With Gratitude
reflections on the past year and the power of community
Hello Dear Readers,
Welcome to my 10th newsletter on Substack! I am so excited to be part of this dynamic and creative community. Who knew that without much fanfare, I’d already have almost 100 subscribers? Thank you.
I am grateful for your companionship as we share this adventure filled with 13 Tons of Love.
And, happy 58th Birthday to me - - a perfect moment to reflect.
It seems hard to believe that one year ago this week I was in Winchester, MA opening my solo show “Compost: Muse & Metaphor” at Griffin@WinCam,
and having a lively interview with Crista Dix, Director of the Griffin Museum of Photography as part of the Griffin@WinCam Optics series. Here’s the link to that conversation on YouTube!
As if that wasn’t exciting enough, I also moved into a new studio (out of the basement at home) at AVA Gallery & Art Center in Lebanon, NH this week last year as well. There’s nothing like a “then and now” to celebrate what a little paint, furniture and creative energy can do!
In honor of this moment, I’d like to say ‘thank you’ to this space for giving me a place to rest, recover, re-imagine and renew.
Indeed, it’s all about light…and atmosphere…and people.
AVA’s mission states that as a catalyst for creativity, AVA cultivates an openness of space and mind to inspire, nurture, and showcase the artistic spirit. Bingo. Bring it on!
The idea that artists work in isolation quietly creating stuff is a myth if there ever was one. If it hadn’t been for the extended AVA community, I never would have had the confidence to keep showing up. How cool is that?
And then there was my online community through Atelier 37 at The Griffin with whom I collaborated between September 2022 and May 2023. Who wouldn’t be motivated and inspired by this incredible group of photographers?
Thank you also to all those who make AVA Gallery & The Griffin Museum thrive!
And then there’s the gratitude I feel for all those who show up to experience my work, whether at the Atelier 37 show at The Griffin in June, or at my pop-up at AVA, also in June. Truly, I’m in awe.
If 2021-2022 was about my learning how to create a ‘Portfolio’ of work and then submit that work to shows around the country (such a cool experience), then 2022-2023 was about my experiencing the deep satisfaction of knowing that this is what I am meant to be doing…even when there are days filled with doubt.
And doubt is real.
Perhaps that’s why I love being in community with you here — to remind myself that what I’m doing means something beyond the creation of images that I happen to think are really cool.
No book, lecture or class can communicate the joy of making what you love, sharing what you love, and then having what you love appreciated by others.
Who knew Grapefruit and Snow, for example, would end up in Seattle, New Hampshire and New York? Or that a collector would take a liking to my early compost work on canvas?
Thank you compost and the landfill for literally pushing me outside of myself and into this glorious fray…
…like talking about my relationship with the Lebanon Landfill as part of the AVA Studio Chat series. To learn more, you’ll just have to watch the video :)
The other community for which I am grateful is the Kinship Photography Collective, a global community of practice creating rich visual conversations that explore the intimate connections between nature, culture and belonging.1
There are multiple ways to engage with the Kinship Collective, but I recommend starting with their weekly online gatherings that occur every Wednesday night at 7pm EST.
There are also ongoing calls for engagement within the community that include practice groups around particular subjects. To engage at this more in-depth level, you are invited to join the Kinship Circle. Check it out!
In September, I participated in the Beauty & Brokenness practice group with Trebbe Johnson (Radical Joy for Hard Times) in which I explored the place beyond the fence at the very back of our property. Who knew this ignored part of our land could hold such beauty and invitations to explore?
I guess that’s what this past year has been all about - - exploring, getting out there, being in the thick of it, and making time to rest and recover in the safety of a studio I never imagined having.
So here we go. Happy 58 years!
Can’t wait to see what happens during the 59th year, but I’m sure it will have something to do with the ideas of poiesis (~making on own’s own) and sympoiesis (~making in community), two words I learned last week at the Kinship weekly gathering and will certainly unpack in a future post!
Anyway, here’s to friends, community and the making of meaning together.
Happy Day to All! As always, thank you for sharing this space and your time with me.
In the spirit of community, I’d love to read your reactions to this post, 13 Tons of Love in general, or my work, in the comments sections below - - I will never see what you write if you reply to this e-mail!
Also, it would be amazing to keep these weekly ‘conversations’ free and open to all…and to make it to the 100 subscriber level…
If you are able, please consider becoming a paid subscriber (if you have not already done so), so I can keep paying my rent and showing up in this space with focus and energy (you can upgrade when you press this button. I still haven’t figured out all the different links, buttons, and other cool things on this app!). Thank you!
With cheers and gratitude for you being you,
Lyn
I first considered the idea of kinship when reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s stunning book, Braiding Sweetgrass in 2020. Her quotation “as we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us,” offered great solace during the pandemic, when my work with the land around our house literally helped me heal.
Twenty years ago, I too was delighted to see what energy and creativity and new work was available to me at the age of 58. It has been a very productive and satisfying two decades!