One of my absolute favorite classes in college was Art History. I still laugh about it some 20 years later because the professor asked us—on exams—to identify the artist and title of works based off little teeny black and white photocopies of the images. Oh my goodness, it was insane. And yet I learned so much that semester and I adored it.
I hesitate to even mention this great artist’s name as I think about the shots I’ve taken over the course of today, but here goes nothing: Caravaggio. I loved his work right away. Chiascurro drew me instantly to Caravaggio. How could I not love the play of light and shadow?
Today I found myself saying, if I want to take dramatically lit photos EVERY SINGLE DAY this month, I can! I feel this need to diversify for some reason, but I’m casting that boundary aside and I’m going to shoot whatever I want. I will say this, if you want to mess with light the way you mess with playdoh—keep shooting. Keep experimenting. Keep playing. Move your body, move your angles, see what comes through your lens. Happy December, friends.
After hanging three paper chains and nine new snowflakes I knew I would capture a piece of this activity for today’s image. There’s something lovely and slow about taping little fragments of paper together. There’s something creative and calming in using scissors and paper to make unique snowflakes for our windows. In this world where I am use to rushing—and yes, I’ve been forced into slowing down in 2020—I’m starting to see the peace in sitting still. The word “present” has been coming to mind since March. God is letting me mull on that word. What does it look like when a planner and doer focuses on being present?
Today is my cousin’s funeral. I feel like the absorption of her death is very slow for me and I’m wondering how long it will take before every pore in my body has digested the information. Surely a memorial service is a piece to that puzzle. All of my missing and wondering and confusion is connected to the wrongness of death. It’s okay to hate death. I don’t feel the need to wrap up this post with a bow for anyone, however I do want to say that Paula knew Jesus intimately. She loved him. He loved her and made her and called her to himself. Because of this our goodbye is truly a “see you later.”
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).
Paula and I talked about our very human struggles when we’d message each other. Neither of us expected a life of ease and yet we both really wrestled with the hardships of this world. We commiserated. We prayed because we knew that the Bread of Life and the Light of Love cared about every detail of our lives. Sometimes our faith was very small indeed, and other times it was great. Now Paula is with her Savior, and someday she and I will both be perfectly restored and will live with him, feasting and banqueting with Christ himself. Amen.
Without a doubt, this delivery was the best and most beautiful part of my day. My love sent me birthday flowers to enjoy in the days before my actual birthday—and it made me light up from head to toe.
I most frequently take pictures of flowers and fruit on my dining room table, which is truly the heart of our home. It’s what you see from the front door and it receives wonderful light from the south and the west. It’s just a fact that I’m highly visual and really value beauty. I like vibrant colors and simple arrangements. I appreciate a balanced and full vase of flowers like no one’s business, and if the light tracks through the leaves? Well, I’m sold. My files are filled with flowers kissed with light.
So then, maybe it’s not that weird that I recently gave my husband some very detailed information on what kind of flowers I’d like to receive for the next year. We’ve been married 22 years and he’s really good at loving me in a way that I feel most loved: beautiful gifts. And when I opened the door to the delivery man this morning (two notes on that below), I realized Jeremy had been listening to every single word I said. His attention to specifics was spot on. It made my smile even bigger.
Two notes on the delivery man: 1) I think he might have the best job ever. He must make people so happy! 2) Liv and I definitely had a homeschool-in-robes-in-bed kind of morning. Our noses were stuffy and we were tired and wanted to stay cozy. All I have to say is that when the florist’s van pulled up out front I pulled the most Superman of wardrobe changes and with no time to spare presented myself appropriately dressed enough to answer the door. We Tredways aren’t really morning people as a whole…
“You can make anything you want in the kitchen. But you have to clean it up, too.”
This was my teacher prompt for Culinary Arts today.
And she was off. Handmade bowtie pasta won the day. Pasta-making is not for the faint of heart—it’s truly a process! But this is what happens when you have the ability to let a kid choose what their heart desires. The heart wanted pasta. It’s wanted pasta since The Heart first started eating pasta. And I have to give it to her, fresh pasta is delicious.
Sometimes I love this human more than I can even express. She’s cool. She’s committed. She’s motivated from a deep internal well that I cannot see, but I get to see the fruits of her creative stirrings and I’m so grateful God allowed me to learn all about life through my Liv.
I’m eager to see and reflect on more beautiful things through this year’s December Photo Project. Thanks again for joining me, friends!
Last year I could barely muster the desire to do the DPP. I was definitely riding on the energy of all of the awesome Project participants who were eager to get started. This year is different. While my margins for a new project feel insanely minimal, my enthusiasm for a Facebook full of Christmas-y pictures is very high indeed. I. am. ready. I’m ready for Christmas cookies. I’m ready for lights. I’m ready for Jesus—O come, o come, Emmanuel!
This year has been one of the darkest of my entire life and I imagine it’s the same for most of you. Very few of us have considered a pandemic before 2020. We’ve never been so concerned about germs in our lives. I now own masks for almost every season and I’m more concerned about toilet paper than ever before, despite having plenty to take care of my family’s needs. I’m forcing Vitamin D and Vitamin C on my kid at every turn and, oh yeah, forgetting to throw a little Zinc in there, too. I’m missing potluck meals at church like you wouldn’t believe, and I will never ever ever get used to not being able to hug the people I love when I see them in public. We don’t even do fake arm hugs in the air anymore; 2020 has pounded that out of us.
But all is not lost. No, many of us are seeing the light creep in through the cracks in our lives. Joy finds its way in. And in the darkness it might be true that joy is more obvious than ever as well. There is sweetness in a family walk around the block. A back patio fire pit can still bring loved ones together. A waffle outside a restaurant’s doors can taste especially delicious, and supporting local businesses feels like a treat rather than a chore. Saying hello to more neighbors, greeting each other’s dogs. Hanging Christmas lights early to light up the dark nights. Snuggling close to your love for a basement date with cheese and crackers and Netflix isn’t the same as a night on the town but it is GOOD.
Doing a leg lift to show off cute socks in front of the Christmas tree while taking a photo is quite the feat. It’s a new exercise in core-strengthening.
My faithful helper came back this year after I gave her every out. I am so grateful! To have someone—a very very competent someone—to share wrapping duties with is a joy, but it’s more than that… It’s the tradition of caffeine-fueled wrapping while watching Elf, and it’s the conversation we get to have while we cut paper and apply gift tags. Even when life gets busy for both of us, we get to have this time together. I can’t tell what fills my spirit more: Rebecca’s willingness to give up her time to help me or her willingness to give up her time to talk with me. What I can say is that this name-friend’s generosity is the best. Love you, Bec!
It’s been a minute since I’ve picked up my camera. I hadn’t missed it in several months, which was a weird headspace to be in. I got tired of shooting the DPP with my phone midway through the month and now I’m back in the swing of things. Photography is a beautiful art. It forces me to get more creative, to experiment, to actually work towards the shot I want to achieve. And the results are soul-satisfying. So today my DPP shot truly isn’t self-indulgent, but it captures a season where I had stepped away from photography but still find myself most fulfilled when I’m holding a camera. This is me at the start of being 42, and I’m grateful to be alive, grateful to have eyes to see God’s goodness, and grateful for his incredible blessings in my life.
