I have had this blog for a few years now, updating it (very) occasionally. I started it shortly after the initial Coronavirus lockdowns and have really just been using it to vent and express my opinions about current social, cultural, and political issues in a way that is a little more in depth and thought out than what is accessible with social media. I'm sure you are well aware of this.
However, things have been changing in my life and my creative practice. I have been coming to appreciate writing more - and in different ways - than I have in the past. I have been incorporating it more into my everyday life, both as something I'd like to share and as an intensely personal tool for exploring my own self and the state of my mind and emotions.
One of the biggest developments in my practice is the arrival of poetry. It was completely unexpected and actually took me by surprise, but it has been something I enjoy quite a lot and often find cathartic. Apparently, as it turns out, I was a poet and ..... was unaware.
I also recently bought a new lens for my camera. The original reason I had the camera was to document my visual art and bring it into the digital realm, but this recent lens purchase has made it much more portable and I can now bring it with me wherever I go. Photography was once an important part of my creative life, so this has been a bit of a loving rediscovery bringing it back into my practice in a new and different form. Learning the limits and freedoms of this new tool has been exciting and I am looking forward to the journey I can take with it.
The reason for writing all of that is to say I hope to engage with this blog more frequently and in a different way than before. For starters, it will include some poetry and photography. Then I will see how it evolves from there. I hope you enjoy it!
Here's the beginning of the new chapter.
The turning of the leaf.
My walks take longer now
With the camera
They say you should stop and smell the flowers
And sometimes I do
But really I like to stop and look at them
I love the colors, of course
It always strikes me how vibrant and expansive the explosion of colors is
Especially on a sunny day it can be hard to imagine this same place was covered in grey skies and dead trees for the last 6 months
But I also look at the structures
The incredible diversity of form
From the smallest buds to the largest flowers
Leaves and petals of every shape and size
Sturdy and rigid
Loose and draping
Regular
Irregular
The beckoning neon signs for pollinators
Without the need for electricity
And, when they are done, they become material for future life
With nothing gone to waste
A cycle of beauty and reciprocity that is as wonderful as their appearance
