Thursday, January 31, 2013

PHOTO ART FRIDAY ~ 1 FEBRUARY 2013

I love the word, Minimalist. I canNOT say exactly why, but there is something that connects me like a transatlanic phone conversation to my grandmother’s voice when I was very young.

I have spent my Life BEing a collector of Stuff I Shouldn’t Let Go Of BEcause You Never Know…

And I have moved so VERY MANY TIMES over my nearly 60 years.

My last move, from the West back to the East in 2009, has blessed me with an extraordinary capacity to know connection without Stuff.

In fact I am on some sort of a mission, it appears, with NOT acquiring, NOT holding onto, and NOT BElieving for one more second that THINGS & STUFF have magical palliative properties.

Oddly, my word for 2012, Discipline, was a grand encouragement for me. I Let Go of having a motor vehicle, and learned I could BE strengthened by walking or simply NOT going going going.

Along the way I Let Go of sugar and “treating myself,” instead deLIGHTing in new habits and practises through which I discovered the sheer JOY & Wonder of BEing creative.

Like a runner building to a 10K or marathon, I showed up every day and wrote, along the way learning to digitally fiddle, and discovered really magical things that I could DO with nothing more than what I possessed in abundance: Time, Curiosity, and Desire.

This year, aside from BEing the Year of the Giraffe, my word is Enough. I did NOT “choose” it, nor did I choose Discipline. Both found me and, like best friends, we were just There and NOW Here with one another.

Learning to see myself and my Life as Enough is rather amazing. It feels like I am baking bread and I just have an innate trust telling me how long rising will take. NOT too much. NOT too little.

While the leap from Enough to Minimalist may or may NOT BE clear to anyone else, to ME it is sweet harmony. The Wonder [to and for me] of digital fiddling, which is what Photo Art Friday is ALL about, has opened my eyes to a World rich and overflowing with only the simplest most essential things.

I love the container PAF gives my creative wandering, something I realised even more when we were on a break throughout December. I love the opportunity to meet wonderfully creative people and see what they’ve done week to week. I love the time I devote on Fridays to meandering through, looking, reading, and even spending a little extra time poking around others’ blogs and websites.

I love how simply this fulfills the essential need for human touch in my deliciously solitary Life.

The 3 pieces I’ve  brought to share speak eloquently to me of the simple ways digital fiddling does its  magic. Each one a part of a photograph, all taken in 2006, and all that I have fiddled with BEfore.

Follow me…


This little rock with a hole in it so captivated me in Sedona one May morning with everyone from Healer School, where the 12 of us met and lived together for 21 days. I think I loved this so much BEcause it showed me myself. There was a little opening. In the rock that was me. And I was safe to see what lay BEyond it.


Some leaves on the hillside in the woods BEyond the condo in Tahoe. Little yellow leaves on pine needles. They looked like a table set for a splendid feast. They weren’t in any hurry. All the leaves around them having gone orange and red and gold. They encouraged me to breathe and trust even though I could NOT see HOW.



Little rocks and some sand at Kiva Beach. Gracie was swimming and deLIGHTing in the sticks I’d throw her to catch and bring in. I remember looking down at them. Seeing the way they all were together yet sufficient unto themselves. My Life was about to make a HUGE change. How often I return to this very photo to encourage myself to just keep on as I am…

Minimalist digital fiddling. The sort of “stuff” and “things” that really matter to me anymore. I have none of what I had then. Except Gracie, and she is neither “stuff” or “things.”

I have moved on.

Let Go.

Lived and lived through.

What is essential is invisible to the eye…



Photo Art Friday

36 comments:

Jeanne said...

A lovely and powerfully true post! Truly is a word to LIVE. Love that you are sharing your meaningful art

Tina´s PicStory said...

my fav is the second :)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful... And you seem to be well in gear for the next challenge!
Thank you - for wise words and captivating images!

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

I am so enamored by your words and your journey. I would love to be where you are. I am still encumbered with stuff, but it no longer holds meaning. I just simply don't know what to do with it. You sound so free and so fulfilled. Your art speaks from your heart ... wonderfully put!

Andrea @ From The Sol

Andrea Dawn said...

Tremendously moving post, Currie. You have put words to so many thoughts and feelings that I have not been able to. I have a Gracie, too . . . a Himalayan Ragdoll cat. I really love that rock with the hole and your finally photo that you keep returning to is just gorgeous.

A Garden of Threads said...

Wow, fantastic pieces.

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

These are gorgeous pieces Currie. The second has such power and movement. Thank you so much for sharing your process with us. If we could all follow your example and find meaning and sweet reward in the most ordinary activities of our days ... how rich we would be.

