creative play

As we cultivate our life, our beauty becomes as much about what we are creating and doing as it is about our appearance.

I like to play with photography. Just for the fun of it. Nikon dslr, film, or new-to-me iPhone; I embrace the challenge of a learning curve. When I'm bored, when I'm anxious, happy, feeling creative, or just need an outlet to express an emotion, I can always count on a camera to aid in the creative process. I am a sometimes writer, a used to be seamstress, and an everyday photographer.

This image was my first shot as I was adjusting my settings in the bathroom mirror, and it's the one I like the most because this is my real face...  when I forget to smile. "Why do you always look like that?" he'd ask me. "That's just how my face looks when I'm thinking."

Today show us your creative process. Is it paper or paint? Do you play with images, words, or music? Do you create in the kitchen or with needle and thread? We all have many outlets available to us, some of them we're drawn to more than others. I'm finding the more I play with my creations, the happier I become with what can often feel like the tedium of everydayness.

Inspire us today with your creative process!

beach party

Ben and I stumbled on this party at our local beach today..... 

As you can see, true beach weather has not yet arrived. Our feathered friends have the place all to themselves, and they seem to be loving every minute of it. It's hard to see the variety of 'folks' at the gathering...but there was a duck, a few geese, a gull and another fella I can't quite identify.  

Ben and I walk the trail from town, that leads to this very spot, each day.... it's certainly not a sandy ocean beach, but we sure do LOVE it.

Today share a little glimpse into your world....  the beach, the trail, the back yard.... wherever you may find a little inspiration and sunshine. We'd love to see it. 

sewing room

My mother is a quilter. She's a founder of bees and guilds and she speaks at conferences and teaches and retreats and shows at galleries and inventories antique textiles and for as long as I can remember, people have leaned in to her work and said, "Oh- my- gosh. Those are the smallest stitches I've ever seen."

I don't have the patience gene, and so I'm not a quilter. But I can appreciate what makes a good one. Colour composition and design. The pepper that punctuates colours that cooperate - an unexpected brightness that pops, used sparingly and intentionally. The accuracy of piecework, points that meet all crisp and sharp, flat fabric origami. The hang of a well-made piece, straight and true. And the heft of it, pressing you into the bed on a night when the wind whistles through window seams.

I'm the only one left without a website, she said, cringing. Quilt Canada's coming up and there's nothing for me to link to. Can you help?

We started with an afternoon in her sewing room, a place I've hung out in since she started paying me a penny a pin. I'd crawl around at her feet running my hands across the wood planks, watching for flashes of silver while the machine thrummed along, piles of fabric collecting at her feet, her fingers easing it through. Picking up needles and straight pins, flat-headed pins, ball-headed pins, basters. Watching her with the rotary cutter, her hoops for hand-piecing. There were no pins this time, and no pennies. But captures of her space, her cherished things. Oh, the dust... she fusses, seeing how close I am. I insist she doesn't touch a thing. The dust is soaked in with the pleasure of making beautiful, useful things. That makes it, to me, beautiful and useful dust.

Do you have a sacred space? A kitchen, an office, a crafting table? Today, show us a piece of it, just as it is, yours or someone else's - creativity's home in still life.

Have you Met My Muse?

Oh how I envy all the fabulous sisters that have the privilege of capturing their little ones each day!!

Back when my boys were young the camera only came out for special occasions. If I could go back in time, I would definitely have stalked my sweet little blonde boys with my camera.  I'm sure If I had, they'd be a lot cooler today about me snapping their pics. Ugh. They love to give me a hard time. 'Oh great, she has the camera out again...Quick, just take the shot!...How many do you have to take?... Geez Mom!'

Sigh... Anyone else have this problem?  

After I fell in love with photography, I absolutely needed a muse. Enter 'Irene'. Some of you may remember her! I had her posing...all over the place! Irene did many Bench Monday shoots for me. She's always willing and as strange as it may sound, her expressions seem to change... I'm not kidding!! She's quite the girl! So my friends, allow me to introduce, Irene! 

How 'bout you? Are you blessed with a real life muse? Or perhaps, like me, you've had to improvise. More recently, Ben has become my muse.  He seriously poses for the camera! It's so cute. I just call his name, and he strikes a pose. And sometimes he strikes a pose as soon as he sees the camera. Today, we'd love to 'meet' your muse. Please share with us.

just kids

1. DSC_0505, 2. “As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.”, 3. upside down, 4. Day 345 of 365, 5. Just For Fun, 6. untitled-1028-2

This is a small selection of gorgeous kids shots from our Shutter Sisters Flickr Pool. Beautiful images that let little ones reveal themselves with an overwhelming sense of authenticity and truth, and remind us to be mindfully present and playful, always.

Today capture the silly, the cute and messy, the innocent and hilarious of childhood, and share your photos with us in the comment section below.

ps: The April session of the Simple Soulful Photography workshop starts next week April 4th! Join me and featured guests including Marianne Elliott, Karen Walrond and Amanda Gilligan for the four-week online course and explore the connection between creativity and self-care, learn basics but essential techniques on composition and lighting, and embrace, cultivate and express your most authentic self in a supportive community.