Steamy Day

The heat and humidity were already oppressive when I woke up at 6:30 AM today. Then I looked out the windows and noticed that it truly was a

Steamy Day.

The outside of the house windows were covered with a mist of condensation. Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this. It reminds me of my time spent near Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii where the humidity was so high that my clothes always felt a bit damp and the only time I had really dry clothes was for about 20 minutes after I took them out of the dryer at the laundromat.

How are you spending these steamy days this week my friends? I’ve been resting inside a lot as I’ve had a very sore foot for days now. And rest seems to be helping a bit.

Morning at Blackwater

It’s almost dawn
and the usual half-miracles begin
within my own personal body as the light
enters the gates of the east and climbs
into the fields of the sky, and the birds lift
their very unimportant heads from the branches
and begin to sing; and the insects too,
and the rustling leaves, and even
that most common of earthly things, the grass,
can’t let it begin—another morning—without
making some comment of gladness, respiring softly
with the honey of their green bodies, and the white
blossoms of the swamp honeysuckle, hovering just where
the path and the pond almost meet,
shake from the folds of their bodies
such happiness it enters the air as fragrance,
the day’s first pale and elegant affirmation.
And the old gods liked so well, they say,
the sweet odor of prayer.

   — Mary Oliver

Fall Photography Class News

An exciting piece of news that I’m still absorbing is that I met with Bob Bowman at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts on Monday and he’s invited me to teach their fall photography class called Making Photographs.

A61023 Making Photographs, Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Instructor: Art Center Faculty Skill level: I, ADThis class will help serious amateur and professional photographers find more passion in their work by exploring the narrative, aesthetic and emotional aspects of image making, with an emphasis on simplicity and the use of natural light. Through practical demonstrations, field trips, individual portfolio reviews and studying the work of other photographers, we will refine our views on producing work and balancing the various aspects of a busy life.Enrollment limited to 10 Ages 16 and up

Classes scheduled every week on Wednesday starting 9/20/2023 and ending 10/25/2023 at 9:30AM

I’m feeling a mix of excitement and fright. And I believe that I will probably learn more than any of the students in the class. Teaching, for me, means that I pause and think more deeply about the subject and how best to facilitate the learning and exploration of those taking the class. In fact instead of thinking of myself as a teacher I’m currently thinking of myself as a facilitator. It helps me to stay focused on facilitating the learning/exploring/art-making process.

Anyway, if any of you readers are photographers interested in the class, head over to  the Minnetonka Center for the Arts website.

Stay cool everyone.

May you walk in beauty.

Note: Photos below are from a Sunday walk at French Regional Park