2011 Fades to Black

It's early on the final day of 2011. We're early birds in this house-my mother-in-law is often baffled when she calls us at 8 a.m. and no one's home. We probably do more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day!

Today we're heading off for a hike in the wilds. Where we're going is on a lake, so at some point, Indy will be able to take a dip. He swims all year round-it's what Labs do. (And it makes him crazy-happy.) We're packing a lunch so at some point we'll have a winter picnic and of course, I'll have my camera in hand-I can't pass up the opportunity to capture the fleeting moments of this year now, can I?

Tonight will be spent quietly at home. We're going to order Chinese take out from our favourite place (Hon's) and watch the year-end comedy specials. The ones I watch are political in nature. It's a long held tradition that I end the year laughing as they skewer politicians.

Tonight's special not only because it hails the arrival of a new year, but also because it marks the 22nd anniversary of our first date. Twenty two years ago tonight, my husband showed up at my door with two tickets to a Philly vs. Canuck's game. (He's a huge Philly fan.) It was the beginning of our happily ever after.

I want to wish you all a Happy New Year!! Bonne Année!!

May 2012 be all kinds of wonderful!

P.S. Tomorrow I'll be posting my year-end photo project, so do stop by and check it out!

Words for 2012

Every year about this time, I focus on a word or phrase that is meaningful to me and use it to aim my attention (and intention!) in that direction for the new year. Sometimes I have to think on it for awhile before it comes to me and sometimes it just pops into my head.

My word for 2011 was SYNERGY.

Synergy: the working together of two things to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects.

My intention for 2011 was to be open to opportunities where I could combine my energy with others to produce a greater effect, whether through art or altruism to make use of the gifts I possess. 2011 became that in spades. Just days after I chose this word, I won a spot in Vivienne's Wading In self-portrait class, which touched off an entire year of creative synergy with others. I loved the whole experience so much that I signed up for 3 more classes following Wading In. My classmates contributed enormously to my growth as a photographer. Their work encouraged me to be brave, to take risks and to experiment with this new (to me) media. I continually surprised myself.

Altruistically speaking, I had the opportunity to serve this year as well.  I've been volunteering since I was 5 years old. I volunteer because I believe in giving back-it's my way of tithing to the universe. Every single experience I've ever had serving others leads me to believe that what you get to keep in return for yourself is enormous. I always feel I am my best self when I'm helping others.

Over the last few days, I've been pondering what my word should be for 2012. This morning, it came to me:

TRUE NORTH!!

Okay, so it's two words, but let me explain. My whole life, I've listened to this line in our national anthem "...our True North strong and free..." which to me is the most beautiful part of the lyrics. I've always thought these words weren't just referring to our geography, but perhaps they also meant that when you commit to following the true north of your heart, that allows you to experience a strength and freedom you would otherwise never know. Maybe that's not how the words were meant to be interpreted, but that's what they mean to me. My eyes well up every time I hear them. They move me deeply.

Anyway, in thinking about this, I realized that it's not enough to simply say my word is "north". It's too vague. I think that if you're going to follow the compass of your heart, you need to set off in the direction of true north and hold fast to that. It means that in 2012, I will be carefully examining my beliefs and values and making sure, over and over again that what I do with my life in the next 365 days is in alignment with my true north. It's about living authentically, in the best way I know how. I am excited to see how this manifests in 2012. My heart is wide open to the adventure.

My friend Liz has posted at Roots of She about her word for 2012. She is also, brilliantly offering One (Powerful) Word custom bracelets in her Etsy shop so you can have a bracelet hand stamped with your word for 2012. I think this is a fabulous way to be mindful of your intention in the days to come.

If you also observe this New Year's ritual, please leave a comment and share your word or a link to your post about it. I'd love to hear what you hope to manifest in your life for 2012.

Despite the Grey

Whew! Glad to have Xmas done and over with! There's only 4 days left of 2011, so I am working hard to tie up some loose ends in the studio and prepare for the New Year.

 I've been playing a bit of catch up with Getting Through the Grey this week. My energy level has been pretty low and that, coupled with inclimate weather meant that getting out with my camera just wasn't possible. It's been raining and windy (and storming) since last Friday. I decided that today, regardless of what the weather was doing, we were going to bundle up, go out and do something!

I discovered that shiny sidewalks make for interesting photos, though you should have seen me trying to juggle my camera, lense cap and an umbrella all at the same time. My camera strap is my friend! I always make sure I've got it around my neck when I'm shooting. I do not want a broken camera. I managed to keep it safe and dry, thank goodness!

