{Echo} Week 4- Surprise

This round of echo, doesn’t have my best photography.

It’s not beautifully illustrated.

There aren’t any amusing anecdotes.

The writing, well.. it resides on the crappy end of my skills.

But it has a part of me; a genuine piece of my heart.

 A few weeks ago, heck..maybe months now.. a friend & I were on a photo excursion;  travelling the back roads of North Carolina, when we happened to stumble upon the most amazing, artistic place.. Vollis Simpson’s Whirlygig Farm.. we hadn’t expected it, nor had we heard of him at the time.. it was a treasure to behold .. a true surprise. That adventure and amazing artwork was what I had planned to post and tell you all about today.. but life threw me my own heartbreaking surprise on Sunday.

I awoke to find my sweet Sadie doggie trapped under a chair, ears pinned back, terrified ..body trembling.. unable to stand up. She had been struggling to stand more frequently these last few weeks, a combination of severe arthritis and muscle mass loss. This time though, even with my help, she couldn’t stand nor could she walk. Her body was ridden with tumors and cysts, she was having seizures, her sight and hearing almost gone, and we believe cushings  plagued her. Her senility was increasingly becoming worse.. along with a host of other troubles.

I knew instinctively that morning as she was quivering that it was time to let her go. She had already lost so much quality to her life, I couldn’t let her lose her dignity too. It devastated me to take her to the emergency vet and put her down. It shattered my heart and stole my breath when she looked me in the eyes and licked me ever so tenderly, right as she was leaving this world.. I feel so terribly lost and haunted by it all right now.. I type this through tears. I am wrestling with my decision, struggling with the morality of it…

and above all else..

I miss her. I just really miss her.

Life goes on however, and working through this is my reality right now. There are reminders of her everywhere here… I didn’t know how not to share, as she was and is a huge part of my heart. It is as hard, if not harder on me than losing the humans I love in my life.. Sadie saved me, literally.. time and time again. She loved me unconditionally, and as dogs are so good at – she always, always forgave me without fail. I feel as if a huge chapter of my life has now ended, and I need to learn to live without her; the one constant in my life.  

So very, very tough.

I have a sort of personal policy to not blog when I am this down. I don’t like how negativity is contagious, I don’t like the reminder of the pain and I don’t really like how it can translate to some as a sort of  ’pity me’ moment to folks. I don’t like making people feel uncomfortable either so please accept my apologies if any of these things ring true.

So, that is my ’surprise’ this week. I suppose, not all surprises are welcomed ones, but they too serve their purpose. My emotions are raw, I am a bit on edge.. however, I am pushing through. I am beginning to come to terms with it and slowly finding my peace. I am oh-so-grateful that I had nearly a year longer with her than I thought I would have, so thank you Dr. Jon  for giving me that amazing gift.

(click photo to see it larger)

Once again, I find myself awed at how well our photos complement one another and how relevant both the prompts and the diptychs become to my life. The photo of mine is Sadie (circa 1999) & a young boy I was close to at the time.. I love the reminder of the happiness she bestowed upon so many people.  Susan’s cupcake is reminiscent of a celebration.. it gently reminds me that I don’t want to dwell on the loss..

….that I want to celebrate Sadie’s life.

So that is exactly what we shall do. Instead of offering condolences, won’t you surprise me with amusing or heartfelt stories about your sweet furbabies?

A quick recap:

• Go visit Susan’s Week 4 post for our other diptych.
• New Flickr Group for the collab. ~ Join Us! Find a partner there, read the guidelines and more!
• Add the new Echo button (susan’s awesome design) to your blog if you’d like! Get the code here.
• Catch Up on Week 1 -Emerge , Week 2- Decorate & Week 3- Abundance.
• See how others have interpreted the prompts in the week 1,  week 2 & week 3 roundups.

I can’t wait to see what you in have store for Week 4 of Echo– Surprise. We invite each of you to participate in the project and show us your unique vision, your voice, your echo. Remember, to share your link in the comments here so I can add it to the roundup next Wednesday.

I promise to share about my adventure to the whirlygig farm soon.

Warmly,

Chrysti

Wordless Wednesday (Thursday Edition)

(Wordless Wednesday, Thursday Edition)

{Echo} Week 3- Abundance Roundup

(click to see larger)

Light and  Dark.

Dark and Light.

A Yin/Yang sorta thing, dontcha think?

Seems to me, that the transition between the two recently is happening all too often in my life.  Mind you, I am not complaining – I learned long ago that you need the dark to know the light. I see the value in it, I truly do – but that doesn’t mean I am immune to the occasional woe-is-me moment. So I allow myself brief moments of that pity.. then I dust myself off, and work through it until the light appears. It doesn’t always emerge instantly, or even quickly for that matter… but it DOES always find a way to shine through.

I couldn’t fathom a diptych that would better encompass that inner battle I am constantly fighting. For what its worth, I am a total metaphor whore.. visual representations are so vital to my being and wellness. Do you see what I see in it? There is the obvious abundance of leaves.. and while that is all lovely and stuff, it is so not what I was going for.

Let me break it down a bit.

