the tao of motherhood

"giving birth and nourishing, having without possessing, acting with no expectations, leading and not trying to control: this is the supreme virtue."

I've been wanting to photograph Hannah's tattoo ever since she got it. I wish I had had more time to thoughtfully put this shoot together, but the two of us chatted the day away as usual so I was only left with a small amount of time before I had to head home. I'm pretty awed by the few images I was able to capture though. They take my breath away, and not because it's my photography, but because Hannah exudes the strength and beauty that only a mother goddess can possess. I am so inspired by her approach to pregnancy, birthing and mothering....and I am so thankful I have been able to watch her go through it, because I feel all the more prepared to become a mother myself having her experiences and philosophies to reflect on. And the deep black words tattooed on her porcelain back give me even more to aspire to when the time comes.

red, red, red

I am very drawn to color and the way different shades play off of one another. I am so emotionally affected by it. A mystical shade of deep green swimming around a low key variation of aqua, being hugged by ivory and lightly freckled with a rosy pink...well, I find myself lost in the emotion of it. That combination, for instance, makes me smile, then sigh, then feel overcome by a feeling of soothing and peace.

While I have a deep appreciation for black and white photography, and often feel more compelled to shoot my portraits that way, there is something magnificent about those photographs in which the colors line up in perfect harmony. I love the portrait of Cupcake above for this reason. The burnt red of the brick contrasting against her porcelain skin, bringing out the vibrancy of the scarlet hair piece, bouncing off the chesnutty red of her hair, and the faint rose glowing in her cheeks. To me, it's perfection.

apple picking

Fall time in New England just doesn't feel complete without a trip to the apple orchard to pick some crisp, tasty fruit. I love the whole process--the long, windy drive through the countryside, the smell of fresh apples wafting up and down the rows of perfectly placed apple trees, the long walk on a sunny fall day, biting into apple after apple in search of perfection, and the autumn spiced baked goods pouring out of my kitchen afterwards. We made a delicious gluten-free apple pie this time, but I'm thinking our next trip will yield a nice apple spice bread. Oh, I love autumn!

a deviation from my usual sunshine hippie style

I am not one of those people who is fascinated by disturbing images or areas of life. I do not enjoy disturbing movies or images of death, violence or gore...heck, I can't even watch the news because my big heart and wild visual memory cannot handle the horrific. I just choose to quietly accept those realities but focus my attention on the parts of life that light my heart up and make me smile.

I'd say the part of my brain that makes me an artist and writer combined with my sensitive and gentle nature is the cause of my avoidance of any and all things disturbing. Being an artist, I naturally think and experience life visually. My memory is filled with billions and billions of intricate and detailed pictures, without sound. Being a writer, I am also wildly imaginative and cannot stop my mind from creating fantastical stories based on the images locked away in my brain. When I put those two things together, my sensitive soul would rather the bulk of those slideshows in my head be filled with smiles and sunshine. That's just me. I would rather look at the girl on the side of the road handing out daisies to strangers than look at the bloody car crash in the middle of the traffic.

play

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”

~Plato