While we were hiking in the woods, along the river, I came across this post. I love numbers, so I had to stop and take a shot. After I got home and uploaded it to my computer, I realized that the numbers were 31 and 27, both of which have significance for me. I love messages from the universe!

I'm working on a year-end photo project, which I will share here on New Year's Day. I am also pondering my word for 2012. I'll be posting about 2011's word, SYNERGY before the end of the week. Like I said, I'm busy plugging away in the studio.

Back soon!

The Santa Secret

Years ago, my Grandparents came out west and moved to a small town in the mountains, on a lake. When I say small town, picture 10 streets, a general store that was also the liquor commission and post office all in one, a 9 hole golf course and a doctor's office.

This small town grew up around a mine and was full of characters. The town's doctor, Dr. S, was an odd duck. She cared for her patients, but beyond the office, in my experience, she was not friendly. When I'd visit my family, I'd often run into her in the General Store and me being an outgoing and polite person, would greet her with "Hello Dr. S, how are you?" Not once would she say hello back. It seemed rather rude.

This small town had lots of local activities and traditions, some of which I participated in when I was in town visiting my family. One year, the town organized caroling and my husband, son and I joined in. As the evening wore on, we found ourselves at Dr. S's house. Someone knew her favourite carol, so we started singing it. The lights were on in her home and we could see her clearly through the window. Unlike everyone else on our route, she did not come to the door to greet us. She didn't acknowledge us at all! Instead she disappeared into a back room and eventually, we gave up and moved on. From that point on, I really didn't like her.

One year, about 2 weeks before Xmas, my Gram got a call from a neighbour asking if her great grandson (my son) would be in town for the holidays and if so, how old he was. She told them yes, we were coming and her great grandson was 4. When we arrived, Gram took me aside and explained that the town was having a Santa and he would be bringing gifts to all the kids in town on Xmas Eve.

The next night, which was Xmas Eve, the phone rang and we were told to keep an eye out for the Santa-he was on his way. We quickly bundled my son up in his snowsuit and sent him outside to build a snowman, keeping an eye on him through the window. A few minutes passed and then an amazing thing happened: A horse drawn sleigh, pulled by two beautiful Clydesdales, their harnesses covered in bells, came up over the hill, rounded the corner and stopped in front of the house. Santa hopped out and grabbed his pack. He greeted my son, asked him if he'd been a good boy. (He said he had.) Santa dug into his pack and handed him several gifts. Then he hopped back into his sleigh and was off.

My son came flying into the house, eyes wide as saucers, hollering "Mummy, Santa come!" He told us the whole story of Santa coming in his sleigh (he didn't know we were watching from the window) and showed us the gifts with his name on them. We told him he could open them. Inside was a ship in a bottle, some candy and chocolate and an animal calendar. He was thrilled. For all of us, that moment was golden, filled with the magic and wonder of Xmas, as seen through the eyes of a child. It's a memory we will always treasure. The Santa continued to come, year after year, always bringing joy and gifts to the children.

Several years later, in February 2006, tragedy struck. An elderly gentleman was driving Dr. S home, along the twisty, snow covered mountain roads when his truck slid off the road and plunged down an embankment towards the lake. As the truck plunged downward, it struck a tree, which snapped on impact, falling on top of the roof of the truck, killing Dr. S instantly. The driver was badly injured, but he survived.

After that, the Santa stopped coming.

What no one knew until well after she was gone was that Dr. S was the one behind the Santa. Her husband had died several years before of cancer and she had no family in Canada of her own, so somehow she came up with the idea to buy gifts for all the children in town. She hired the man who owned the horses (they were logging horses) to be the Santa and deliver her gifts anonymously.

I think of her every Xmas Eve and wonder why she chose to isolate herself from people the way she did. Maybe she was just painfully shy outside of her office. Maybe she was just peopled out and needed to keep her downtime to herself. Or maybe she was just grieving the loss of her husband and didn't want to get close to anyone. I'll never know.

What I do know is that Dr. S tirelessly served her community for over 20 years and deep down, she had a kind heart. It's that heart that led her to create magic for my son and all the children in her little town and because of her, our family will always have beautiful memories of our Xmases there.

Someday my son will tell his children about the Santa who visited him by horse drawn sleigh, in a tiny snow covered town in the mountains, on a lake and in this way, her memory will live on.

