I’ve been sharing a lot of my fine art projects with you and it seems I’ve let my Gratitude Project slip a little. Honestly I’m okay with that for a couple reasons. One – I think it’s important that we evolve as artists. If we continue to do the same things over and over we cannot expect to see growth and progress. Two – I started the Gratitude Project to help keep me in a positive space mentally. My other projects also help me with that, just in a different way. So I feel that as long as I stay true to where my inspiration is and I continue to create for myself – I’m still okay.

That doesn’t mean I’ve completely let go of the gratitude project or that I no longer find inspiration in the little things. I absolutely still find myself breathless at the sight of a sunrise or sunset. I still feel in awe of the way the grass buds back each spring in spite of a harsh winter. I still find joy in the little moments with my husband. And I still pull out my camera to capture these little perfect moments. I’m simply allowing myself those moments as I feel them… there’s less drive to do it because I have other outlets. But I did happen to take some Gratitude images a couple of weeks ago. It was bitterly cold out and I started wondering how things were looking down at the lake. So I grabbed my camera bag and headed over to Wilborn to check it out.

The lake was only lightly frozen on top and there were plenty of patches of exposed water. The best part was there were a ton of geese just hanging out on the beach. So I decided to try and get a little closer. They were not too pleased to see me and the closer I got the more loudly they protested until they finally took off flying. I did get some fun shots of them before, after, and during their flight though.

Here’s a peek from my little mini gratitude shoot.