"In my career, I've made an art out of creating experiences that I get to photograph. People are always surprised when I say I don't care that much about what something looks like. I want my photos to reflect what I feel more than what I see." - George Lange

For George, every picture is a reimagining of the pure joy he felt growing up in Pittsburgh holding his first camera at the age of 7. Those of us who have loved photography our whole lives (and who grew up with those quintessential Kodak moments, begging to be the one who would accidentally cut everyone's heads off in the group shot), probably remember holding that prized family camera, as well!

But George's photographic fascination went way beyond childhood and his first photography jobs out of art school were for heavy hitters like Annie Leibovitz and Duane Michals (my hero!). 

But being a lead assistant wasn't what he was called to do. George had his own ideas of what he wanted to capture and...

Have you ever looked under the "hood" of motherhood and wondered who am I, anymore? I haven't seen "me" in a while, though I think my soul might be buried under a pile of laundry or a science project somewhere. 

Parenthood is an interesting paradox, isn't it?

It's beautiful, fulfilling, loving, stressful, exhausting, humorous, frustrating, terrifying and joyful all at the same time ... sometimes all in the same hour! 

And, as busy mothers, taking care of our share (and then some), we can lose ourselves along the way.

Remember those invisible mothers from Victorian photos I shared with you two weeks ago? It's an irony both metaphorical and literal. 

This week, in The Life Feast, I have an incredible special guest, one I've waited months to share with you who will be talking with us about how she found herself through photography. 

Mandy Seligman is a mom of five, a homeschooler, a wife, a grandmother, a sister, a daughter, and she is also she is also a...

 

 

 

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Did you know there’s a word in Japanese for the silence of snow?

It’s shinshin and alludes to the absence of sound that was once there before.

Cover by Eron Haubert Additional photos by Dianne Bertini, Heather Reardon, Kimberly Lebron, Davida Kales, Mattie May, Shea Cochran, Ruth Nielsen

In our jacked up, noise-polluted, busy as all get-out world, have you ever contemplated the sound of silence? It's a rare thing, these days?

Even in my quiet house out in the country with very few neighbors, there is still the hum of multiple appliances buzzing in the background. But when the power goes out I notice that startling absence of white noise. And it's lovely.

Snow is nature’s best sound absorber.

The space between flakes once they’ve settled on the ground perfectly muffle the decibels of daily life.

In The Life Feast, we pay...

Let’s meraki your March, shall we ?

Meraki might sound like the macarena … thankfully, that is not what we’re talking about. If you’re thinking potato/potahto, meraki/macarena, it’s all Greek to me, then you’re half way there. 

Meraki IS a Greek word and it means to do something with soul, creativity or love; to put something of yourself into your work.

My understanding is that it’s similar to passion, devotion or just doing something with enthusiasm and presence while letting the essence of YOU shine through … it’s leaving something of yourself behind. A lit up legacy, if you will.

This is not cookie cutter or paint by numbers. Your essence isn’t replicable in a factory, your meraki isn’t either.

Meraki is the antithesis of “phoning it in”.

Phoning it in is that checked-out, glazed over, monotonous: "anyone, anyone, Bueller, Bueller" kind of enthusiasm that you might currently be bringing to areas...

What did you used to love to do before adulting consumed every minute of everyday? 

Did you love to paint?
Did you love to dance?
Did you love to sing?

Has it been a few years since you asked yourself what you used to love to do? And decades since you've actually given yourself permission to be you?

It is time to color outside the lines of motherhood or midlife. Reclaim your identity AND your creativity. Get out of your inbox and into your life. It's time to feast. 

Are you ready to feast on life?  
Details are right => here. 

You've got questions, I've got answers (and pajamas!). Feast on... 

xo

Lizzie

PS Life Feast starts on Thursday, October 1, 2020, so hop on over and dig in.

What is The Life Feast? The Life Feast is a 7-week online experience where you will savor, swoon and sincerely fall in love with life's little moments. You'll use photography, a smidge of mindfulness and the science of positive psychology to shake up your usual routine, amplify what's working and experience life through a different lens. Curious? Good! Curiosity is a key ingredient for The Life Feast...

I've got a sneak preview of what's inside The Life Feast. Take a look at then sign up. It starts this Thursday, February 20, 2020 ... don't miss out!

You can go straight to registration right here or you can see a few more details right here.