A Gift

Yesterday afternoon, a parcel arrived from my friend Pip. Inside was a wee box and when I opened it, nestled inside was this beautiful bird ornie. I think it's made from paperclay and she painted it with the palest of egg shell blues. There's a primitive charm as well. At first I thought the symbol on it was an acorn, but after taking a second look, I believe it's a sacred heart, which is so signature Pip. I absolutely adore folk art and this is so special.

I wanted to take a photograph to share it here, so I did...and then it morphed into this image. I just couldn't help myself. *laughs* I love that this became a collaboration between someone I love and respect so much and I.

As an artist, there's nothing I love or appreciate more than a handmade gift. I've hung the bird above my desk in the studio so I will see it every day.

It instantly became one of my most favourite things.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

I have the best friends in the world!

We See Things

We See Things

Have I mentioned lately that I am thoroughly enjoying Getting Through the Grey? Yes indeed! In fact it's kind of reignited an idea I once had, so that's percolating in my mind at the moment.

As always, I am continuously inspired by my incredibly talented classmates. Here's just a small sampling. Take a look for yourself:
(I highly recommend that you click on the credits to see the full size images.)

1. Untitled, 2. Moon Square, 3. Buddha, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. stardust, 7. Viewing the Christmas lights, 8. oaks rink, 9. sunlight through a moth's wings, 10. love on a shelf, 11. Untitled, 12. holding, 13. Morning Light, 14. When the sun comes out, one must lay in it., 15. Sea glass, 16. , 17. mary neutrals, 18. My shoes in the snow, 19. Autumn Leaves, 20. Autumn leave

Fabulous, non? It's exciting to go to the class Flickr group every day and see what's been posted. We're all busy preparing for the holidays, but still making a point of finding time to show up for ourselves and one another.

That in itself is a gift and one for which I am most grateful.

Sneak Peek!

Exciting news! Seth's fabulous new book which is due out in in the spring, is now searchable on Amazon! This means you can get a sneak peek of some of the content. Seth sent me an email the other day giving me the head's up and I went and had a peek. It looks fabulous!

I also got to finally see who else is in the book, which up until now, was a mystery. Funnily enough, several friends and acquaintances contributed as well-I guess we're all really good at keeping secrets because I really did not know they were involved.

I can't wait to hold this book in my hands and flip through the pages, one by one. I know it's going to be a wonderful read.

Is it March yet?!?!

Astonishing Light

This week, Vivienne asked us to think of light in a number of ways and the one that resonated the most with me was to think about the light we bring to the world. To that end, I created this postcard to myself which includes a beautiful quote from Hafiz.

Creatively, I am in such a good place right now.

On the Wing

On the Wing

This morning, I have a couple more images taken at the salmon graveyard on the weekend to share. (You can click on them to view at full size.)

This image of geese taking flight over the river is so emotive to me. I wonder if your experience of it is the same as mine?

Branches Bare

I was taken by these frosted branches along the shore line. They reminded me of a quote from Hemingway:

"You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you dies each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintry light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen."

Isn't that beautiful? 

Autumn is drawing to a close-I can feel the change in season starting to happen. Winter is close at hand.

Turn, turn, turn...

Getting Through the Grey: Week 1

Today is a hodge podge of still life images I've shot for the first week of Getting Through the Grey.  These berries are from my trip to the salmon graveyard. I thought they were interesting because they hung in clusters on branches that were otherwise utterly bare. I have no idea what they're called, but they're pretty. The words are a Dickens quote.

Another shot from my trip to the wilds. If you keep your eyes open, nature offers up beautiful still life tableaux for you to photograph.

This is an antique crockery bowl that belonged to my Grandmother, which houses my onions. There is a larger one that I keep potatoes in. These bowls remind me of home.

And lastly, a small snapshot of part of my day on Friday. I was nibbling the last of some Hershey's Hugs (white chocolate with milk chocolate stripes) and playing Words with Friends on my iPod. This is my version of a coffee break.

It's Monday today, so that means this week's lesson for Getting Through the Grey will be arriving in my inbox any minute now. I'm ready for some fresh inspiration! Bring it on!

The Natural Order of Things

The Natural Order of Things

Yesterday my husband and I drove out to the wilds to view the eagles who are gathering in the thousands to feast on the late spawn of salmon.

We walked the beach, the only two people (and a dog) there. It was absolutely quiet. We wandered for well over an hour, through a salmon graveyard. The fish, at the very end of their life cycle had washed up on the shore, many of them freezing in the sand. Some were whole, some nothing but hollow tangled skins and many, nothing but bones picked clean. I was utterly fascinated.

The eagles, giant, majestic birds were perched high in the snags. Some bald, some golden, all of them beautiful and breathtaking, in numbers too many to count.

