Category Archives: Create Everyday Blog

Photography Helps Me Tell the Whole Story

In a world that never stops moving, where every moment seems to slip through our fingers “like sands through the hourglass,” it’s important to step back and reflect on the world around us.

Joan Didion once said, “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”

I find that I take pictures to figure out what to write, and from there how to think about it. I use photography as a tool to slow down, notice my surroundings, and capture the moment.

With a camera in hand, we have the power to freeze time, to hold onto a fleeting moment, and pause to actually think beyond the surface.

In day to day life as I’m driving around town I notice things that may bother me. If I’m not careful, those thoughts can turn into negativity. When I use my camera to capture both sides of the coin, so to speak, it gives me the perspective I need to see beauty in the ashes.

Just as a writer seeks to find meaning in words, I seek to find meaning in images.

What catches my eye?

How does it make me feel?

By rolling these questions around in my mind, things become clearer.

Photography allows me to notice the details that often go unnoticed—the way sunlight casts warmth like a blanket over my worn out town at dusk, the quick sparkle of laughter in my child’s eyes, the patina of an aged building, or the dancing shadows from a nearby tree on a peeling mural.

We can use photography to learn to see not only with our eyes but also with our hearts. It helps us tell the whole story. In contrast to those flawless Instagram home photos, where one area is meticulously decorated like a page from a magazine, but all the mess and outdated furniture are conveniently cropped out, capturing the essence of life in today’s small-town America demands an unfiltered lens that portrays both the harsh realities and the resilient spirit, avoiding looking through rose colored glasses.

So, I encourage you to pick up a camera, or even just your smartphone, and stop to see what you need to see.

Allow the act of taking pictures to help you notice what’s around you, and to give you the space to process your thoughts and feelings.

I create through writing and photography to connect with the world in a more meaningful way. I invite you to join me as we discover the beauty of the everyday. You never know what you might learn when you are open to creativity.

This week’s search led me to contemplate the love/hate relationship that exists with small towns.

On Small Towns

“Don’t you think sometimes people are formed by the landscape they grow up in?” -Joan Didion

Sometimes on Sunday nights to chase the melancholy away, I chase sunsets on roads where beauty and poverty live side by side creating the tension of living in small town America.

“Kilimanjaro belongs to Ernest Hemingway. Oxford, Mississippi, belongs to William Faulkner… A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most obsessively, wrenches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, loves it so radically that he remakes it in his image.” Joan Didion

It feels as though the dirt under my feet holds my story and the stories of generations before who have called this place home.

But, if I tell the whole story, sometimes it is hard to live here. If you google news headlines about our town or search facebook for local conversation, you will find what seems to be a river of depravity and gossip whispered out loud with a dose of slander.

Yet what I know to be true is that there is an undercurrent of faith trying to lead us back to where we need to be, regenerated, revived, and renewed.

Anonymity. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to live somewhere where no one knew my name. I went inside a big box store on vacation and left there with my groceries and a surprisingly lonely feeling that I didn’t bump into anyone from elementary school. It left me wondering if I could ever get used to that?

Would l become relieved to be lost in the crowd of a big city or long to be back with a people who are connected to me by shared memories and nostalgia, never going anywhere without recognizing everyone and being recognized? My town was “linked in” be for LinkedIn was a thing.

“Living in a small town…is like living in a large family of rather uncongenial relations. Sometimes it’s fun, and sometimes it’s perfectly awful, but it’s always good for you.”

Joyce Dennys

“Most of my life, I’ve lived in fairly isolated spaces. Small towns. Not necessarily where everybody knows everyone explicitly, but there’s a sense of the wires of connection between you and the people you interact with. Where I grew up, even if I didn’t know the person, I had some sense of the degrees of separation between me and them. And so I think it was a little anxiety-inducing as a child because I always had a sense that my actions had reverberations that I could chart more than I could have in a city. So it impressed upon me that, even within this isolation, there was a slightly tighter constraint placed upon me and fewer places to hide within that constraint. So even this small, isolated, rural space still felt big and overwhelming. I think that shaped me in my creative process. I’m always seeing something small and trying to figure out if I can make it smaller. I’m trying to find a place to wiggle into.”

Kevin Wilson

“‎The simple truth is that you can understand a town. You can know and love and hate it. You can blame it, resent it, and nothing changes. In the end, you’re just another part of it.” 

Brenna Yovanoff

Excerpt from the still untitled novella I’m working on:
Everly looked towards her little sister and out her window, “Nothing to see here…” she giggled. Barren rows and rows of turned over dirt where cotton once was streched as far as the eye could see. The fields were topped off with beige skies and tractors transitioning from farm to road slowing their progress most days.

Soon the familiar buildings and worn storefronts rolled by as they made their way through the town’s main street. The morning fog blanketed the town, making it seem even more dreary than it was. But to Everly, it was home.

