Be Your Own Bold!

Everyone is Bold in their own way. What takes courage for one person is done by another with little or no thought. It took me many years to figure out how I want to fill my life.  This website is a step in my process that has been years in the making and this is my space to share some of my experiences along the way. Creativity has always been a part of who I am.  I loved drawing, painting, writing, and weaving stories. However, my process included spending a lot of time in thought, dwelling on the little connections that drew my attention.  Many times, it was not until I had caught a glimpse of something in various settings that I begin to be able to articulate my experience. I enrolled in art class in grade 8 and promptly failed. My love of art and my creativity never left me, and I realized that my process is one that does not fit well within the prescriptive timeline of a classroom.

I love the outdoors and my camera is my excuse to stop and focus on what I see; the shape of a leaf, the sunlight through branches, the tip of a flower. I feel peaceful, calm, mentally and physically stronger during my hikes and the feeling lasts for hours, sometimes days after. I never know what I was going to discover about the landscape and about myself when I started out on a hike. Taking photographs slowed me down and I became more aware of the “stutter in my step”, that moment along the trail where I stop and pay attention. I found myself feeling “stronger”. Many times, the feeling would often lead me to write about my thoughts and feelings, self-discovery, connection to something more and I no longer feel so alone or untethered. Other people started commenting on how they felt something similar, or had a similar thought, or never thought of something in the way I did. I started to feel that I was not alone in my thoughts and feelings. My photo collection increased, my writing thoughts gathered, I started seeing a pattern. Started seeing how the simple process of hiking, taking photos, writing, enhances my life and gives me a deeper sense of who I am. I want to share my experiences in the hope that I can share this sense of connection and strength with others. Maybe one of my paintings, photographs, or words will inspire others. Hopefully you will find something in here that inspires you to Be Your Own Bold. What ever that may be. Welcome to my Own Bold Creative Images and my bold step forward!