Below is my iphone 4s photo narrative of our artistic explorations…

(above left & below: Need Tower Sculpture by Kenneth Snelson, above right: Graft by Roxy Paine)

(above: Carlos Cruz-Diez, “Chromosaturation,” 1965, refabricated 2010)

(only photo I got of the two of them together)

(out the window of Lawson & Wendy’s beautiful place)

TINY DANCER (above)
9 September, 2010 – Mussoorie, India
Jill Sornson Kurtz

Dancing Girl by Champaben Mistry

Rising beyond hope.
I am afloat once again,
Dreaming of the life that is within reach.

I am deliciously caught in the evening light,
My eyes sparkle with a radiant beauty,
All once more, my own.

THE TIES THAT BIND
8 April, 2007 – Rishikesh, India
Jill Sornson Kurtz

They say you can’t choose your family; regardless of what they do or where they go, you are bound to them by blood. Your family tree may be fractured, splintered and seemingly a pile of firewood, but the same bloodline runs through your veins. You don’t have to grow to love each other, in fact there is a special I don’t really have a choice kind of family-kind of love reserved for just this relationship.

I live in India now (note the date I first wrote this for sadly at the time of this post, I do not live in India), half a world away from my own family. But I have discovered another blood line I am a part of, another family to which I am bound. I wish I could explain to you the strange phenomena of being a part of the family of Christ. There is something about accepting His sacrifice, washed [so to speak] by His blood, trusting in His love, that binds people together in away I’ve never known before… especially here in India.

I know I experienced a similar connection back in the states. But here?
Here it’s different…deeper…stronger. People whose name I cannot even pronounce call me sister. Those who don’t even know where Kansas is hug me as their daughter. You wouldn’t believe what they sacrifice for each other and the way they love each other. And now, they’ve included me in their circle.

Sometimes, all I have to do is just look in to the eyes of my new brothers and sisters to I see it, the joy, the passion, the grace. The blood, His blood, heals the brokenhearted and works to make us whole.

For many of us, December is a month of urgency and expectancy. Finals will soon be over, vacation is around the corner, presents will be given, and a new year will begin. But as with many of us, we aren’t very good at waiting. Dietrich Bonhoeffer points out in his Advent reflections, “Waiting is an art that our impatient age has forgotten.”

He goes on to say, “Whoever does not know that austere blessedness of waiting – that is, of hopefully doing without – will never experience the full blessing of fulfillment. Those who do not know how it feels to struggle anxiously with the deepest questions of life, of their life, and to patiently look forward with anticipation until the truth is revealed, cannot even dream of the splendor of the moment in which clarity is illuminated for those.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent & Christmas, Day 2)

This weekend, Preston and I participated with others in an event in our community called “Broken Liturgy.” The intent of it was to be reflective on this season and truly experience expectancy and anticipation of the birth of Christ, God in flesh, remembered by the celebration of Christmas. As my contribution to the event, I made a photo essay from photos I have taken that I felt conjured up ideas of expectancy, anticipation, waiting, and hope.

ex·pect \
1. to look forward to; regard as likely to happen; anticipate the occurrence or the coming of: I expect to read it. I expect him later. She expects that they will come.
2. to look for with reason or justification: We expect obedience.
3. Informal . to suppose or surmise; guess: I expect that you are tired from the trip.
4. to anticipate the birth of (one’s child): Paul and Sylvia expect their second very soon.

an·tic·i·pate
1. to realize beforehand; foretaste or foresee: to anticipate pleasure.
2. to expect; look forward to; be sure of: to anticipate a favorable decision.

wait \
1. to remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens (often followed by for, till, or until ): to wait for the bus to arrive.
2. (of things) to be available or in readiness: A letter is waiting for you.
3. to remain neglected for a time: a matter that can wait.
4. to look forward to eagerly: I’m just waiting for the day somebody knocks him down.

hope \
1. the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.
2. a particular instance of this feeling: the hope of winning.
3. grounds for this feeling in a particular instance: There is little or no hope of his recovery.
4. a person or thing in which expectations are centered: The medicine was her last hope.
5. something that is hoped for: Her forgiveness is my constant hope.

Which of these photos communicate these words to you most?
If you made a photo essay, what photos would you add to these?

See the full gallery HERE
 

I’d like to propose a name for a new practice, the quasimoon. Rather than plan yet another event right after their Big Day, many couples are starting a new tradition and are only taking a mini vacation right after their wedding and waiting to indulge in their blissful honeymoon escape several months later. Some do this for logistical or financial reasons, while others want to enjoy the time after the wedding when friends and family are still together.

We, on the other hand, took a quasimoon because we didn’t have any other choice. A week after our wedding, Preston was a groomsman in a childhood friend’s wedding in Indiana and 2 days later was scheduled to begin work in Pennsylvania. Thinking practically, we decided to make a quasimoon adventure of the 3,500 mile roadtrip we knew we had to take. With all the changes and events of this summer, the quasimoon turned out to be the best thing we could have done and eliminated the need to plan one more thing!

For me, the trip also seemed therapeutic. Not only were we now married, but we were moving to the other side of the country, I had just graduated, and we were leaving a community we had invested in for several years. Stepping off a plane in a new place with a new name and new life would have been too abrupt a change for this internal processor to process. But with each mile we traveled, I was able to let go of our life in California and anticipate what awaited us in Pennsylvania. We tried to recall all the events, people and memories we wanted to take with us into the next season but also talked about patterns we wanted to reset for the future. It was a physical and mental transition from one world to the next.

Along the ride, we saw some of america’s most beautiful countryside. We stopped for moose on the road in Utah and watched buffalo roam in Wyoming. We swam under the big sky of Montana and felt patriotic at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota… We read books out loud and had bad dancing parties in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes we sat in silence enjoying the view with the sweet thought of the other sitting next to us until death do us part still sinking in. In three months, we’ll indulge in a honeymoon of our own in New Zealand and I have a feeling the blissfulness will have only multiplied.

Ah… Home sweet Home!
See all the photos and in larger sizes HERE.


p.s. what road trip would be complete without photos of state signs?!

Here’s to you, Fred and Sonja…. An event 7 years in the making, I was honored to be a part of your day and wish you the very best in this new chapter together.

Client viewing : 08.22.10 – Cortopassi (Please contact the bride and groom for the gallery password)
Facebook Album : Fred & Sonja

A special shout out to Sarah Howard (soon to be Gerber) for helping me photographically collect moments from the evening and I truly look forward to photographing your own wedding soon!

See highlights from the day in the gallery below:

They recently finished their masters degrees and wanted to celebrate the milestone and their new chapter in life. We re-lived all the late nights studying, walks on campus, and coffee shop discussions in their cozy life in Marin. I watched them laugh and tease, challenge and balance each other in a way that brings out the best in them both. Thanks for being a sounding board for me and being a safe place of processing. I hope these photos capture you well.

Client viewing : 08.05.10 – Pirtle (Please contact the bride and groom for the gallery password)

See highlights from the day in the gallery below:

I believe the phrase goes, ‘If these walls could talk, oh the stories they’d tell.” As I sit here with these children, I wonder what stories their feet would tell me. How many miles have they walked without shoes over rocky roads and uncultivated fields? How many times have they fetched the day’s water or run under a tree for shelter from the rain. These feet have built callouses to protect but also to survive. If their feet could talk, I think it would leave mine speechless.

I spent a week in northern Uganda where the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) has rebelled against the government and has turned children into soldiers. I designed a master plan for an orphanage which focuses specifically on children who have seen and  lived through the atrocities of war. Through counseling, community and unconditional love, these children’s lives are in the process of being transformed.

06.19.09