Camping

Yesterday, Debbie and Cyrus from church brought me this amazingly wonderful gift. It was a bright yellow frame pack for backpacking. Talk about rocking my world. It had a ton of vintage camping equipment (which all still worked beautifully) inside. I’m totally stoked to get to use it here, and as I travel across the US to get to Montana. God’s so good. This stuff would have cost me a ton if I had had to buy it myself.

Included:

• Frame pack, with super padded shoulder and hip straps, old school but still crazy awesome.
• Camp stove, with propane tank
• Mess Kit
• 2 First aid kits
• Pot w/ removable handle
• Tent (I now have 3 tents total)
• Flint
• Water bottles
• Coffee pot

….and a plethora of odds and ends. So cool.

There’s also the possibility of inheriting a set of cross country skis… I told them I would think on it and get back to them… after all, there is only so much room in my car!

Black bear @ WCU

I’m really angry about this. I think its the most despicable thing that I’ve heard of in a long time. So far I’ve stayed out of the political fray, and minded my own business, but this has really gone too far.  Seriously, people, what the heck does a baby black bear have to do with anything? Why have we let this election get so out of hand that people are killing innocent animals to make their point. It’s cruel and it’s unjust and I think more people should be appalled. This election has turned into something completely base and disgusting, and the sooner it is resolved the better.

All I can suggest to you is that you pray and ask God to put the right man in office. It’s what I’ll be doing.

Montana

So, I went to Montana last weekend, and I fell in love with the state. It has to be, hands down, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life.

I spent most of my time there in Missoula, which was good. If I do end up moving to Montana, Missoula will be the place I start out in, because it’s a college town, and has a large art community. I really want to pursue being a photojournalist, and I think with the J-school at the University of Montana, combined with the Rocky Mountain School of Photography, I have an opportunity to produce a really awesome body of work.

The biggest thing that’s holding me back is the fear of a move that big. I’ve never lived outside of North Carolina, with the exception of 6 weeks in Spain, and I know absolutely no one in Montana. All combined, it makes for a very daunting experience.

I’m really praying through this one, and as much as I want to go, I’m not ready to commit. If I move, it will be 7 months from today, and in that time I have to work out tuition for either/or both schools, find a place to live, arrange for moving and packing. Anyone who has been to my house knows that packing in itself is gonna be an ordeal. Haha, it has admittedly gotten better since Norrie moved in.

So, if you’re reading this, then throw a prayer up to Jesus for me for peace and clarity. I don’t want to go unless it’s really His will, so we’ll see what happens. In the meantime, check out my photographs on Facebook.

Larry Gray

Keeping with the art theme, I also want to present Larry Gray for your viewing pleasure. This is an artist that will capture your heart. A couple of weeks ago, I walked into the Haen Gallery in Asheville, NC and his work just took my breath away. I had to sit down and just stare at the paintings for a few minutes because of the subtle intensity of his use of color and light. I can’t seem to find a lot of information about him online, but I will keep searching. His work (from what I’ve seen) centers around cloud movement and rain sweeping across the sky. I was in awe. I think that I probably relate to his work because as of late I’ve been obsessed with watching the rain drift in across the mountains. I always think it’s really cool when you can pinpoint where the rain starts and stops, and how it moves. Gray is also someone I would like to see hanging on my wall one day. Check his work out and see what you think.

Lynn Boggess

Lynn Boggess

I’ve recently started painting with oil paints and I’ve discovered that I really like the medium. I’ve always wanted to try it, but what really inspired me was seeing an opening at a gallery in Lewisburg, WV by Lynn Boggess. His stuff is really beautiful, and he really has a sense of how to use the colors and texture to its greatest potential. If I had the money (or a suitable house to display it in) I would not think twice about purchasing one of his works. They are typically huge canvasses and portray nature scenes, especially rivers. What’s really cool about Boggess is that he paints directly from nature instead of taking a photograph and going back to his studio. Anyone who’s painted with oils knows that he has taken on quite the undertaking by doing that. You should check him out.