A downward gaze with no end in sight.. trampled upon leaves that show signs of aging accompanied by these brittle, fragile shells that have fallen… dark and awful lonely; despite the abundance of company. The cold shrill of a bitter wind and the quiet, almost melancholy tones of the rustling echoing. I see an abundance of emptiness, and shells of what once were.

I suppose In my worst moments, I feel exactly that.

Yet – if I merely look up and change my perspective … an abundance of color and light shine through. The path becomes longer, curving through the glorious shelter of the  autumnal trees. I see life. I see light. I see the path I must follow.

I see and feel that abundance of light coupled with an eternal abundance of hope. It is as if the world just suddenly woke up.

Just… for me.

“Everything you need you already have. You are complete right now, you are a whole, total person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else. Your completeness must be understood by you and experienced in your thoughts as your own personal reality.”
- Wayne Dyer

Throughout this last week, in the moments that were dark and full of those yucky woes.. I heard Susan’s words echoing (how apt!) in my mind: “it is filled with the abundance of what matters most. love, love” What an incredible, much-needed reminder that my life is indeed full, even when my Bipolar mind tricks me into thinking it is not. Another tool I have cultivated is this book: Get It Done When You’re Depressed , I highly recommend the strategies to anyone who has trouble being productive when fighting a depression.

I may not be able to be change the fact that I am bipolar, but I don’t have to fully give in to those debilitating demons or let them rule me either. I choose to fight, always.

I am not the only one who has found these prompts to be eerily relevant in my life… so please, take a look at all the other wonderful souls who have taken part, their images and stories just may touch you too.

• Moi
• Susan Tuttle (my partner)
• Week 3 Entries on Flickr
• Lennie & Colette + another!
• Shona & Shannon
• Brenda Lynn
• Paula & Jeanine
• DJ Petit & Deryn Mentock
• Phuzzy Photography
• Sandra Ludwig
• Diane Cook
• Donna Cook
• Elaine & Brenda
• Alyice Edrich

If  I have inadvertently forgotten you, or you choose to join in (yay!) … please let me know in the comments section and I will update the list .. it is wonderful discovering  the unique visions y’all have in this beautiful life, I can’t get enough of it.

• New Flickr Group for the collab. ~ Join Us! Find a partner there, read the guidelines and more!
• Add the new Echo button (susan’s awesome design) to your blog if you’d like! Get the code here.
• Catch Up on Week 1 -Emerge and Week 2- Decorate.
• See how others have interpreted the prompts in the week 1 & week 2 roundups.

Need/want a partner?  Join the Flickr group and post here! It is my sincere wish that it shall be the start of some fabulous collaborations and friendships for y’all.

The new prompt, Week 4 – will be posted next Wednesday… November 25th, 2009.

With an abundance of gratitude,

Chrysti

P.S. Shameless self-promotion whoring here: only 2 days left of my mega artography sale – details here! Won’t be another one like it for at least 6+ months! Thanks!

Keep Your $25.00 + Artography

{ insert nervous nail-biting here}

{perhaps a lil’ hand wringing too}

{whew. anyone have a cloth to dab at my these bits of perspiration on my forehead?}

Ok. Um.

Yeah.

Just get through my ramblings.. there’s something in it for you, I promise - cash!

well, kinda.

{gosh, it is so scary unveiling something new!}

{just spit it out Christy, you can do it!}

*Ahem*

I have been working night and day towards the launch of my new Artography website; and it is oh-so-painfully close to being complete .. I can practically taste it. (Aside: who made up that saying? It really is a bit ridiculous). If you think getting to this point for that site was at all wallet-draining or so frustrating I contemplated stabbing myself in the leg with a fork, you’d be absolutely correct! (Any web designers want to barter on my remaining sites?)

Truly, it is a maddening experience building an e-store when your coding knowledge is minimal and frankly it is still stuck in the dinosaur (simpler) age of HTML. I’d gladly hire it out if I could. I’d recommend that route to anyone, even my worst enemies. Well not that one person.. ok, ok  maybe even them. W O W. It really was that painful eh?

That being said – I am pretty pleased with the new home for my Artography prints. There is some information I need to plug in, some prints I need to add, some features I wish it had, and some limitations I wish it didn’t.. but really, is anything ever perfect? I am hoping to get some feedback from y’all on it (hint, hint!) and a few sales wouldn’t hurt either.

Since I need to rely on the kindness of y’all for feedback on the site as well as the ordering process.. I figured I’d do something for you too.  How does $25.00 cash sound? Awesome? I thought so! That’s what you can keep per 16×20 print with the sale prices I have for y’all.

Ok, so maybe that approach was marginally sketchy. But it doesn’t make it any less true.

Keep Your $25.00 Sale Details:

From this moment – through Friday, November 20th 2009:

** EXTENDED (due to internet acess problems) through Sunday, November 22nd 2009

• All 16″ x20″ matte prints in the store are half off, just $25.00! (usually $50.00!)
• And 11″ x14″ matte prints? Just $20.00. (usually $33.00!)
• Did I mention the free shipping in the US too?
• Or that you can buy more than one, and ship directly to the recipient?
• Or that it is super easy, and no coupon required?
• Click this link  to go directly to the store.
• Still some moving sale items on selected stock at etsy too.

