I gave up my art studio recently and have been grappling with how to express my creativity outside of the designated space I had gotten so accustomed to. Having planned the studio move-out pre-pandemic, I had been hoping to give painting a break in favor of a return to photography. Photo never leaves me, as I use my own source images in my paintings. I was looking forward to the immediacy of the camera over the brush and ready to dive right back in again. Not able to freely move within the urban environment I like to document, I played with beads; I drew; I toyed with watercolor; I wrote a thing or two. I stirred and wept, feeling like I couldn't find my voice and wondered what place it held in a world turned upside down.
Finally, I decided to stop spinning and started taking photos on my neighborhood walks. (My current locale is a bit more rural). At first, this was just with my phone, until Monday when I dusted off the camera. With my camera in tow, I am quiet, reflective, aware and the most myself.
If you blink too lazily, you can get caught sleeping, so why not move through life with eyes wide open?