Clearing the Snow and the Mind
Snow shoveling, Noah Kalina's daily videos, and going to LensCrafters for a photograph.
SNOW SHOVELING
I have to say I love shoveling snow. Maybe you do too? I enjoy the exercise, the fresh air and the meditative focus of clearing the snow from all the usual places – the front path, the back path, the driveway, to the garbage cans, to the garage. There’s a real sense of accomplishment that comes with assessing the type of snow and strategizing the best methods to efficiently clear it away, keeping an eye on the weather report for refreezing, black ice and more snow on top of whatever doesn’t get cleared. I feel like a tactician.
My enjoyment of snow shoveling might also have something to do with there being so much to do between now and our relocation to western Massachusetts that prioritizing this one thing, clearing snow, also clears my mind. This urgent task gives me permission to not do all the other things I have to do, should be doing and don’t want to do, and frankly I feel better for it.
NOAH KALINA
Every night after the house is quiet and our work is done for the day, we’ve been checking in to see the daily videos that photographer Noah Kalina has been creating since early January – have you seen any of them? There is often something relaxing, inspiring and funny about each and every one so it’s just the right vibe to close out a day for us. We especially liked his video from January 16th, 2024, called “The Paths.” It’s just over 3 minutes long.
I don’t think it would be nearly as artistic to film drone footage of my snow shoveling, but now I’m curious about it, and wondering what patterns would be revealed. I love that Noah thought to make art out of this mundane task.
LENSCRAFTERS
We recently went to LensCrafters! Why is this exciting? You may remember in our previous newsletter that we saw a sweet tree stencil in Paramus, NJ off the side of Route 17, but were unable to photograph it at the time. It’s unlikely you know Paramus, but it’s the shopping capital of New Jersey. One of my biggest worries about moving to the Berkshires is that Paramus is not coming with me. Not that I am a shopper, but I just feel a sense of contentment knowing that anything I’d ever want or need can easily be procured just 20 minutes away. All this to say Paramus is not the first place I’d look for tree stencils. Would I expect to find a large, elegant tree deliberately allowed to stretch its limbs in the narrow strip of land between a building and a sprawling parking lot? No, I would expect it to have been felled during construction without a thought.
And yet… the tree remained, the tree is amazing, and this LensCrafters façade is all the better for it. Tom and I both photographed the tree, the shadow, the parking lot, the building. It was as if we were the only ones in the world who paid attention to it. It’s a magical thing – when you give something mundane your attention and look at it creatively, suddenly art is sparked to life and exists.
We’re going to officially turn the page on tree stencils (maybe – we see them everywhere now and have added a bonus photograph to the footer of this post) and look ahead to our February 1 art drop coming soon. We’ll see you then!
That bonus shot is stunning!
Really enjoyed the tree photos - and Noah!