That time, wandering slowly, taking notice of the light, the cold and revelling in the solitude of our surroundings felt sacred in a way that left me feeling deeply connected. I believe I see things differently now and experience them more fully through the lense. Nature has the power to move me again and again and I will remember this day for a long, long time.

Unlimited Potential

Unlimited Potential 

Yesterday was the official first day of Light Hunters: Getting Through the Grey. This week we're working on still life shots, which is something I haven't really explored. It's interesting that I shy away from certain things and then Vivienne says "here's what were doing this week" and I dive right in.

I don't know why I feel resistant to certain techniques. For example, when I started Swan Dive in the summer, I was resistant to working with my photos using textures and all that good stuff. I thought I was a purist, but 2 classes in and I was sold on the merits of being able to transform my photos using the same artistic instincts I use for collage, only in digital form. It's opened up a whole new world for me.

As you can see, I am happily using all the skills I've gained in the 3 classes I've taken so far this year. It's exciting to feel the progression while trying something new. I live for learning. The excitement for me is in challenging myself and taking risks.

Odd Doll

I bought this odd little doll in an antique store in my travels because I like Kewpie dolls. It's always baffled me as to why someone made it naked, clutching a lolly and looking kinda scared. It's just plain weird, but it does make an interesting subject to play with. I sat it on an antique trunk in my livingroom, in a beam of afternoon sunlight that was peeking through the blinds, to get the shot.

I'm really diggin' still life shots-it's a whole other way to create art!

Gifting: Washi Box

I've been making stuff! I have a friend who wanted to exchange gifts, even though I'm taking a break from hosting the 12 Days of Xmas exchange this year. For the longest time, I had no idea what to make her and then I got inspired last night.

I have this box that has a sliding drawer. I picked it up at a local scrapbooking store because I love boxes. It measures 6 1/4 long  x 4 1/2 wide x 2 inches deep, so it's a nice size. Yesterday I bought some really cool Cavallini paper tapes and those, combined with the stash of tapes I had at home meant I had a good selection of coordinating colours to cover the box.

I *love* how it turned out. It was a bit fiddly getting everything to line up perfectly, but I enjoyed doing it. Now I'm thinking I should go buy another box and make one for myself!

This is the tin of tapes from Cavallini that I bought. I blame Teesha for making me want them. She posted about the numbers ones she bought awhile back and I've wanted some ever since. If you haven't gotten into Washi Tape, DON'T-it's like crack. Once you buy a roll, you really can't stop yourself from wanting (and buying) more. It started with one. I now have 50 rolls and that's not counting all the printed packing tape I've collected.

Anyway, getting back to the gift, I decided that it would be fun to fill the box will all kinds of art goodies. I made a bunch of altered matchboxes this year for a couple of exchanges and I loved opening the ones I received and seeing what treasures were inside. I think it will look pretty sitting on her desk and when she's used up everything inside it, she can always use it to store other things. I hope she'll like it!

Thoughts At Dawn

I love the turning of the seasons. I love watching how the quality of the light changes. The other morning, dawn was breaking over the tops of the clouds and the Mountain Ash next door was beautifully silhouetted against the sky. It's times like these when I reach for my camera. The light changes so quickly, from second to second and if you don't capture it when it moves you, the moment is lost forever.

Autumn is fading.

Winter is on the horizon.

Turn, turn, turn...

Wee Kiwi Houses

Look what arrived in the magic mailbox-wee houses all the way from New Zealand, from my pal Lisa Ryder! They are really cool and now I can't wait to do something with them. We both made 20 to exchange, so that's alot of homes!

I have to make a trip to a certain store to  get supplies to carry out the next step in our plan, but as soon as I have, I'll post here and show you what we're doing with them.

Getting art in my mailbox beats the heck out of getting bills!

Canine Light Hunter

Snoozin' 

Yesterday we had clear blue skies and glorious sunlight. It was hard to believe we were verging on December, when it felt more like early October.

At one point, I walked into the livingroom and found Indy napping in a puddle of light on the floor. Indy's a light hunter in his own right. He permitted me a few photos before he'd had enough of the soul stealing camera. I've learned I have to shoot quickly with him.

Peering Deeply

Indy has the most beautiful coat. He's incredibly shiny. (Which you can see by the way it reflects the light in this photo.) People always comment on it when we're out with him. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: He's gorgeous. It's a wonder he doesn't have a fat head for all the times he hears it. *grins*

Anyway, these were my shots for Getting Through The Grey yesterday.