Great gift ideas for the upcoming holiday season – and I promise not to tell if it is a gift for yourself! You deserve it, you really do.

I will hold a formal opening in the next couple of weeks, after I finish adding all the content. There will be a 5 day sale – but the discounts won’t be this deep. In fact, they won’t be this deep for at least another 6+ months… so it is a FABULOUS time to stock up, and snag what you love; if you have to go beg your significant other – I give my full permission!

In all seriousness, I can’t thank y’all enough for the continued support. I really need it right now. Please pass this sale on … it means more to me than you will ever know & please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions regarding it - or to give me constructive feedback on the new site.

With gratitude (and maybe a touch of greed - though is it greed to make a living? hmm…) and a thankful heart,

Chrysti

Why are you still here? GO! SHOP!

The stuff hope is made of

Often it is at the most unexpected of places, in the most unexpected of moments that inspiration grabs hold of us and renders us just a bit… well, speechless … if even for just the slightest of seconds.

You see, directly across from the American Tobacco Historic District in Downtown Durham,  under what I believe is the Durham Freeway, is this makeshift sort of parking lot . You know the type: your everyday cement-slabbed-over-run-with-gravel-and-last-nights-beer-bottles sort of corner that really doesn’t strike one as anything but ordinary. In fact, ordinary is being kind – most people wouldn’t see a speck of beauty amidst the rubble.

I am sure you know the drill: as we parked the car my head was buried within my purse, gathering my essentials, prepping my camera bag, checking my phone for messages .. just lost in the boring, everday mundane details we let consume our time. Imagine my delight when I broke from that awful normal .. and looked up to discover that quote.

I stopped.

I inhaled, deeply.

I stared. Mesmerized.

I took it all in.

That perfectly imperfect, hand written, drippy, inked up blob… I found it to be an absolutely beautiful sort of mess. I found the words beautiful, the penmanship beautiful, I found the act of whomever took the time to create it there… well, beautiful. It made that dreary space.. you guessed it.. beautiful.

Here’s a close-up:

  ”At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love.” -Che Guevara

I have always loved how words guide me.. how they ever-so-gracefully float around within my busy head and resonate deep inside of me. They give me this new sort of sight – that day in particular – because of that particular beauty – I began seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary prominently – the glorious patterns and rustic colors of the vines along the cracked pavement.. the ray of sunlight illuminating the tiniest of weeds poking through the gravel… that sight .. is nothing short of magical.

Truly, it is just that … m a g i c a l. It is the sort of thing hope is built upon.

It is the sort of thing that doesn’t cost a dime.

That perspective, that gratitude and appreciation for what we have, what is there, what surrounds us… is what I believe to be the backbone of not only creativity, but happiness.

Wow. 

Powerful.

Each of us has oh-so-many blessings and regardless of where we may be at any given moment in our lives,  beauty, inspiration and metaphors surround us.. they are plentiful… we can find and even create it in the most unexpected of places… the trick is to not get so wrapped up in the mundane details that we are blinded to it.

Where have you found your unexpected inspirations?

Chrysti

49 Dreamy Examples Of Expired Film Love

(1) by I, Timmy

(2) by by kevindooley

(3) by Ed.ward

(4) by catbagan

(5) by Metrix X

 

(6) by Alice Swanson

(7) by neil △ krug

(8) by westpark

(9) by I, Timmy

(10) by sheeshoo

(11) by Maco@Sky Walker

 

(12) by Leanne Surfleet

(13) by anniebee

(14) by Matt Callow

(15) by slimmer_jimmer

(16) by lady in the radiator

(17) by Smotret

(18) by ageing accozzaglia

(19) by Alice Swanson

(20) by I, Timmy

(21) by Matt Callow

(22) by alternatePhotography

(23) by refractionless

(24) by sheeshoo

(25) by kygp

(26) by miz shellygrrl

(27) by moominsean

(28) by Matt Callow

(29) by MikeWebkist

(30) by hippydream

(31) by Daniel Y. Go

(32) by Denzil~

(33) by paniek

(34) by square eyes

(35) by wasabicube

 

(36) by johnnyalive

(37) by Stitch

(38) by zonepress

(39) by kat st kat

 

(40) by Gustavo Minas

(41) by barely_legal

(42) by benprks

(43) by teotwawki

(44) by WadeB

(45) by loidor

(46) by remediate.this

(47) by Leanne Surfleet

(48) by amyelyse

(49) by Alice Swanson

Expired film lends a feeling that digital photography just misses for me. Perhaps it is the process I am most drawn to .. and the simple fact that the end result is almost always a surprise. There aren’t many things in life that offer us that one true moment of unknown glee and I suppose I am just drawn to the ones that are. I am so hoping Santa will gift me with some low-fi toys this holiday season. I long for a holga, or new lomo, or diana to play with. This starter kit looks awesome too. Then again, do I really need a new addiction? Well yes, yes i do.

Hope you enjoyed this dreamy trip as much I enjoyed putting it together. 

Warmly, Chrysti