Above: a shot taken during a hike up the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica, 2019. Clouds rolling in, taking up residence over a valley.

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The last time I wrote here was back in May. Since then, there's been quite a few things happening between life and studio, with the pendulum swinging from good to not-so-great several times over. Nothing devastating in my life overall, but everything that hasn't been great has felt multiplied with with how the current federal administration is striking out against everything good and making life a thousand times more difficult than it need be for all of us. 

Lately, I have had some wins and I'm thankful for everything and everyone who has been supportive and patient these past few months. I'm feeling more positive in many ways every day. If you're still checking here for updates, thank you for hanging in there. I'm going to do my best to keep this feed updated more regularly from here on. By regularly, I'm setting my intentions on once. week, for now. 

Lastly, this entry isn't specifically art-centric, but all of life feeds into the art, so here's a look back at a great memory my photo app showed me earlier this week that, even though it's years old, may still provide fodder for new work...

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I was looking through some photo memories from July and a bunch of shots I took while on a trip to Costa Rica in 2019 came up. During the first part of the trip, we stayed in Tamarindo on the northwestern coast and later went to the interior and spent time in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. There were a series of suspended bridges that allowed us to walk along the tree canopy, which was exciting and a little scary at the same time.

The views of the forest was more than worth it, especially since we went on a particularly cloudy, rainy day. The rain wasn’t bad and you come to expect it in this environment. I’ll take fog and cloud influenced vistas anytime in a place as lush and green as this was. The day after going through the cloud forest, we hiked up the side of Arenal Volcano and got within yards of the summit, but turned around because the winds were so strong with light, but persistent rain and by that point, we were basically climbing on a vertical that neither of us were really prepared for.

The views up and back were spectacular, though. I’d never been in an environment where weather and sight lines changed so rapidly. One moment you could see clear down to the valley below and the very next second, it’s all wiped out by the sudden appearance of a cloud that you’re now caught in the middle of and can’t see two feet in front of you.

The lush greens of all shades, the light, but persistent rain and fresh smells played with my senses and left me with amazing memories. 

Looking at the photos and videos I took then have me in the mood for being out in the middle of a rain forest again. I’m also feeling more nature-influenced works bubbling up because of it. I’m not sure how that may manifest, but I’m definitely feeling it.

Regardless of what time of life I've made art, it's all been influenced by life experience, observation and nature. To cap this off, I'm looking forward to an upcoming week away from the city and enjoying some down time next to and in an ocean soon. 

TM