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My favorite season is upon us – fall. The light seems to drift low and through the trees and I can’t get enough of the leaves and their multiple colors. The air is crisp and clear and there are many long walks to be had, complete with leaf collecting and hot cider…..hats, coats, gray skies and childhood laughter – to me, it’s a season of exploration and wonder. Every year about this time, I begin to feel young again – and a bit more alive.
A few wonderful composers I’ve found as of late that I wanted to share. Best to all this beautiful season.
Mark Kilian (you can listen to clips on his site – wonderful film score work)
Andres Goldstein and Daniel Tarrab
Ciao! Anna
I want to harness the minutes, elongate them into hours and just exist there for…..ever.
Soon I’m going to go West again to visit my grandmother. I recently had some film sent for my baby brownie special and ansco panda (they are here). My goal is to start the second half of the photo project I began months ago – entitled ‘letting go.’ I find the journey in these photos to be quite cathartic….to pick significant pieces from a past that seems almost like another life. This effort to truly embrace the growing silence that exists in the space where there was much sound as a child. The broken barn, paddocks…overgrown pastures, dwindling crop of new foals every year. Old doctor’s bags and worn out fence lines. They are all reminders of a life that I lived as a child. It’s odd sometimes to think about how completely opposite two sides of my family are….one, the country folk – horses, pastures….health, medicine – the other, the artists – music, dancing…..as I’ve grown, the latter seems to have found me more then the former. But, foundation remains no matter how distant. I treasure the moments of silence now – the empty pastures and overgrown paddocks….because all I really have to do is close my eyes and see what is used to be. And, as long as that is tucked away in my heart…it remains. So, in the next few weeks, look for more photos from that series. The first ones are here:
Whenever you’re ready – it’s time
Silence
Memory
Take me…where the wind blows
Dear escape,
The rest are here:
Letting Go (finally)
Rebirth
Starting out today, I can already feel a tendency for this to become a very complicated post. I find myself with many in depth things to say and given my medium of communication is not the written word, well, go figure.
Lately, I feel a rogue presence has softly begun to exercise exploration in my internal workings. It’s as though I’m faced with a place of starting from scratch, uncovering myself….and wondering who I am, where I’m going and what, exactly…to a finite point, do I believe and value. As a child, I assumed the older you got, the more you would have life figured out….the more answers you would have to ridiculous questions. Which, as a child, were things like ‘how do I secure this rope around my waist so I can jump out of the hayloft’ or ‘how many books can I read in one day’ or ’should I write a song about my horse?’……which have changed, now, to things like – ‘how can I make an impact on poverty?’, ‘how can I make sure I’m not promoting child labor?’, ‘who, exactly, is God?’…..these and millions more, and as I grow…I realize it seems they actually get harder to answer. I think the reason being – when I was a young girl, I lived with excitement, delight and had an unquenchable appetite for experience. I believed things fully without question, I didn’t experience a need to challenge fear, because I was fearless and my imagination was not only a constant source of inspiration, but, in all reality….a very real world to live in. There were open doors everywhere. Right now, I’m trying to reawaken that constant and pure lust for life. Trying to balance the everyday challenges of adulthood, with the passionate imagination of youth. Hopefully, as life goes on, they will embrace each other.
I’ve had the pleasure of finding this beautiful photo on flickr – and it’s definitely inspiring me today. As well, last night as I was (yet again) dismembering a poor song I’m working on and piecing it back together, I came across this beautiful piece (Prelude in C Major) in my case of sheet music and remembered just how in love with it I’ve always been. Playing it is like giving myself an instant vacation. Enjoy.
Ciao! Anna
Lately I’ve been on a quest to balance wants and responsibilities in daily life. I want to write music every day, I want to work out, and run…..take some pictures, read….explore the world….have fun with my children. I also need to care for my home, my laundry, make sure everyone is fed, keep up with business responsibilities and make sure my children are showered in love, trained, taught….given tools to explore the world in a healthy way. There is so much to balance. My own pursuits are usually trumped by the voices that daily say, "mom, can we do a project" or "mom, can we have a snack" or…"lets go to the pool" or…any number of things. And, in the quest for embracing balance, I have to focus on the bigger picture. Though I think my children will benefit to no end watching me pursue my dreams, I think they will benefit even more from seeing me show up for them in the daily grind. So, it’s balancing the two. I feel that I’m slowly reaching a place that is good for both self and family to function in harmony.
Today, I am in full anticipation of going here (Chicago) with these lovely ladies. (website coming soon!) I can’t wait! We are more then thrilled to have be accepted into Renegade this year! Small blessings can turn into life changing opportunities….just takes some determination!
Have a beautiful day! Ciao! Anna
(an old shot, but a favorite)
I awoke today to a great deal of fog and heavy clouds. This was supposed to be our ‘hiking in the forest’ day, but my little troupe may have to wait it out to see how things develop in the sky. We are hoping for a clearing. It made me ponder, though, how our plans change based on exterior experiences, situations or simple things like weather. And, in those changes, how a direction shift occurs in life – though sometimes so small, it’s barely noticeable. It also makes me wonder if it’s me that determines these changes, or someone much Bigger. 
