Hello dear friends.
A little story to get this post started…
Imagine…me entering the seventh grade. I didn’t wear a whole lot of make-up. I had a perm in my hair…which, even now, I think looked pretty dang good. I was rather height-deprived and a bit on the chubby side…and I fancied my favorite Hypercolor t-shirt and jeans. This was a special year. Because, you see, this is the year of finally getting to experience “lockers” and moving from class to class for each of our subjects. While I had a “boyfriend” not long after my seventh grade year, I really wasn’t interested in boys. It was really a formality, I think, as my only memories are of me throwing him down on the playground just because it was kind of funny that I could…and also a memory of him giving me a fully authentic cubic zirconia necklace for Valentine’s Day, of which the following response so smoothly left my face: “Is it real?” And to which he said, “Oh yes!” Because, you know, the average annual income of a seventh grade boy in 1991 was an astonishing NEGATIVE $4,983.
At the grand ol’ age of 12, I was quite interested in a variety of activities. I enjoyed sports, being with my friends, reading books from the scholastic book order…and I loved art. I adored art. I used to draw ENDLESSLY. So, naturally, when prompted for my request for an elective class that seventh grade year, I chose “Art.”
When that first day arrived, I was handed a slip of paper with my schedule printed upon it. Looking down the list, I had indeed been placed in “Seventh Grade Art.” The first day, we were provided a project to draw an image based upon a photograph. Nearly forty minutes into this class and well into my drawing, the principal of my school walked into my classroom, prompted me to leave with her, and told me I was not going to be able to take “Seventh Grade Art” because not enough students requested the “Wood Shop” class as their elective. I was now a student in Seventh Grade Wood Shop. And I was a seventh grader who didn’t argue. In Wood Shop, I learned how to operate a planer, a table saw, and how to work with leather. I was a pear-shading master.
When elective requests landed in my lap for my eighth grade year, I, again, requested Art. And again, when handed my schedule, the words “Eighth Grade Art” filled in the elective box. And again, during the first day of Art, I was prompted out of the classroom by the principal of our school. She again asked me to fill a spot in the Wood Shop class due to the fact that student numbers were rather low in that class. NOW, with a bit of sadness, I reluctantly walked into the Wood Shop room again. And that particular year, I made a leather belt with an off-center name “Vern” (for my Grandpa) stamped into the back. While I still remember dampening the leather, stamping with my tools, and working the table saw, these moments will forever go down as the timeframe “Art” just didn’t happen for me.
I tell you this story to set the stage for the following statement:
THIS WAS THE LONGEST WINTER EVER AND I’M LOSING MY MIND!
Creativity has been my oxygen for as long as I can remember. Stints of time without it leaves me stirring and dancing with hints of craziness. Enter the present.
Sanity is in jeopardy.
Creative outlet is calling. Loudly.
I typically take the first months of the year off from photography to settle my mind and be inspired…but my mind is now over-settled and I’m ready to roll.
Let’s get this year started, shall we? Books are open and I’m ready to shoot. Who’s in?
A few tidbits of information:
- I’m still taking on a limited number of sessions each month so that I may maximize my time and attention to each individual photo experience. Spots continue to fill up fast each year so I always recommend touching base early to reserve your session.
- If you’re looking at booking in the next month, I have a serious craving for some genuine in-home photo sessions. Letting you in on a little secret – for a gazillion reasons, they are my absolute favorite. They steal my heart each and every time. Want to see why?
- The months of September and October always fill the fastest. They just do. It’s just a pretty time in Montana and yes, those particular colors only last so long.
- The months of May-July are absolutely incredible for greenery, mountain meadows, and wild flowers.
As always, continued gratitude for YOU…the ones who feed my soul. Without you in front of my camera, I whither away. Cheers to each of you and cheers to the Spring weather upon us.
Let’s make some magic this year. Shall we?