Monique
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Morning Fix: Coffee
🕑 Added 2017-01-15 20:23:26 +0000 UTC I am currently sitting at a coffee shop somewhere in northern Texas, having a capuccino and getting my jones on for the 15 hour drive ahead of me.Snow and ice storms have forced me and my little Tacoma to detour far south of my original route in order to avoid very icy roads and sleeping in freezing conditions. As such, I lost a lot of work.
However, I have quite enjoyed my solitude. Driving 12 hours at a time through a literal cloud that is dumping rain and sleet upon me mercilessly, has forced me to maintain focus despite my current lack of direction and clarity. Sitting alone with one's thoughts can be torturous, but I am giving those thoughts space to acquiesce.
Being a nomadic artist is a strange balancing act. I'm balancing my many silent hours alone with having a social presence. As soon as I've settled into being with my thoughts, being-for-myself, I have to jerk myself into being-in-the-world, or being with others. The experience of being does not cease, but adjusts and adapts to whatever context in which it is thrown. After being alone for an entire day, walking into a gym to maintain my physical health can be jarring. Yet, it is satisfying to move my bones and stretch my muscles. Sitting down at a coffee shop, I adjust to sharing myself with the world. Those aspects of me I share with the world are much refined versions of those quiet thoughts that whisper to me as I drive. Because I only have so much control over how my surroundings identify my being in this world, there are rituals I fulfill to comfort, stimulate, or subdue me during these transitions.
This is precisely the theme inspiring the 'Morning Fix.' So while I finish up the last bits of my coffee and prepare to hit the highway, I share with you some outtakes from the project. Special thanks to Roberto Hull (Carryon Photo) for helping me make these images happen. The final images will be accompanied by writing.
Immerse yourself in being.