Have a lovely, beautiful, direction-filled day (regardless of how much fog you’re in.)
And, while you’re at it, check out a few places I’ve found along the way:
Show and Tell blog (by lovely photographer Jasmine Fitzwilliam, who is here and here.
And, a website not only informative, but filled with gorgeous pictures (the linked photo happens to be my day dream these days): NEAC online
Enjoy!
Ciao! Anna
Today was decidedly good. I started a new song and put an old one aside in hopes that new inspiration will help me finish it soon; My boys and I read books for an hour, laying in the ‘fort’ that we constructed from a sheet and a few lines of twine. (oh, yes, and you need tacks, too.); I managed to give the poor dog a bath (well, when a small boy covers your body with peanut butter and jelly, you would want a bath, too!); I’ve had some inspirational conversation on my favorite place to reside – music; and business plans took another positive turn. There is much to be thankful for today. It’s about slowing down to see it. Oh, and the Polaroids I took at the park the other day – made my week….I adore my boys! (See ‘daily graces‘ for both). (Oh! And, I just found a lovely blog by an equally as lovely artist – Made by Katrina – check it out!)
Ciao! Anna
I’m doing cartwheels today for two reasons. Both are pictured here. Well, in a way. My AP copies of ‘For the Love of Light‘ arrived today and it’s even more beautiful then I dreamed. I’m so intensely blessed to have been a part of this book – it’s truly a dream come true for my photography.
Next, (notice not second), I met up with a long lost teacher and friend today and was completely inspired by that connection. I’m a firm believer that nothing happens by chance. A few months ago, as I pulled my violin out for a very rare play (or at least to test how rusty I’ve become), I felt in my bones that longing to make it sing. Though I knew with as rusty as I was, it would barely squeak. However, a month or so after that, I reconnected with my old violin teacher. An inspirational person with a very rare and great gift – the kind of talent and passion for his instrument that makes great musicians and non-musical people alike feel what music really is. He is here and very worth listening to. So, I am now highly motivated and inspired to finish this violin piece that has been cooking around in my head for the past few months now. Everything happens for a reason. Obviously far surpassing what can be seen in a moment.
Ciao! Anna
Sometimes I think we go through the motions of life without truly living it. I’ve been questioning what ‘truly living’ means. I’ve heard it defined as living out dreams, pursuing passions, helping others, never missing an opportunity. I’ve not quite decided. I think I feel the most alive when Sam and I are taking a run (he in the running stroller) and the wind is a this face and he’s laughing, or watching my son tell one of his stories with all of his hand movements and intense expressions, or slowly taking in one of my daughter’s hand made, amazingly illustrated comic strips. It also involves a move to Italy, teaching overseas, skydiving, climbing tall mountains, finishing a composition, framing a picture, teaching the kids how to ride bikes, swim, discover new places….there is so much that defines ‘living.’ I guess as long as I’m able to stop and ponder what ‘living’ means, and strive to do it, maybe I won’t find too many days of letting ‘life’ fly by without living it.
Okay, now completely shifting gears. Hmm. I’ve been doing a bit too much of that lately….today, I’m in love with the idea of visiting some city I’ve never been to and finding new shops to explore. (That is one day dream that never gets old.) Here are a few places I love to visit online that really inspire me in the fashion realm.
Cigana NY
Geren Ford
Isabel Marant
Erotokritos
Ciao! Anna
We just returned last night from our first ‘Beard family vacation.’ It was marvelous to watch the children run wild for a day and a half down trails – picking fresh raspberries, discovering that mulberries are not only purple, but white, as well – tasting new things, seeing new things, swimming for hours….(Sam learned to kick, kick, kick!) and just being the close unit we often crave on those busy days. We enjoyed an amazing overnight stay at a beautiful place called the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City. It was perfect for the first vacation as everyone was finally old enough to ‘experience’ the whole thing. But not too long that the little guys got restless. Laid back, breezy, beautiful….fun, fun! More trip shots up on flickr soon! At any rate, being home is like stepping into rushing water again. The never ending list of things to do!
I had a few moments to slow down last evening and check a few new things out, as well as visit a few old – wanted to share them here:
My violin teacher from highschool (by far, truly, the most passionate violinist I’ve met as well as talented beyond measure): William Wolcott (he is one of those rare talents that should only be accessible from a back row seat at Lincoln Center!) You have to watch the video to get the full affect of performance here. I remember being inspired to no end by this brilliant musician.
Beautiful photography, blog and overall lovely – Steph Parke at her PhotoSteph blog
I came across Karmameju while looking for more work from the amazing photographer Franne Voigt, who also shoots for Noa Noa at times. I have to say, I love their products, but it’s the photography inspires me!
Okay, this is definitely a place I would have ‘one of each, please’ if I was incredibly wealthy. Or, just slightly wealthy. (haha) Irregular Choice shoes and such. Definitely satisfies my shoe-aholic tendencies!
Ciao!
Anna
