Happy Holidays! As 2022 winds to a close, and we get ready for a different pace over the holidays, I am thanking you for being a part of my creative community. I find ongoing inspiration from the art expressions of the people I work with through my practice and in my courses. I also have so many incredible colleagues and artist friends who model how art can be a practice of healing, connection and social change.

I wanted to offer you an exercise to tap into a creative mindset that can also offer you time for contemplation and integration as you prepare for the new year.

Photo Walk Artist Date (with or without a life/art question):

SCHEDULE and PREPARE:

1) Schedule 1 - 2 hours for a urban or country walk nearby.
2) Bring a fully charged phone with you. Turn off your notifications and have your phone camera ready to go.
3) Venture out solo or invite a family member or friend who is artistically minded to join you with their camera phone.
4) If you are so moved, bring a life/art question with you. If there something that you are struggling with, you are curious about, or a decision you are trying to make - you can organize your question around this issue.

WALK and CAPTURE IMAGES:

5) As you walk see what draws your attention, find light, shapes, design, architecture, nature, images, views that speak to you and take as many photos as you can. It is a good rule to take several photos of the same thing from different angles/frames to find the best capture.
6) If you have a life/art question, have this in the back of your mind as you walk. Let the environment and the art that you find speak to you outside of ‘linear/practical’ thinking.

INTEGRATION AND SHARING:

7) After you get back home, review your photos and see which ones are the most compelling. Alter them with filters and/or make a photo collage.
8) Consider sharing a selection of the images with people in your life and/or share on social media. Feel free to email them to me as well!
8) If you brought a life/art question with you - take some time to write about your experience, letting your photos inform your writing as well. What did you learn? Did this offer you a different perspective on your life issue?

Below you will see some photos of mine that were recently taken while out on a walk with graphic artist Walter Lynam. We put our artist ‘eye’s together and took photos on the streets in the Mission District of San Francisco.