Category: LATITUDE Show & Series

Finding Latitude. Yosemite.

Back when we spent a year on the Northern California coast, one thing ( besides snow in winter ) we found ourselves really missing– big mountains. The coastal mountains have their own drama and magnificence but we really missed those high mountain peaks and valleys. So we made sure to carve out a week to mark a must-see national park off our bucket list– Yosemite.

We spent a week in late August of 2014 camping in Yosemite’s grandeur. The months leading up to our trip had been stressful– hubby hadn’t had any time off in nearly a year, my mom had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and we had dealt with my own health scare, which turned out to be nothing but was very frightening nonetheless. We were in serious need of quiet time together in the wild.

If you’ve been to Yosemite in late summer, you can attest that time alone is a bit hard to come by. The park had over 4 million visitors in 2014 and I swear the majority of that number were there at the same time we were! To avoid crowds, we tried to get out early and stay out late, and chose to avoid the more popular trails in favor of the paths less traveled.

The California Sierras have such a unique look to them– the tall pines and cedars intermixed with granite peaks and rocky river beds. In places like these, it’s easy to understand why California holds such a mythical, magical allure. Our early morning and late evenings gave me a glimpse of the magnificent way the light moves among the peaks and through the valleys. Sunrise at Tunnel View is a mind blowing experience! As is driving the park road after dark, the car lights your only illumination as the trees rise above.

favorite trail | glacier point to nevada falls
Glacier Point was only about a 15 minute drive from our campground, so we spent more time exploring there than other areas of the park. Our last full day in Yosemite, we awoke before dawn and hiked from Glacier Point out to Nevada Falls ( you can take the trail all the way to the Valley floor or up to Half Dome but we wanted a nice, quiet hike, not a death march ). Starting so early meant that we were treated to not only a spectacular, misty sunrise over Half Dome but we had the trail to ourselves for most of the morning. It was the first time in the whole week were were there that we really felt at peace and were able to soak in Yosemite’s wilderness.

don’t forget | astronomy app
The weather was so perfect while we were there that we slept without the rain fly on our tent every night, so we were treated to looking up into the star-filled night sky while drifting off to dreamland. Unlike so many areas of California, ambient light is kept at bay in Yosemite and the darkness allows the starry sky to truly shine.

what I love most | sunrise
So we are normally very far from morning people. But something happens when we are camping– we can’t wait to get up and see what the day will hold. The days we rose before the sun in Yosemite we drank in the way the light poured in, not many people yet stirring, we were able to watch the wilderness come alive. Get up early in Yosemite. You won’t regret it.

To see more of the places that have inspired the LATITUDE show and series, follow the #findinglatitude hashtag on Instagram!

All photos by me.

January 27, 2016
Finding Latitude. The Olympics.

When lamenting my delay in beginning to paint seriously again, an artist friend told me– you needed time to fill up. Looking back on the experiences of the last five years, I realized how very right she was. Florida has its own beauties and is inspirational in its own right, but it wasn’t until we began traveling the Northwest that something long buried was awakened in me.

My first job in the art and design world post-college was as a photo researcher for a stock image licensing company. I worked in the editorial department, selecting images for publishers of books and magazines. I distinctly remember being especially enthralled by images from the Northwest, specifically Olympic National Park. I was particularly taken with the images from the Hoh Rainforest— a rainforest? In the US? I knew I wanted to see it.

We’ve been lucky enough to live a close distance to the Olympics twice now, the first time being our very first travel gig. We made our way to ONP as much as we could during those first thirteen weeks, we hiked and backpacked, taken in by the cool, lush, fern covered forests, turquoise Hoh River, and towering Olympic Mountains.

I had my first from-the-trail bear sighting in the Olympics. The feeling there is of a primeval wilderness, something out of another time. Driving into the park, you lose cell service and don’t miss it. You are transported to a different century.

Not being a “major” national park, there is a peace and a sense of quiet in the Olympics that can be hard to find in the more popular parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone. What you hear is only the rush of a waterfall, the rustle of the wind through the forest, your breath as your climb.

The Olympics continue to inspire and inform my work, the lushness and sense of quiet, its coolness and mystery.

favorite trail | Staircase Trail
There may be more dramatic and challenging hikes in ONP but this one holds a special place in my heart. We took to this hike on a sprinkly Fall morning and after a hectic summer in Seattle, the quiet and peace we found was exactly what was needed. The trail leads past enormous felled cedars, fern covered forest floors, rocky riverbeds.

don’t forget your | Layers and rain gear
The weather in ONP can be variable and unpredictable, temperatures range depending on the area of the park and elevation. The Hoh Rainforest gets an average of 144″ of rain per year, so definitely make sure you have your rain gear when venturing into the Hoh.

what i love most | What the water brings
The wet atmosphere of the Olympics provides the ideal conditions for a lush, incredibly green forest. The ferns and mosses make my heart happy, especially when sunlight streams through amidst the misty rain.

Have you been to Olympic National Park? What was your impression? Favorite area? I’m always on the lookout for tips because I never know when we’ll be back on the Olympic Peninsula!

To see more images of the places that have inspired the LATITUDE show and series, follow the #findinglatitude hashtag on Instagram!

All images by me.

January 21, 2016
Defining Latitude.

LATITUDE

has two meanings–

1 | the angular distance north or south from the equator of a point onthe earth’s surface, measured on the meridian of the point.

2 | freedom, room to move

Before I was approached by Teresa Roche at Art & Light last Fall to present a solo show of work in March of this year, I had already been working on nature based abstracts and abstract landscapes. Exploring wild and scenic places is a big part of our life and travels, so it has been a natural well of inspiration.

bolinas, california

When beginning to think about the body of work I wanted to create for my first solo show, I knew I would be seeking to capture not just a place on a map but the feelings of freedom, peace, and beauty in the experience of a particular moment in that place– LATITUDE.

mr. f on the rocks in trinidad, california

mt rainier, washington

Traveling the Northwest with my hubby provides me with endless artistic inspiration and with both of us endless moments of beauty to share. While many of the places that have inspired the LATITUDE show and series are incredibly beautiful, often the sense of specialness was not simply in the place itself, but perhaps in the way the light bounced off the water, the quietness of a morning beach all to ourselves, the way the landscape brought us peace, brought us joy.

friday harbor, san juan islands, washington

Over the coming weeks leading up to LATITUDE’s opening, I’ll be sharing more images, experiences, and inspiration from some of these very special places. You can see more of the places inspiring LATITUDE on Instagram, by searching #findinglatitude.

All photos by me.

January 13, 2016