Naturism: These images contain nudity

Story about the Reuters visit to Bare Oaks here.

Altered egos journal

Marilyn and I have spent two of the best Sundays with an amazing group of women, creating art journals that express our "altered" egos. Inspired by Christy Tomlinson's she-art online workshop, Marilyn had the brilliant idea to teach a similar class in an art journal format. If she hasn't done so already, Marilyn plans to post samples of students' work on her blog, so pop over to take a look later this week.

For me, the class was part collage and mixed media, part paper dolls, and lots of whimsy. Here are some of my pages so far...

Look.

I am feeling very connected to all living things today...not in the Facebook, smart phone, internet way...but the real warm-blooded looking into another's eyes sort of way...from my sweet Max, always ready for play, to the flock of geese who were resting in the grass by my car at work, to the squirrel I narrowly missed on my street (while driving a smidge over the speed limit and then cringing), to the tiny, barely walking little, little girl with diaper-padded purple leggings, holding her dad's hand and trying to match his pace at the supermarket today. What a world I live in when I take the time to look.

I see a bright light, casting shadows through my window...

Could it be?
Yes, it's the sun!!!! Me so happy!!!

During the past couple of weeks of rain and generally dismal end of summer weather, I did treat myself to an online art class by Christy Tomlinson (her blog link is in my list at right). It was my first-ever online class, but I can see this will be a wonderful way to pass the long, long winter in upstate NY!!!

Here's my first canvas from Christy's She-art workshop, which was an amazing bargain -- dozens of class videos with amazing mixed-media, drawing, painting and texture techniques and PDFs available for download. Thank you, Christy!!

Sunflower on a rainy day...

I am grateful.
I really am.
Every minute of every day.
But enough of this f**king rain already.

Phew. Not quite poetry but I feel better.

Getting Healthy in the Nude

AANR profiles my road to better health through diet, exercise, and nude recreation. Link here.

Is nudism/naturism the answer to better health? Not entirely, of course. It takes some regular exercise and sensible eating. We made the conscious decision not to get a golf cart, which forces us to walk back and forth from our campsite to the pool, pavilion and bathhouse, pulling our cart filled with cooler, towels, chairs and whatever else is needed for the day. We drink moderately, and after watching two parents waste away from tobacco addiction, we don't smoke at all.

For my wife and I, it's not so much about weight loss as it is about feeling good and generally looking better. We don't own a bathroom scale and we don't count calories. 

In mid-July I turned 57 years old. At Cedar Trails, when some friends learned that it was my birthday, they told both my wife and I that they would not have been able to guess that we were that old. Needless to say it's always great to hear a compliment, and when we got back home I began digging through photos of myself from a decade ago, and was somewhat shocked to see how much healthier I looked. That's what prompted me to write about this.

Some perspectives on living in the moment...

From the book Spark by Julie Berstein:

Richard Serra was freeing himself from the constraints of making art, by approaching it as play. --



"I'm interested in the notion of play; I'm not interested in the end, I'm interested in the activity itself; I'm interested in not worrying in a self-conscious way about what I have to make."



--Richard Serra, sculptor







or, as Zac Brown puts it:









"soak it all in, it's a game you can't win, enjoy the ride."

(from the song Quiet your Mind by Zac Brown Band)



The messages of process over product and living in the here and now resonate strongly with me these days.



So I'm off to live today like there's no tomorrow!