my word for 2010, TTV, and florida

(my parents live here – love this house)

can i just say that i’m so glad 2010 is here. so glad. i love new beginnings. i love the symbolism, the ritual of recognition of years (time) gone by, and the hopeful welcoming of new weeks and months ahead. feels like a birthing. and i like that.

i’m not so much a new year resolution girl but i do like the idea of embracing one word to meditate/think about throughout the year. my friend ali has been doing this for years and inspired me a few years ago to begin that tradition (thanks, ali!). this year, my word in nurture. as in nourish, tend to, cultivate. as in try new things to nurture my creative process. as in soothing my soul, working on comfort and calm, nurturing whatever it is that may be calling me at the time. nurture – slow, and steady. peaceful and grounding. nurture. that’s my word. i’m so excited.

(the back porch)

i’ve been in florida the last couple of days to visit with my parents (and in laws) before heading to the atlanta gift market (btw, i’ll be doing a signing of new product while i’m there – details on my news page). i’ve been feeling a bit homesick for florida and my mom so i’m glad to be here. within a couple of hours of landing, we went to our favorite local antique/junk store where i found a few goodies including this old kodak brownie camera for $10:

as soon as i saw it, i thought about my word: nurture. i thought about my commitment to try new things in 2010, to get outside of myself a little bit. i thought about my friend hula who uses old cameras like these to get pretty cool photos with TTV photography. and then, i got inspired. really, really inspired. i bought the camera, raced back home, and went to work on constructing the TTV contraption. hula and karen have great explanations about how TTV photography works and how to make contraptions. john helped me build the cardboard contraption and then like a total dork, i collaged it and made it pretty. i think it’s adorable:

if you look closely, you’ll see the lens from the old kodak camera peeking through the collaged cardboard – we made the contraption so that the kodak camera actually sits inside the tube. we also made another tube (the one on top with the numbers on it) that then fits inside the main tube and slides up and down for varying heights. this is what you see when you look down the tube (you see the old kodak’s viewfinder). this is what the whole think looks like once i put my SLR digital camera in the top of of the cardboard tube. and this is what the photos look like that i took around my moms house today:

by the way, this is an image of an old dress form that my mom decorated for christmas. it’s gorgeous. here’s another, more clear, photo of it in full view. how creative is that??

it’s a plant inside a depression glass cup – a creative alternative to a pot. love this.

(more christmas decor)

so yep, i’m in love. big, deep + wide love. i’ve been snapping photos, experimenting, and loving it. head on over to hula’s blog post for more info and links on TTV. karen’s got a great post about it, too. yay for new loves and for new years and for new words. more from florida soon!

Hi, I'm Kelly Rae Roberts!

Before I picked up my first paintbrush at the age of 30, I was a medical social worker. I followed my whispers and started playing with paint and everything changed.

Now I’m a full-time artist, author and Possibilitarian, who helps women explore and nourish their creative souls.