Lately, I’ve been revisiting some images from my travels last year. The image on the left is a prayer room in a beautiful church in Skopje, North Macedonia (Mother Teresa’s home town). The image on the right is a 700-year-old home in Zhonglu Village, Eastern Tibet. Both images reflect my guiding passions as an artist: sanctuary spaces, moody darkness, hopeful light, quiet, the sacred. I overlooked them in my first edit, but found them again last night and fell in love with them (note to self: don’t delete old files!). Thought I’d share them with you.
The other day, someone asked me what my main inspirations are, and it’s funny - none of them are photo related. My art is mostly inspired by studying and practicing Zen, reading and attempting to write poetry, taking long walks with my sweetie, running on the dune trails by our house, listening to music (and playing it badly), knitting, chatting with beloved friends, caring for my cutie patootie pup, reading good books.
If I dig a little deeper, it’s also inspired by my need to mark little moments of peace, meaning, and transcendence - because that makes life feel more charged, more potent...less superficial. But, when it comes right down to it, all my inspiration, all my good ideas, all my creative nourishment comes directly from my life and my simple daily practices. That’s helpful, because it means there’s inspiration everywhere - even though we’re riding out the pandemic at home instead of traveling frequently like we used to. I miss seeing the world, but the reality is that I’m just as inspired by beautiful light in our garden. It’s nice to be reminded of that.
Where does your inspiration come from? Do you have simple daily rituals and activities that nourish your spirit and make you feel more creative? It’s so helpful to acknowledge these things, so you know where to turn for inspiration when you need it most.
Sending love and light to you from the blustery left coast, friends. Hope your week is filled with simple pleasures, healing, and calm.