Your words made me think that when we clear away the clutter within and without - we make room for the sacred and the creative to really shine through. You and your work here are all the evidence we need of that!

Your comments about Photo Art Friday touch me deeply. Thank you.

Miriam said...

What a great post Currie, you are such an interesting person, I love reading your thoughts. Digital fiddling, I love it! I really like the pictures of the stones and rocks. x

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

This is truly a heartfelt post, Currie. I hate to say it, but I'm kind of a hoarder when it comes to books, my art materials, and tools. I have been trying to purge myself of somethings, but I don't think I'm anywhere near to where you are. Blessings!

Gardening in a Sandbox said...

I have heard that life is a journey. Yours has taken some twists and turns but you have come out okay. Great post. Valerie

Kim Stevens said...

I so agree with Jeanne...very powerful, so true and quite inspiring! I love how you have embraced it and I love what your creating.

Ida said...

What an interesting post. I enjoyed reading about your journey in life and your creative process. The pieces are so unique. I think my favorite is the last one. I love the colors and the textures in that piece very much.

helena said...

beautiful images and thoughts, so glad you are sharing within PAF

Anonymous said...

minimalist certainly resonates with you Currie - you have described it so beautifully in your own journey and I love the illustrated word

Stephanie said...

Your words ring true to me in so many ways. Great post. The last beach photo is so beautiful - love the colors.

Linda Kittmer said...

Great post Currie. So important to find peace without the need for 'stuff'. So many people run themselves into the ground trying to acquire more and more and they end up miserable.

stefanie stark said...

Again, I was deeply moved about your wonderful text. I also like your word of the year "ENOUGH" I recently had similar thoughts because there is so much stuff all around the world. So much news so much data, so much inputs ... so many, many advertisments and also so much stuff at my home ... therefore my new years resolutions was not to buy anything new but to finish my old projects.
I very much like what you did with the photographs! They look great!

Anonymous said...

very thoughtful post, Currie, but I am always ready for it when I come to visit you each Friday.
I would say your post are almost never minimalistic, they are always very adequate and full of YOU!
Have a wonderful day, my friend.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Wow - lots to think about!!!

Leovi said...

I like those abstract, the third is wonderful ... good work!

The Artful Diva said...

You've had some really interesting experiences haven't you? I love Sedona. It's a truly magical, spiritual place.

Edna B said...

You've given me a new outlook on the word "minimalist". I like your attitude on "stuff" we've collected and thought was so important.

I'm beginning to realize that it's time to thin out all that I've collected over the years. However, I'm not ready to give up my car. I've met and read about so many folks in their 80's and 90's and older who still drive to work. I'm only in my 70's and not yet ready to give up my job, so my car is important.

Well, I'm off to dreamland now. You have a great night. Hugs, Edna B.

foxysue said...

I enjoyed reading this post and your take on minimalism, your images too!

NatureFootstep said...

great psot. Thanks for sharing. :)

Anonymous said...

It sounds we might have something in common - a little bit of stuff around us - I have a 4 suitcase full of all that I own .. and my lap top and have found you can live happily with very little stuff..I like what you have shared today "VERY unique" I love the last photo the most...
Hugs

Jori said...

I like it too! Love the second one especially!

Lynne with an e said...

What an inspiring piece of writing! It is very relevant to a place in my life that I am preparing to move into...Encouraging to see the markers you have left along the route--especially those in the last photo.

libbyquilter said...

you always have such interesting insights and i enjoyed reading this post as well as seeing your PAF work/play. love that last shot with it's colors, forms and sense of motion.
it's good to be visiting you again~!

:-)
libbyQ

Sherri B. said...

What an uplifting post filled with honesty...and your photos are all so symbolic of how you're trying to live your life. Beautiful thoughts and beautiful images! Thank you for sharing, Currie.

A Creative Grace said...

I love the second one best although find them all engaging...our love to Gracie ;)

Pauliina said...

Simplicity is a true Art and so is your post. Wonderful words and photos!

ormbunke said...

I like your words and your picture very much. I try to write in English but I translate your words to Swedish. Thanks for your words. Ha de gott.

Terrie said...

beautiful words, beautiful, meaningful art

Prairie Jill said...

Beautiful post, Currie. I think my favourite image is the one with the leaves and pine needles.

Catharina Engberg said...

They are SO nice all of them. My favourit is the second. I do hope you frame them and show them at an exhibition, because I am sure someone would like to buy! Hug

Marilyn said...

I love these, especially the bottom image of Kiva Beach. I have lost track of when I decided I didn't need any more "things". It's the reason I too love digital art - don't need a lot of art supplies and my hands stay much cleaner! However, I still have a lot of supplies because I still do paint and journaling, etc. One of these days soon, though, I am going to give away all my rubber stamps.