August:Two

"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted"

                                                                                                            ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

August Break:One

"We do survive. And Then We Thrive." 

                                                        ~ Susannah Conway

Today is the first day of August Break!  This will be the third year I have participated. I always find it as an inspiration to consistently blog, while others are inspired to take a sort of break, posting photos and keeping it simple; there are no rules.

I thought the best way to begin the month would be with a photo of two books I just finished reading, by the creator of the August Break, Susannah Conway.  My ordering and reading the book "this i know" was initially unrelated to preparing for the August Break.  This is a book about grief and finding your way out, with time.  While I have not experienced the level of grief expressed in this book, and my heart goes out to Susannah, I had suffered a loss several months ago...a loss of myself, I guess you could say.

I'm not usually one for "self-help" books, but upon opening this book, I realized it was much more than that.  In this book I found that it was common and perfectly okay to feel broken, but also okay to feel whole again.  

What comes to my mind, and has been said so many times...time heals.  It is so difficult to believe at your lowest point, but it is true.  

I have been drowning myself in painting, writing, nature, trips, friends, and looking inward as much as outward...honing in on the big picture, as well as the details.

Here's to August!  It's warmth, it's beauty, as well as it's ability to rejuvenate and help us transition into the next season.

Fleeting Moments

“The future you have, tomorrow, won't be the same future you had, yesterday.” 

― Chuck Palahniuk

I have recently been contemplating the fact that "this moment will never happen again" - every instant, every word, every action will never be repeated again. You can repeat the same things over and over, though they will never be in that same moment in time. 

I can look toward the future, I can imagine it, but I can not see it.  All of the moments of the past are not as I often believe they are, they are hazy and dreamy at their edge, and only semi-clear at their core. 

Nourishment

"The human soul needs beauty more than bread"

                                                                         ~ D.H. Lawrence

Guess who has been painting? ME!!  Finally.  I am working on a "project" with my friend, Nancy. Each of us is working on three aspects of a word.  It is very much in progress at this point, but I am extremely happy to be painting again, and satisfied where this is going.  

Double Vision

I have not spent much time with my DSLR this summer, just needed a break.  Most of my summer moments have been captured with my phone, which seems some how fleetingly appropriate for this time of year. 

There has been some fuss about the use of phone photography recently, and applications like Instagram.  But, when you think about it, most of these apps. recreate the look of the toy cameras of the past, and really, isn't the phone camera just a modern version of a toy camera?  So where is the issue?

That being said, I have taken the Holga and the Polaroid out for a spin a couple of times this summer.  My newest photography obsession has become the double exposure, and yes, there are iPhone apps. especially for that (as seen above)!

"it looks like we have the whole world in front of us"

It's been a long hot summer, and another long absence. I had planned to explain all of the things that have been floating around in my head and my heart, however, I'm not sure I'm prepared to slip past the buoy, just yet.