“Untitled” by Emily Cook

Create Everyday, every day.

Have you ever stopped to think about the power of your everyday creative choices? In a world that often highlights the negitive, it’s easy to overlook the beauty that lies in the simplicity of our daily lives. But what if I told you that your daily routine could be a canvas for creativity, and that you have the agency to paint it with the colors of your own imagination? Today, let’s explore the idea of creating everyday, every day, and how this simple mindset shift can lead to a more beautiful life.

Life is a series of choices, both big and small, that shape the story of our lives. These choices are like the building blocks of our days, and they offer us the opportunity to add beauty and creativity daily. It’s not just reserved for artists, writers, or those with specific talents; it’s a gift that I believe God gave us all.

Consider the color of the walls of your home, the arrangement of your bookshelf, the words you choose in a conversation – these are all moments where your creativity and style can shine. Whether you’re into art, writing, sketching, homemaking, decorating, baking, or anything else, these choices can become your outlets for self-expression.

So, how do you discover your own creative outlet in the midst of your daily grind? It’s a process that begins with curiosity and looking from within. Start by asking yourself what activities lift your spirits? What do you find yourself daydreaming about when you’re washing dishes?

Your creative path might not be obvious at first, but it’s there waiting for you to uncover it. It could be the fun of putting together a delicious meal for your family, capturing the world through your camera lens, or even writing a letter to a friend. Your creative outlet is a reflection you and it’s worth exploring.

Now, let’s get practical. How can you start adding more creativity into your everyday life, starting right now? It’s not about changing your entire routine; it’s about making small, intentional choices that make a difference.

Take a moment to get up early and pay attention to the taste of your morning coffee, maybe experiment with a new recipe for dinner tonight, go outside, slow down, and really watch the sunset (or dawn before the sunrise) to give you a new perspective. Maybe it’s rearranging your living room furniture this weekend to create a cozy atmosphere for the new season or simply jotting down your thoughts in a journal.

The wonder of it all!

Big Idea: The beauty of life lies in the details, in the small choices that we make every day. As you go about your day, remember that you have the power to create a more beautiful life, one choice at a time. Choose to see the good in unlikely places.

Let me share the story of two special women in my life, my grandmothers, who have left their mark on me. One found contentment in life’s simply working with her hands to create as a seamstress. The other, driven by her work ethic, lived with intention to create a life she wanted for her family. These two extraordinary women, with their contrasting yet equally inspiring lives, have shaped my belief that every day is an opportunity for purpose. God sprinkled parts of each of them into my personality and I’m so thankful!

My maternal grandmother, the sweetest soul, lived a life defined by contentment. I never went a day without knowing she was immersed in some form of creative endeavor. Whether it was retrofitting a pattern to mimic a dress we saw in a catalog, finishing a crossword puzzle, or at her sewing machine working her seamstress magic, she found joy in the act of creating with her hands. To her, creativity wasn’t just a hobby; it was a way of life. Her days were filled with her imagination and encouraging others, and she left a legacy of beauty in everything she touched. She taught me that working with my hands could be a source of happiness and it’s a lesson I carry with me every day.

On the other side of my family, my paternal grandmother, who bubbled with joy and laughter, was determined and ambitious. She worked and invested to ensure her family had access to a better life. Her sacrifices were not in vain, as her commitment eventually paved the way for her 4 granddaughters to attend college and pursue their dreams. Her life was a testament to the power of specific choices and hard work. She taught me by her life that every decision, no matter how small, could shape the future, and that setting goals and putting them into action is the key to success.

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The lives of these two incredible women serve as constant inspiration for me. My content and creative grandmother reminds me that beauty can be found in the everyday, in the act of creation itself. It costs nothing to use your imagination and you can be creative no matter where you are or what season of life you are. While my determined and hardworking grandmother taught me that even the smallest choices, when made with purpose and intention, can have a profound impact on our lives and the lives of others.

As I navigate my own path, I strive to blend their wisdom into my daily life. I seek to choose creativity in the mundane, just as my creative grandmother did, and I seek the diligence and focus of my other grandmother into my aspirations. I’ve come to understand that every day is an opportunity to make choices that not only add beauty to our lives but also shape our future. These choices have the power to transform our existence into a masterpiece.

So, as we embark on this day, I invite you to reflect on the lives of those who have inspired you. What lessons have they imparted? How can you apply those lessons with purpose and intention into your daily choices?

Remember, the canvas of your life is waiting for you to get the courage to begin creating, and each choice is a layer that contributes to the finished life you’re making. Let’s make today a day filled with purpose and creativity – for me today was stopping to consider my grandmothers who came before me and who are a gift to the generations yet to come because they lived creatively.