On The Road Again...

So as a way to keep my creativity in the forefront of my mind I carry some form of a camera with me at all times. I like to be able to use my photos as inspiration for my paintings or even just play around in photoshop. This is a new habit I have been trying to form because being an artist, I always regret those moments when there was a great photograph to be taken or a memory I wish I could have to look at forever.

So I successfully shlepped my camera all around Chicago so I could be the ultimate tourist (and have memories of spending the weekend in a new city with a bunch of my closest friends from high school). We ate at amazing restaurants, walked ALL over the city, visited The Field Museum... yet a majority of the photos I took were from our trip to see "The Bean" It's amazing how something big and shiny can warrant so many images.

I find it amazing that these friendships we started back in middle school have only been able to grow and prosper over the last decade. These people have seen me grow up, been through the good times and the bad, and although we only see eachother once a year if we're lucky, we are still all able to make sure that we can be there for eachother to celebrate such amazing things as weddings.

I know myself, I am terrible at keeping in touch with people. On the flip side, it has also made me realize that my closest friends are those who I don't necessarily talk to on the phone often or even catch up with monthly, but they are the ones who- when I do finally see/speak with them- can do a cliff notes catch up on life and go on as if no time has passed.

This past weekend was a perfect example of that kind of treasured relationship. It was alumni weekend at my alma mater; all of my girlfriends were not able to go, which although disappointing, gave me the amazing opportunity to spend it with two of my girlfriends who were art majors with me. We had separate but overlapping groups of friends throughout college which was fun to party with but allowed us to remain objective during our late night conversations in the painting circle. They were two of the people who knew the most about me during those four years and although I only see them once a year if we're lucky, it's like no time has passed.

It's also so much fun because we were able to completely nerd out for the weekend. We were able to catch up with our professors, go see an art show, even blow glass! It was such a wonderful weekend to just be able to catch up, go out, and be creative! A very successful weekend if I do say so myself.

It has been a whirlwind of a month, but I am so glad that I have been given the opportunity to travel and see some of the people who mean the most to me. I am also glad that since I have my camera on me at all times I can document my experiences and preserve my memories.

Sorry for the extremely long post, I promise I will update more frequently in order to keep these posts brief.