Starting Over In Any Moment

In this moment, I’m sitting at a little restaurant by our house. The walk here was so cold that I had to tuck my head into my jacket up to my eyes, dig my hands deep into my pockets and go as fast as I could. I made the trek though, without hesitation, just for a chance to get away from the house.

I’ve always loved the start of the New Year as a way of getting centered and dreaming but this year was different. The first came and went and I found myself feeling more in a funk than I ever have. I was fueling my body with sugar (Ben & Jerrys for dinner, I’m not even kidding) and staying up super late (what do you think happens when you eat Ben & Jerrys for dinner?), waking up early with the boys and dragging.

I couldn’t pick up a camera. I couldn’t finish a sentence. I just sat and doodled in between the rushes of being mom. Honestly, it was my sketchbook and my short workouts that pulled me through. A few days before the month ended, I decided enough was enough and I cut the sugar. I had a headache for 2 straight days.

I came out of that fog a new person. Seriously, a new person! Now, I’m sleeping way better which makes everything in my day better (I can write again!) and now I’m looking hard at 2022.

What should we do?
What can I do this year, with intention?

The word I keep coming back to is FOCUS.

To be honest, I’m so damn over the busyness. The scroll. I deleted Twitter permanently. TikTok permanently. I’m toying with the idea of being done with Facebook for good too.

Although I’ve always loved Instagram, I’ve been a bit disenchanted with it recently. It’s been hard for me to find the inspiration to post. Maybe it’s just a season? My people are there and I love the IG art world.. so it might have to be a pause and come back refreshed.

All I know is I am craving focus. Focus on my boys, my art (photography) and my blog.

I swear, all of this is a never ending process . I try. I fail. I think again. I try again.

So here’s to starting over in any moment and focusing on what is most important to you.

- Elyse’

“Missplaced”

Analog Collage
6x6, 2022

How to Create Through The Chaos | Take + Make Time

It’s 7:08am — I’m helping my insistent toddler pick out the edges of the puzzle he’s going to attempt before breakfast. My little guy just yelled to me from the bathroom that he needs a wipe. Finn pup is standing behind me whimpering because he is ready to be fed. After I pour food in his bowl, I turn around to review my heavily packed calendar on the fridge. Then my mind drifts…

Is it possible to create through the chaos?

I’ve been thinking about this question a lot lately.

I’m always on the move and my mind, well — it runs. It runs like A/C on a sweltering day in July.

Creation, for me, has always happened during quiet moments. Focused moments. Moments of solitude where I have time, space and good music playing softly in the background.

So when this summer took off, my creative practice got the back burner. With the boys no longer napping and both of them going to bed later each night, time to create felt like a thing of the past. I got so frustrated waiting for quiet that I was forced to find another way.

So, is it possible to create through the chaos?

YES. YES, it is. This blog post is proof — but it takes a bit of discipline to do so.

Here’s two things that have been working for me:
1. Simplify
2. Take (and make) what you can get

Simplify

I’ve always wanted to do it all. Create collage, shoot photography, edit those photos, read a million books at once, write blogs and so on.
In order to get anything done, simplicity is necessary. Choosing one thing to focus on really helps me.
I also frequently remove tasks that don’t fit my vision. Sometimes when I shoot photography I’ll choose two photos to edit out of 50 that I’ve taken. Is it hard to pick only two? Incredibly hard but that’s the art of it. You have to be able to cull your tasks like you are culling photos.
Go with your gut and be confident in your decision.

Take (and make) what you can get

Secondly, you have to take and make time. This part was the hardest for me because, like I said above, I like to be sitting at my desk in a quiet room with music on to make stuff. That’s just not realistic for me right now and I’ve been pushing myself to do the best with what I have.

The discipline comes when you’re tempted to reach for your phone but pick up your sketchbook instead. It’s keeping a notebook handy when you’re playing at the park with your kids to jot down a good blog post idea. It’s writing during the 20 minutes between getting home and starting dinner. Taking time during small moments in the day to generate and spark ideas.

Now, after you go through your day taking little pockets of time to create, what do you do with it all? This is were you have to make time. For me, that looks like setting my alarm for 5am. This is my biggest secret!

