give it away

Many of you have already signed up for Kristin’s and my e-course, NOW YOU:: The Beginning. (Thank you! And it’s so good to see all of your faces in registration… confirmation emails are coming soon!) If you missed it you can read all about it here and our NOW YOU Workshops website. Christy, of Urban Muser, contacted us to see if we’d like to offer a spot in the class on her blog. She is in the midst of her very own self portrait journey this year, it was the perfect fit. So click on over right now and enter to win yourself a spot in our six week class!!!!

We can’t wait to see who wins and joins us on this journey. good luck!

Now You :: the e-course

It’s hard to explain, but part of me needs to visually define my outer boundaries of who I am as a person, woman, mother, sister, daughter, lover. There is no easier (nor harder) way to do this than through photography. Dare I say self portraiture helps me understand myself. It definitely helps me to be kind to myself, and remember who I am on the days when it’s easy to forget.

Now, after four+ years of self portraits, after traveling to meet like minded women and speak about my self portrait journey; it feels like the ultimate study of self. It has brought me a sense of quiet confidence, even as it brings me more questions about who i am. This is growth (and it is welcome here).

This project of self I can only define as me seeking grace in the conflict. Seeking beauty in the decay. My self portraits document where I have been and where I am going. A circular timeline put on repeat. This is the peace within. The flurry and chaos. The solitude and stillness of wind. The reminder that life is blooming, that growth moves us forward with joy and anticipation. Self portraits are my practice in remembering it is ok to sit with the silence. And that through all the wreckage and reality, life is still beautiful.

Lessons come from being on the other side of the lens.
(These are thoughts on being seen.) Being seen is as important as sharing your voice.

I am worthy.
And so are you.

Now is the time to take back the control of how we see ourselves. Through the process of self portraiture, we come away with images to remind us the beauty of seeing… and being seen.

As women, we are all these pieces of self.
NOW is the time to embrace it.

NOW YOU :: the beginning

Welcome to the first in a series of self portraiture classes provided online by Kristin Zecchinelli & Meredith Winn. Now You is a 6 week introductory e-course that will turn your camera lens inward as we explore the everyday beauty of self portraits.

NOW YOU mantra

Empowerment through photography can be life changing. It’s through self-portraiture that we learn to look kindly at ourselves.  Let your camera guide you.  The goal of NOW YOU is inspiration, empowerment, and confidence building through photography. This workshop will be a fun environment in which to safely jump into the world of self portraiture.

Themes to be explored in NOW YOU :: the beginning

• details of you
• roots and wings
• reflections
• whimsy
• at arms length
• eye contact

Now You workshops have a personal focus on permission and safety.  Letting down our masks, our guards, honoring the real, the beautiful, the silly, the NOW.

Description of class:

• six weeks of online collaboration
• class runs Monday April 23- Friday June 1, 2012
• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday prompts delivered to your inbox
• Friday fun! Password protected video from Kristin & Meredith with the weeks overview
• Private flickr group to share your self portrait journey and access our group discussions

Registration opens today!

Be sure to check out our website www.nowyouworkshops.com for more details like who we are, pricing and how to register, details about the e-course, and other faq’s. Class size is limited, so click on over to read more and reserve your spot in class!

Registration open :: March 27- April 22, 2012
Limited class size :: register early to reserve your spot!
The self portrait journey begins :: Monday April 23, 2012

Are you ready to be find that brave beautiful you that dwells inside? We understand the importance of creating a safe environment to explore your image of self. Your one and only job is to come fully open; open heart, open mind. Set yourself free of expectation and judgment. Seek and find yourself through your lens.

Kristin and I are so very excited to get started…
We hope to see you there!

 

blah blah blah. whatever.

parenting is messy. that is all.

he shoves it down. squeezing tears away with seven year old fingers. dirt under the nails.  i see myself in him.  in what i inadvertantly taught him perhaps. in trying to be strong. i see myself in him. in what we share of temperaments. nature vs. nurture. in trying to be strong, resilient, over the years of single mothering. in needing to be strong, i would wipe my hands of tears.  i would write them out instead.  let the tears fall as ink on paper.

those old habits no longer fit. life has grown. and with that growth comes strength and support of partnership. we teach from our every day. we act as reminders to each other that art and life are counterbalancing. that we create to escape. and that others view to escape as well. we can do that for each other. we paint ourselves in our best light, in hopes to become that best light. we talk, we listen, we stumble. and when i catch his eye in the rearview mirror i know he sees this in me as well. it’s hard to let in love when you unknowingly built a wall to protect yourself. we are human. and we are simply figuring it out… just like everyone else.

and so i take photos. this is the distraction.  i know this. i see my patterns now more clearly. it’s all part of the journey.  with memories swirling like shadows,  our past is very much present with every step we take. it’s how we move forward that matters.

(i tell myself this not because i know it but because i want to remember it)
this is the seeing and breathing and living and learning that comes with the title MOM.

oh the songs people will sing for home
and for the ones that have been gone for too long
oh the things that people will do for the ones that they love.

for us the remedy is always music.
tonight my sweetheart and i are going to lose ourselves in some live music.
and the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
a belated birthday gift to me.
a date to find our head and our heart in portland.

happy

i can think of no better day than my birthday, to share a bit of happy news.

taproot launch party is scheduled for sunday march 18th (just six days away!!) i’m beyond giddy to be in attendance for this gathering and reading.

(oh my, a reading? oh yes.)

last year i glued the phrase “find your voice on the coast of maine” to my vision board and i do believe this is what the universe was talking about! funny how life comes full circle.

if you’re in the portland area i hope to see some of you there!

in like a lion

“March” by David Budbill

Rain-glaze on snow. Mud and ice and snow.
Coyotes feed themselves on gaunt dreams of spring. Then
what comes slowly suddenly he sees.

Light hovers longer in the southern sky.
Brooks uncover themselves. Alders redden.
Grosbeaks’ beaks turn green. Chickadee finds the song
he lost last November, and blue jay abandons
argument and gluttony. He cranes his neck,
bobs his mitered head; he bounces on a naked branch
crying: Spring!
But, like all winter’s keepers
he speaks his dream before
he sees the fact.
Did you hear a phoebe?
And he out again and walking on the earth,
in the air, in the sun, ankle deep in mud.

thinking in series

as i move throughout my day i take notice of the light.
(we all do this, don’t we?)

as a photographer, i make a point to take notice of everyday ordinary moments. the everyday ordinary moments often slip through our fingers faster than we can grab our cameras. i used to wrestle with this concept (the slipping away of lost moments) and then i gave into simply being in it (making peace with no camera in front of my eye).

as i became more mindful without my camera, we settled into our new home. it was then that i was greeted (and gifted) with this new space and light. it was too good to walk past each day, so last fall i began grabbing my iphone (simply because it was usually there in my pocket or on the kitchen counter)… and i found myself documenting it again and again, this space where we gather. a space i can use like a backdrop, then simply wait for the players to take stage.

and so a new series was born. (my couch series) born out of light and family and comfy spots where we gather in sickness and in health. a place where we celebrate birthdays and watch movies and play video games. a place where we suffer migraines, where we bicker, and where we laugh.

everyday ordinary moments.