Art Therapy & the Queen
If I had to name the 5 things I am most passionate about they would be: family, food, photography, developing faith in God, and art as therapy. It is the latter that I will focus on in this post. I have a degree in Social Work and in addition to my photography clients, I also work for an arts-based therapy agency in Huntington Beach. I have always been intrigued by human behavior and the healing power of creative expression.
This year for my birthday I went with some of my family to a wonderfully whimsical sculpture garden in Escondido called Queen Califia's Magical Circle. It was brought into being by the artist Nikki St. de Phalle. A docent at the garden told me that St. de Phalle taught herself to make art after experiencing a nervous breakdown. She had had an extremely traumatic childhood. Her first works had a forlorn aesthetic, but as time passed, (and I imagine as she healed), she incorporated more color and the characters she created became more playful. This sculpture garden was the last major work of her career. She died in 2002 before its opening.
I am fascinated by artists who leave behind beautiful public works for the world to enjoy long after they have passed; artists like Noah Purifoy, Simon Rodia, Veijo Rönkkönen, Robert Smithson, and Leonard Knight. James Turrell, who is still living, has made a number of public works and is currently carving out his magnum opus: the Roden Crater. It is awesome to add a woman to this list.
Queen Califa’s Magical Circle is the embodiment of emotional transformation through art. This was the first time in years that I’ve taken photos with the intention of connecting with myself rather than a client. It was my own kind of mini healing experience within a much larger undertaking of the same nature. My cousin Becca even snapped a photo for me to commemorate my birthday weekend. I loved every moment. xoxo
My favorite image from the day! ;-v
There she is! Queen Califa!
Lake Sequoia
Lake Sequoia Family Camp has me heart! “Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and flowers…” -Hans Christian Andersen And really BIG trees. I love being surrounded by nature. In fact, to say I love it is probably an understatement. My family (aunt, cousins, and sister), have gone up to the Sequoias together for a total of four years now. We camp around Lake Sequoia, spend time with some really amazing families, eat our hearts out, hike, kayak, zip line, play in waterfalls, and watch stars shoot across the sky after dark. I absolutely love our summer tradition. What is your favorite vacation?
Happy 4th to my Blog!
As I begin to write my traditional April blog anniversary commemoration, my mind is reflecting on last year’s post…. It included images from a trip I took to Joshua Tree with my dear friend KC. He and I would probably make a joke about this picture I’m posting today– For those of you who haven’t seen this plant before, the blooms are called Shrimp Boats. We would start laughing about “shrimps”, have a tickle fight, and then go grab some lunch and talk about life. I usually make a special effort to do a full visual post in honor of my blog, but this time around I’m feeling too blue. I’ve been doing a ton of gardening this week to try and distract myself– I wish I could go into further detail. For now, I’ll just say happy birthday lil’ bloogy poo. May we all create conditions for greatness in our professional and personal lives this year! xoxo
Joshua Tree and Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum
April is the dawn altier photography blog’s birth month. Happy 3rd birthday lil’ bloggy poo! To commemorate, here are some images captured in the arid landscape of Joshua Tree. KC and I ventured there for a Little Dragon concert at the delicious Pappy and Harriets and purposely discovered Noah Purifoy’s Outdoor Museum prior to the show. We had a great time exploring this sculptural ghost town, where many people’s trash has truly become another man’s treasure. If you are planning a trip to the high desert, we recommend adding this place to your itinerary!
baby J trees grow up to become…
adult J Trees.
San Francisco
San Francisco is, by far, my favorite city to visit. Talk about zany, eccentric, colorful, and fun! A friend and I drove up there earlier this month, (March 2014), and it was great to be back exploring the uniqueness of the neighborhoods, parks and local markets, as well as climbing the mountainous thoroughfares. Highlights from the trip include crossing the Golden Gate Bridge by foot, savoring salsiccia pizza and ricotta cannoli amazingness at Pizzeria Delfina, and cruising down Haight Street for a little shopping. Here are my favorite images from our meanderings. Enjoy!
2 year anniversary of my blog
april 8, 2013
Another year has passed and my blog is now 2! This fills me with excitement! Why? Because I’ve concluded, after hours of research (aka blog stalking), that there is something magical that happens to photographers in their 3rd year of business. We come into our own. After wading through the trenches of portfolio building, finding a stylistic voice, and allowing the bruises from inevitable learning curves to heal, an irrefutable switch is flipped. We become visually sound (and hopefully financially as well!) To celebrate another year older and wiser too:), here are a few pix I took while visiting the L.A. Arboretum in February. Enjoy!
