My incredible friend Thea Coughlin is teaching a new photography e-course-this January for Squam Arts Workshop, and I know so many of you will immediately fall in love it, and want to take it, because simply, Thea is magic with a lens. And if you blog, being able to capture gorgeous photos matters so much. Thea is both an intuitive and talented teacher, and an amazing photographer. She has a way of capturing light that transforms her subjects...and this course is your chance to learn how capture the light and shoot intuitively in manual mode. Check it out:
Intuitive Lens with Thea Coughlin from Squam on Vimeo.
Of course, because I am forever curious about other artist's process, I couldn't help but ask her a few questions about her work, process... and about the delicate and tenuous balance of navigating life as an artist and life as a mama. Here are her thoughts:
What do you love most about taking photos?
Standing witness to the beauty, love and light within my muse, and the place that they are stepping into in their life and then being able to show them what I see through my images. Watching the evolution of acceptance, self love, respect and growth that occurs in people after a spirit session is one of my greatest inspirations.
What's one thing you do regularly to show up and practice your art?
I have to constantly pull myself back to practicing my art. When I am very busy with my business I notice I take less photographs for myself because I am so tired from my work. I have to make a constant effort to simplify so there is room to do photography for myself.
How do you navigate being a creative/photographer and a mama on a daily basis?
It is a juggling act. I start almost every day with 30 minutes of meditation, or what is meant to be meditation. LOL. Sometimes I spend the whole time mentally wrestling with myself to stop thinking of my to do list and just clear my mind. But I show up for this 30 minutes every day. It is my commitment to myself. This time is a guarantee to keep the creativity flowing and a calm grounding to my often jam packed days. My intention is to stop all work at 3:30 when my son gets home from school to be present with him. Recently with a lot of new projects on the horizon I have felt this commitment slip. It feels much better when I have guidelines around my work hours. My creativity thrives during my down time.
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See? Authentic insight. Beauty. Magic. Don't you want to sign up?