Bark.

I did my favorite yoga DVD this morning. The first time I've practiced yoga in months. Not only was it humbling (it used to be my easy video) but the wave of serenity that washed over me as a result stuck with me all day. Soft rain and thunder. Taking pictures through the window. Blogging as Agent P. plays in her journal. Hot coffee and gooey cinnamon rolls. Watching a fun movie with my family. Having a smile on my face for no reason. I had forgotten how yoga used to prime my day. A rainy day stuck inside the house would have otherwise been draining. 

I'm thinking about trees and playing in the forest. I'm anticipating climbing one for the first time,  looking for human and animal faces in them, and capturing their fallen sheathing as they shed old bark to use in my journal. 

I've also been thinking about my list.

    15. Host a portrait party

    16. Host a dinner party

    17. Visit my brother in Detroit

    18. Surprise the people I care about
    19. Venture to Illinois' ghost towns
    20. Photograph that cute cafe owned by that saucy Italian lady
    21. Make a book of the favorite parts of my journal pages
    23. Keep an inspiration board
    24. Overcome the fear of my sewing machine (T-shirt surgery party?)
    25. Spray paint! and stencils!
    26. More mail art
    27. Paint the thunder horse¹ Amy's dad carved

Spring is like hopium and I like it! Breezes of cloying optimism that dissipate slowly, such that you don't even realize they were ever there.

¹ In tribal lore, the thunder horse stomps to create thunder and has a warrior spirit. Carved thunder horses are used in ritual dances.

Sunflower discovery

We love our old Buick.

 

Driving in the sun with the windows down.

Bouncing to cassette tapes.

Roads splitting and bulging at their seams

into pot holes scantily patched.

Pulling over and discovering.

Reflections off the hood.

Photographs through sunglasses.

Looking through mounds of dirt and shiny things

for unburied treasure.

A pile of terra cotta tile shards

with sunflowers. 

A bag full!

The coolest jukebox ever.

♥

It is officially Spring Break! I'm enjoying a few, much needed, hours to myself. Lately the only alone time I've come across is during all-nighters (yes I am a procrastinator). That said I have much school work to do despite this respite, but I will not neglect artistic pursuits. There are pictures to be taken, pages to be painted, mail art to be created, and dreams to be had. 

A list in progress:

1. Climb a tree!
   
2. Self portraiture: photo, sketch, paint
   
3. Develop Clare's narrative
   
4. Conceptual photography
   
5. Make prints of my photos
   
6. Write a short film already
   
7. Shoot 8mm
8. Get organized
   
9. Road trip
   
10. Think of a series
    
11. Practice yoga
    
12. Drive (still don't have my license...)
    
13. Get published
    
14. Pick a major

This year I want to (in no particular order):

Fall in love
Get a job
Take risks
Go on a roadtrip without a predetermined destination
Visit a spiritual vortex (Burlington, WI or Sedona, AZ)
Overcome my irrational fear of my sewing machine
Watch the sunrise on a beach with my lady
Skinny dip
Camp
Conserve more
Go to a French or farmer's market at least once a month
Perfect my Russian and British accents and add French to the repertoire
Create meaningful friendships and see my friends more often
Be less of a hermit
More bufu morning dates
Explore Chicago
Attend at least five concerts
Throw three theme parties and a dinner party
Visit the public library once in awhile (return stuff from two summers ago)
Art museums!
Learn sign language
Dedicate more time to learning Spanish
Make a mondo blanket fort
In summer dance barefoot outside in the morning once a week
Ride my bike
Get my driver's license (finally!)
Convert my room into an organized, inspirational space
Complete three assignments from Learning to Love You More
Send out RAOK's, postcards, mailart, and letters again
Finish a new journal every two months
Keep blogging
Make a shrine
Show my love more
Make some money
Live a more creative life
Be less fearful
Figure out what I want to do/study
....
-♥-

Listing.

Listing away, pretending that my big moleskine is a molito since my molito is finito.

Things to try:

Things to buy:

-♥-