my art and the projects in this book have widely expanded my range of skills and ideas. It's not too late to join in on the fun!
What details make you smile?
Your posts always touch me and make me think! You have a power in your words and in your photos! Loved the variety of photos today. Thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteI am finding that photography is one of my major creative outlets. there are so many memes with photography and I take part in just a few.
I like your idea of a photo excursion. I do that once in a while - I need to do more of them.
Have a great week!
PS Loved your butterfly art piece! Those are the quotes I need daily! I have been slow to get going with the book's projects. OI must get going!
ReplyDeleteAs I read your blog, I found such simlarities in what I posted on Saturday...good to find kindred-photography-spirits. Found you thru Shona Cole's blog list...am also doing the Artistic Mother...finished week 2. ~ jodi
ReplyDeleteThe butterfly art piece is wonderful. You have a great talent in photography. Keep up the good work!
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I love your artwork, Lis. It's perfect! And yes, a beautiful combination of photography and crafting. I also found a lot of similarities in your thoughts about photography and how it helps you to be more in the moment and to focus on and cherish the good things (and the quote from Tracy too) and a couple of my own posts from last week - about dandelions, as it happens! Seems we have all been thinking the same thing!
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I love your photos of Cowgirl, she's absolutely a doll. Isn't Motherhood the absolute best?!! That's what my Details post is about too so I could really relate to yours. I especially love what you wrote here. "my camera is empowering me to reach out and embrace my life, to live with my eyes and heart wide open and to be on the look out for the next miracle, the coming gifts and emerging magic." That is exactly how I feel as well.
ReplyDeleteYour Artistic Mother piece is beautiful. I so want to dig into that book after the Flying Lessons class ends. Hopefully I'll be able to find a group working on it around that time.
Dear Lis-I love how you are THRIVING, growing and BLOOMING in all directions-with your writing, photography and painting (not to mention this beautiful art project of the butterfly). It is so empowering to see you claiming and defining YOU:) I love the pics you posted yesterday. I wrote a really long post about them but my computer was temperamental and not having any of it! I especially love the one of your daughter's hair...and shoes...and the reflection in the glass. You just captured the whole ESSENCE of the weekend...
ReplyDeleteI would love to know more about self portrait photography (as means of self exploration and growth). I wasn't planning on it but am open...can you give me few ideas? Yes...photography is really amazing...It's difficult being a mommy and juggling everything else but I love how you include your daughter in all your creative-NESS and BEING.
That is great that you love capturing the simple things of life, and that you are putting your photographs to good use by creating something meaningful to you.
ReplyDeleteI too enjoy photography and taking snapshots. I am very drawn to nature, and love being at one with all elements and it is my most empowering moment when I am still with all of life, and I see this opportunity as a way to capture something on film and use that to mark the existence of life and what it is saying to me at that moment. I am also using my photographs more and more in other crafts as they are worthy of their presence, and its like the craft comes to life when something is included in it to bring out the beauty of it's existence.
Cowgirl sounds like a truly inspirational person and I'm glad you can capture her essence in your photographs. :)
Your dangling beauty is amazing, and I have created something similiar incorporating one of my flower pictures and my own quotes at the back. (This is actually one of the goodies that I will give away when I have my 200th Post celebration)
Have a blessed week.
Lis - how can I keep saying over and over how much I adore you and your creativity?! I kept this post up (and the last one) trying to think of something to say, some way to respond that would capture it. And yet, here I type with no words coming to mind.
ReplyDeleteYour photos inspire me - deeply - to work on my own. Your creative life and parenting with Cowgirl are stunning, and remind me how important my li'l ones are.
So...no other words than, "Thank You".