2009

I remember:

*having Harper Lee join our family
*not sleeping much
*going to Sarasota and almost dying
*playing with Royce in concerts
*re-writing every stick of music for The Wizard of Oz
*going on tour with Proskuneo
*being adopted by the Garmons
*starting the back&forth project with Betsy
*almost walking away from everything creative in my life
*starting the Artist's Way with Betsy [noticing a trend here?]
*drinking a lot of coffee
*going to Sarasota again and not almost dying
*being a part of a little something called PWI
*playing Muse @ Water's Edge
*playing music @ Hamilton Mill
*watching good movies
*reading a lot of My Life Is Average
*starting a new job
*starting this blog
*writing a lot of music
*writing a lot of writing
*sketching 'till three in the morning
*having a blanket fort built in my room
*going to the pumpkin farm
*taking a sabbatical after PWI
*going to the beach with the staff team
*being a reaaaalllly good cook
*falling back in love with music
*lots of weddings a lots of babies
*taking a bajillion pictures
*finishing multiple journals
*going to LONDON and basically freaking out about that
*wearing lots of soft clothes
*starting to love my life again

january songs

I can usually measure every year by the monthly playlists of music I've made. I was creating my usual 'January Songs' playlist, when I noticed that I hadn't deleted last years. I love this comparison of what I was listening to last year, and then this year:

last year:

this year:

I'm loving Mute Math this month, as well as Regina {always} and Phil Wickham and Hauschka {new and weird and i love it!}

what i need to be able to function normally

This time of year, I hold tightly onto anything and everything beautiful, magical and shiny. The heavy things I tend to carry cause me to cling to simple beauty as a life-raft. Glitter brings me hope. Quiet and time and space to think brings me to tears. A blanket fort built as a surprise by friends drew the first real smile I've held in a week. Laying on the floor, looking up at the Christmas lights that held up the blankets reminded me that there is always hope. God does love me.

{and my friends love me too - they really did build me a surprise blanket fort. best christmas gift ever}

 

quiet world

I took some time out last night to go shoot a stop-motion sunset. It was freezing yesterday, and something about the cold makes the air and the light so clear! It was breathtakingly beautiful out there. So many shots in this video remind me of why I am quiet+world+creative. I became who I am in this place. As much as I look forward to leaving here someday soon, to live closer to my life, I will always have a spot in my heart for this place, this land, this light.

enjoy :] all photography copyright paul holley and katie holley, 2009 and original music copyright katie holley 2009.


my quiet world from quietworldcreative on Vimeo.

apples to apples :]

favorite set of portraits from christmas [looooving my new 50 mm prime lens. I officially take back any time I've ever thought of myself as a photographer before I had this lens].

24 things

24 things I want to do before I turn 25. They really aren't all huge, or appear huge, but some of them [like the edgy haircut] are big hurdles for me and I'd like to lean into them this year. Maybe next year's list will include loosing 25 pounds or climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, but this year ... we'll tackle sketchbooks and haircuts!

best memories of 2009

more photo collages! get excited!

christmas memories 2009

I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas! Thought I'd share some of my favorite pictures from yesterday's festivities :]



check back soon for some more collages of my favorite photos from this last year. i'm also starting to think about 2010, so there should be some good blogging from that, as well. much love!

longest week ever.

this is how i feel this week:

from this girl, via tumblr.

top of the roller coaster

You know that feeling that you get when you ride a roller-coaster? When you're at the top of the first big hill, and the roller-coaster stops for just a second before letting you plummet to the bottom?  You can get that feeling in life, sometimes, too. Not everything is that top-of-the-hill stomach drop, but a lot of things come really close.

I'm learning that I often get a hint of that feeling, and do everything to stop it. Including never going on roller-coasters! Sometimes that feeling is called:

*Risk

*Trying new things

*Love

*Relationship

*Being the new girl

*Speaking up

*Being brave in my life and art

*Making my own choices

And since each of these things include a roller-coaster stomach-drop [for me] then ... I avoid them! At all costs! But what if ... life is about feeling that feeling as often as it comes?  What if I'm supposed to be leaning in to that feeling instead of running away? How much of my life have I missed at twenty-four?

I guess I'll be learning to lean in in 2010. What about you?

Decemberween!

Oh my goodness, is it the end of the first week of December and I haven't blogged anything yet?

Some yummy photos, inspirations and updates on recent art projects coming soon! Much Christmas-season love!