Lessons From The River

You guys know that I'm busy. Busier than ever, finishing up the illustrations for Little Dead Riding Hood. The deadline is in a month, and I just got the chapters a few weeks ago. Since each illustration takes about 4-5 hours, I need to do 1-2 chapters a day to make that deadline! There are 80 illustrations needed, So, it's been pretty hectic around this house. I wake up, run a few errands and then get home and draw until my hand aches. I sincerely hope it will be worth it. 

Yesterday Sterling and I took a bit of a break to go run some errands. One of those errands included photographing some jewelry for a friend's shop . I'll be posting more photos of the jewelry, but check out her awesome shop! 

Anyways, we decided to go to the river and hope to find some shade to take photos in. 

We got there at about 5 pm, as the sun was starting to set. We struggled with lighting for quite a while. There were a few stores that we needed to go to, that were closing soon. The light was very harsh, and the sun kept reflecting off the water into our eyes. Sterling and I were both pretty frustrated that the photos weren't working out. With this rushed stressed attitude, there was no way photos would turn out. After battle with the harsh sunlight and the rush we were feeling,  I sat down, and I said, 

"Let's just wait a bit. The sun will set, so lets just calm down and wait." And from there, we looked around at the beauty around us. With deeper breaths and calmer minds we noticed the sunlight was reflecting on the wet rocks and the waves like sparkling diamonds. The setting sun put a soft haze over everything. The river was beautiful, the air was crisp and we were in no rush. We went back to taking photos and they turned out beautifully. The sunlight went from harsh to beautiful. The sunlight's reflections turned to glitter in the background. 

I'll share more from the shoot as I do outfit posts. 

This little lesson from the river is one that I find myself learning again and again. It must be a lesson I really need. A lesson of letting go. Letting life take it's course. Let things happen. Relax, and don't try to control everything. 

And while I'm under a lot of stress with this book I'm illustrating, it's good to know I can ease up on myself a bit. I can let go just a little. It doesn't mean I will let go completely and not finish the work. It means instead I will relax about it, keep up the pace and let it happen. 

The best creative work, photos, writing and drawing comes from letting go of that desire to control every aspect of our lives... and going with the flow of life. 

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