When was your first time?

Window to the Soul ©1996 Kimberly Nyce

In an effort to arouse my (dormant? reluctant? sleeping? MIA?) creative muse within, I've decided to explore the roots of my beginnings as an artist. This, I hope will remind me of my true calling and personal vision...the one that fuels my desire and passion. It's an insistent internal urging which calls me forward...that desire to encourage and support others in awakening to the beauty of God's creation, both internally and externally.

The image pictured above is one that I consider to be the image that catapulted me into my life as an artist. I think I was born with artistic vision, though it wasn't something that I discovered until much later in life.

Several years ago, I enrolled in a writing course at Lesley University. One assignment asked us to write a paper about a momentus occasion in our lives. I thought back a few years to that trip to New Mexico.Yes, that one! An intense 2 week road trip that eventually led to a transformation of my spirit, and ultimately changed me forever. I've included an excerpt from this paper (unedited) to give voice to that 'budding' artist within...

"...The first time I truly felt like an artist was during an afternoon in Santa Fe, New Mexico, August 1996. The day I ventured out to explore Santa Fe's artist communities, I stepped into my own light. I felt confident and alive. I was walking along Canyon Road, a haven for artists. Confidently, I strode through the adobe-lined streets connecting Canyon Road. The mystical charm and the muted earth tones of the hills and plains seeped into my pores and filled me with a sense of overwhelming peace. I slipped the black nylon strap of my camera across my shoulder. The weight of the green canvas bag, resting against my side, felt substantial and self-assuring. Nestled safely inside, lay my Pentax PT 30 camera, an extension of my eyes and soul. In the adjoining compartment, standing upright was a 70/200 zoom lens capped on both ends to protect and shield the lens. With this I could see the most amazing details or capture the sweeping expanse of the desert hills.

I wandered down a side street and my eye caught sight of a small window box tucked quietly inside the entrance wall of an artist's studio. Like a cresting wave, a sense of authority surged within me. My body assuredly stepped backwards, arms cocked at the elbows, head bent forward and camera tilted sideways as I sized up the image within the small frame of my camera. My thoughts flowed and my body swayed, as I intuitively knew this was a great picture. Pride swept through me and a humbled silence fanned in its wake. I couldn't explain in words what had happened but my soul had been transformed in an instance. All those years of searching for meaning and my "gift" were lost in an eternal moment of joy, as I became myself.

My palms, once slick with insecurity, reached for awakened dreams with a firm resolve. When I looked through the lens of my camera, each picture that emerged reflected my soul. My heart opened up and my mind's thoughts ceased their incessant chatter. A stillness replaced the noise and I felt my awareness slip into my heart. I was seeing for the first time. I had been awakened to another realm. The world seemed to reveal its beauty and grace to me. Nature became alive to me and I felt a soul connection."...

Reach Higher

When you need a little inspiration or motivation in your life to go after your dreams...turn up the volume, lift your arms higher and reach for the stars as you listen to this song by Gloria Estafan...

Underneath the Glacial Mask...

Layers of darkness obscure the truth and the light burning brightly within me - a well chosen smile deceptively worn to hide my fear or insecurity or an an icy glare and hardened heart worn as protective gear in the games of life. What would be revealed if I allowed my well-worn masks of pretense to melt away in the Light of Truth? In those rare moments, when the masks falls away and I'm left with myself...raw, vulnerable and real...what then, would you see?

Do you glimpse the 'real me'? The woman with laughing eyes and a Chesire grin; a lonely soul who seeks solitude and beauty in nature; a timid and insecure woman on the brink of becoming herself; a strong, courageous warrior willing to face life's challenges; a strong-willed rebellious forty two-year old having a temper tantrum; a student of the spiritual life; All of these and more represent some aspect of myself. Despite the darkness, though, a pure joy and radiance exists...underlying it all. At the very core, flowing deeply within, the joy and pure essence of God's love is there. I feel it pulsing...expanding within me or contracting depending on how open I am to life. When I peel away the fears and lies, I'm left with the Truth.

What's under your mask?

Image taken on a cool winter's day at Walden Pond, Concord, MA.