Kat Eye Studio

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Looking Back, Looking Forward

I debated on doing the obligatory end-of-year post. In the last week I wrote down a list of all that has happened this year, with the idea I would summarize it here. It turns out, just writing it in my journal was enough, I don’t need to publish a list for effect. It was enough to show me I had an amazing year. A year of transition, of endings and beginnings. A year of wonderful opportunities. In some ways, I’m sad to see 2011 go. As we roll over into the new year, it will be in a year I didn’t live in Italy. 2009, 2010 and 2011 will forever hold that special designation. 2012 will be the year “after Italy.”

Window in Bologna, Italy

But then again, maybe 2012 will earn itself a different designation. As I look at the coming year, I see lots of opportunity. I have some goals, but am leaving space for new ideas to form. I find myself drawn to the concepts of empowerment and connection, and I can feel things shifting to align with these ideas. Stay tuned, there are some new things to come I’ll talk about in the coming days. I’m sure there will be more as the year progresses. That’s the fun of looking forward, you never know what the future will bring. I find myself comfortable, even excited, with that delicious uncertainty.

Window in Ashland, Oregon

Happy New Year to all! Enjoy the last hurrah of 2011 today and the transition into 2012 tomorrow. It’s going to be a very good year, I can feel it!

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Settled In

There is nothing like a few days in a row off with no travel plans to create some space for finishing home projects. With the arrival of the quilt from my Mom I finally had the final ingredient, some leftover fabric she sent along, to get me motivated to finish up the decoration of my studio.

I created a few pillows with the fabric for my window seat and reading chair. The long skinny pillows are “cat friendly” reading pillows. I like a pillow on my lap when I read to hold the book but then Stevie the cat won’t sit on my lap, he doesn’t like to be crowded, so I use a skinny pillow to suit both our needs.

I’m quite happy with how the pillows turned out. How nice of Stevie to pop into the scene as I was taking pictures early this morning.

The pillow project was preceded with finishing another project that had been covering my work desk for a couple of months. I was making some tags to hang from the “dream” placard on my wall, so I finished those up to make room for my sewing machine. Ahhh, now it’s all clean.

I like how it’s looking, but now I “see” all of my painting stuff, since it’s not lost in the mess that was my work table. I haven’t painted in MONTHS, the same canvas has been sitting on my easel for a while. Maybe now I’ll get on to painting again. Maybe not. At any rate, it’s waiting there for me when I get to it.

And finally, I thought I would capture where I spend most of my time in this room… at my computer desk. It’s not the pretty part of the room, by any means, but it’s “home” for me. I love my magnet boards for inspiration and having all of my notes accessible. My son’s computer is right next to mine, on the left. He got the old computer when I got a new one this July. I was tired of the constant negotiation with him over computer time.

I’m now finished with my current plans for studio decoration. I guess this means I’m all settled in!

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To Surprise or Not to Surprise

That is a really good question…

Do you like surprises? Or do you want to know what is going to happen?

There is a part of me that delights in surprises. The kind of surprises that are truly a surprise – where you had no idea it was coming. At all. This could be a surprise in an image, as you look closer. It could be a surprise twist in a book, that takes the plot to an unexpected place. A surprise letter in the mail, or a package you weren’t expecting. I love those kinds of surprises.

I also hate surprises. If it’s something big, like a trip or an event, I like to plan. I like to anticipate. It’s half of the fun. If you spring a trip on me at the last minute, I will probably have fun, but I will have lost out on some of my enjoyment by the loss of anticipation. It also might mess up other plans I made, without knowing about the surprise. I don’t usually like “event” surprises.

I enjoy giving surprises, when I have a good idea. You know those ideas that are perfect for someone? Where everything clicks and you just KNOW that is what you need to do and they will love it? These kind of ideas can be few and far between but they are the ones I have to act upon when they come to me. But it can’t be all the time, that’s too much pressure. When the ideas don’t come, that’s what wish lists are for. Thank goodness for wish lists!

I guess I don’t have a good answer to the question, “To surprise or not to surprise.” Sometimes yes, sometimes no. How about you?

Today’s Many Muses Musing prompt is SURPRISE. Tomorrow’s prompt is WONDER. Come on over and join in!

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Window to the Heart

I’ve been struggling for the last week, with this whole hibernation thing I’ve got going on. I went from crazy-busy-overwhelmed to almost nothing on my plan. It feels really weird. It feels like something is wrong. I was looking forward to this time, when my commitments eased up and I would have space to breathe. Instead of enjoying it, I’ve been fretting. Argh. What is wrong with me?

Deep down, I know the problem. I’m a “doer” – I like to have a goal, a plan, to be moving forward. To sit and be free of a plan is uncomfortable to me, especially after months of intense activity. This is definitely an area for my personal growth.

One evening last week I got together with some friends, and talked about it. They all agreed, I need this time of nothingness. I need to just sit with it and see what comes. This is how new ideas are born. That night, as I was getting ready for bed, this thought popped into my head: Your photos will show you the way. They always do.

The truth of that thought instantly resonated with me. For it has been my photos that have shown me the way, every step of my creative journey. It is my images where my inner heart is revealed, sometimes in surprising ways. So that’s what I will do: Focus on my photography. From there I’ll find the way through this time of hibernation, to whatever new adventures lie beyond.

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Town Trees: Ashland

Against the Wall

Almost a month ago I discovered a new series to capture, images of trees that line the streets of our cities and towns, bringing a little bit of the forest to our concrete-and-asphalt world. I’ve decided to call this series “Town Trees.”

I found several Town Trees when we visited Ashland, in southern Oregon. This first one is my favorite. I love the shape of this tree, it looks like it has it’s hair all mussed up, maybe it hasn’t had a trim in a while. I love how it’s grown up right against the wall, standing straight with good posture. There were several of these in a row, sentinels guarding the parking lot along the side of a building.

Green and Gold

The colors here caught my eye, how the green and gold in the tree repeated in the windows and their reflections.

Capped

I wonder who thought to plant a tree under an awning? Maybe it was never supposed to grow this tall, but someone should have realized that this is Oregon and trees seem to grow bigger here. Maybe it was supposed to be cultured by a gardener to stay small, but someone cut the landscaping budget. Whatever happened, the tree is thriving and continues to reach for the sky. I love that.

These Town Trees all seem to have personality of their own, don’t they? I think this is going to be a fun series to capture.