Rising at 5am has been the game changer. It gives me time to sit with all of the puzzle pieces I’ve collected during the day and put them together.
I get a workout in, read a bit, finish blogs and even make art!

I’ve realized there are just too many demands during the day and if I rise at 5am I have about and hour and a half to myself before the sound of little feet come running down the stairs.

You are worth it! XO

Oh, The Magic You Hold

WHEN YOU LOOK, WHAT DO YOU SEE? | Seeking in Palm Springs, CA

Color, texture, shape, feeling — through my lens in Palm Springs, CA.
Seeking inspired by photographer Jessica Backhaus in WONDER.

DO YOU SAY YES?

I was thinking about it the other day — about some of the people I admire.

Photographers, sharks, athletes, artists, you know, the makers.
People out in the world doing interesting and creative things.

And I thought about what it is I admire most.

Easy.

They said YES.

Sometime, somewhere in their journey, they said YES to something uncomfortable.
To something scary.
To something they might not have felt ready for.

They said yes to looking dumb.
They risked failing.
And then they risked failing again.

They said yes to changing course.
Yes to trying.

They get up early.
They do the work.
They say yes.

So to anyone out there saying yes, when you so badly want to say no and run far away and hide forever, I admire you.

Keep going.

Stop Feeling Bad About Changing Your Mind

Have you ever poured every bit of yourself into something to later change directions, deciding it was no longer for you?

Did that make you feel shitty? Confident? Excited? Shameful?

I’ve been there…many times.
And if you’ve ever put yourself out there, you’ve probably been there, too.

But if I’ve learned anything over this past decade of soul searching it’s this:

It’s OK to change your mind.

Let me say it again, louder.

It’s OK to change your mind.

You can correct course, or follow a new path, or change lanes, or stop and start again.

And if this decision only impacts you, you don’t need to explain yourself to anyone.

Someone recently made a comment to me... loosely along the lines of how many different things I’ve done over the years. How many times I’ve changed my mind… almost if to say, you’re changing your mind.. again?
It wasn’t meant to be mean at all, I mean I HAVE lived a very multi-passionate life at the ripe ol’ age of 31… but it did make me stop and cock my head, eyebrows down, as if to say, “Yes. SO. What’s your point?”

I am always on the path of discovery and learning new things.
I’m being inspired daily by new thoughts and ideas…. And confidently so.

If I didn’t feel as bold as I do now, and this comment really got to me, then what?

I just stop doing anything at all?

Let myself be sucked into living in the safest way possible as not to ruffle anyones feathers?
Conform to make people comfortable or to ensure they think a certain positive way about me?

Oh my gosh just typing that sentence gets me all fired up.

Like ope, reached my try quota! Time to just sit down and do nothing!

It’s bullshit and I will not accept it.
No one should.

I don’t care if I fail 12 (hundred) times or if I change my mind 100 (thousand) times, I am STILL going to start again and I’m STILL going to be inspired again and no matter what.
And I’ll ALWAYS keep dreaming new dreams.

Give yourself time. Give yourself space. Maybe take a break to let the dust settle.

But if you feel it in your heart to maybe go back to school or start a business, or change your business or take a dance class or write or maybe even leave it all to go raise your babies… then do it.

But just promise me you’ll never stop pursing what makes you happy. Promise me you’ll never stop wanting to make a better world and lastly, promise yourself you’ll never make a decision based on someone else’s opinion no matter what that looks like for you.

What are you starting, trying or dreaming of? Leave a comment below to let me know.

You know me, I’ll be sharing it all on the blog so be sure to follow along.
And when I don’t have time to blog (I AM a mother of two littles) I’ll be creating over on instagram, so be sure to connect with me there!

Here to Stay

It’s been exactly two years since my first DSLR landed in my hands.

Since the initial click of the shutter, things have been a whirlwind of change.

So much growth, so many questions.

My camera has been with me as I’ve learned, stumbling, how to be a mother.

It’s been there as I navigate being a wife, caring for a family.

It’s been the lifeline that grasp so tightly, not lose my sense of self.

I don’t know where I’m going yet, all I know is that I’m here to stay.