My summer so far…

It’s almost August and I will write my first post without any reason other than to write down my summer thoughts.  The last few months have been difficult for me….my mother passed away after breaking her hip, and I watched her go through a downward spiral in the hospital over a period of 6 weeks.  I am now experiencing a new reality…losing a beloved parent and contemplating my own mortality. My thoughts about all this are not easy to articulate but I believe I have learned that each day should be lived on its own merits. 

In the meantime I have spent this quickly speeding by summer horseback riding a few days a week, taking pilates lessons twice a week, going for massages to ease the discomfort in my neck and shoulders caused by the stress I experienced in June.  Lisa and I took two knitting lessons at Lettuce Knit in Kensington Market.  Lisa is working on three beautiful scarves, and I am at work at a very pretty turquoise long piece of knitted material which when fringed will be a scarf.  Knitting is so relaxing and apparently that part of the brain that helps us knit is the same part that helps us do meditation.  I have been thinking about my thesis project and have made a few calls, spoken to some people and so far what I have come up with is that I will follow a group of salsa dancers in their classes and hopefully will be able to go backstage with them in October at a huge salsa festival in Toronto.  I visualize capturing the costumes, the frenzy and emotion.  I may have an opportunity to photograph an elderly couple who take ballroom lessons and I am deciding whether or not to get back to the belly dancing group that I spent some time with in the spring.  I am still interested in finding a group of young people who do rap, and B-boy stuff.  I am not planning to work on more than three groups.  My next decision is digital or film…..film is so real and I almost long to go back into the past and digital is so convenient as well as the fact that it does a pretty good job artistically.

I am trying to raise my creativity awareness by working on sponge/ink/sharpie/watercolour pieces.  I love taking my little digital point and shoot with me and taking random stuff.  A few weeks ago I went into a Photo Marathon….we were given a 12 shot roll of coloured film, 12 themes which had to be followed in the order they were written down and we had 24 hours to do all this and then return it.  There is a reception at the Gladstone Hotel July 19 where people will vote for the best photograph that represents each theme.  I presume that people and their guests will vote for their own pictures.  I know I will.