no. 1

WHO

I was driving with a friend and we were talking about communication- specifically, audible communication. Language. My whole life it was something I struggled with, feeling as though I couldn't get the message across, even sometimes to myself. (By the way, the irony is not lost on that I'm here communicating about how badly I communicate.) No matter how much I tried I could only fail -at best- to describe who I was and what was in my heart. It left me feeling a bit misunderstood and alone. But I'm human! So this was a problem! I wanted to know and be known. I craved connection. I told him how badly I wished for a day I would finally be able to throw my thoughts into the world without having to worry about the right vocabulary. I remember his puzzled facial reaction, then he turned to me and said, "Haley... but that's exactly what you do. You've centered your whole life on it. What do you think any artist is doing?"
Holy crap. It hit me!

ART.

It's the language of the universe. Something felt, not heard. Something intangible and internal. A prayer to the universe. Language of the soul!

I had never considered myself one before... but that random Wednesday, I began to look at myself a little differently. An artist! 

I actually am an artist when I film and edit my wedding videos. It's more than just my job. It took a little noticing, but I've come to realize art is much more about your relationship with the world. How you paint or sing or dance with the world. How you deliver your perspective. 

Art is floating in the water under a full moon, running with the birds and thinking of their freedom, gently transporting bugs to a safer spot. It's eating intentionally, how you dress and decorate your room. It's laughter and tears and everything in between. 

I realized that an artist is nothing but a communicator. 

I'm much more capable of speaking for myself these days. But now that I've learned, I see it's not the only thing that matters. In this space, I'd like to share both words and images with you. Come and go as you please!

FOR A LONG TIME I FOUGHT IT.

I was just making wedding videos. I wasn't out there turning marble into beautiful, naked people or syncing poetic words to music. I didn't own an easel or paints. I certainly wasn't starving myself. 

"We tend to think of the artist's work as the output. 

The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world".

-Rick Ruban

Part

oNE