I spent much of 2019 on a personal journey of self discovery, learning how to be more present, more inwardly calm, and more confident. The cover photo was a summer day when I felt all of it. I was in my happy place, floating on the water, spending time with my aunt Kathy in Michigan. I had many days like this in 2019, because I sought them out, prioritizing time with family and friends, and time spent outside.
January 1, 2019
I started the new year (and my 57th birthday) with pink hair, for no other reason than it felt right. It's something I had been quietly considering for a long time. It was a perfect way to start off a year of personal growth. I LOVED having pink hair and only wish it lasted longer. I ended up coloring it twice before deciding to give my pocket book and hair a break...maybe I'll try it again some time in the future.
Meditation
I started meditating in 2018 having no idea what I was doing or why I was doing it. I continued the practice through 2019 averaging about four 20-40 minute sessions a week. All the while struggling with the question of "why am I doing this?". The answer kept coming back, "because I like it".
What I learned from this is that I am often too pragmatic, trying to justify everything with concrete reasons. Meditating because I like it is a good enough reason. I also focus better on days that start with meditation, and that is a good reason too.
Books
Books were a big part of my journey. My girlfriend Sally gifted me The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo for my birthday on January 1st. The Book of Awakening is a collection of daily passages and thoughts to meditate on. I started every day with it.
I also continued my Audible subscription listening to a new book every month. I switched between fiction and non-fiction, trying to choose books that teach me something new, or challenge the way I think. These are the Audible books I listened to in the order I consumed them, starting with January. (I listened to two books in March)
- The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd
- The Road Less Traveled - M. Scott Peck
- The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah
- Stealing Fire - Steven Kotler, Jamie Wheal
- Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens
- Boundaries: When to Say Yes How to Say No - John Townsend, Henry Cloud
- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - Lori Gottlieb
- Trail of Broken Wings - Sejal Badani
- How to Change Your Mind - Michael Pollan
- The Island of Sea Women - Lisa See
- Heavy - Kiese Laymon
- The Guardians - John Grisham
- The Undoing Project - Michael Lewis
2019 was a record year for teaching, presenting and recording. I taught more classes at MiraCosta College than any previous year. I gave eleven presentations or workshops, including first time speaking in the Adobe booth at PhotoLA. In addition to the eleven public presentations, I gave three Tech Wednesday webinar presentations for the Adobe Community. My in person presentations took me to clubs in Los Angeles, Palos Verdes and San Diego.
I am most proud of the work I did for LinkedIn in 2019. The sunset image above was captured on the Carpinteria bluffs during my summer visit to LinkedIn. I recorded three courses on campus, Learning the Lightroom Ecosystem, Dimension Essential Training: Workflows with Photoshop and Illustrator, and Lightroom: Get Professional Results. LinkedIn also contracted with me to review two different course assessments, one for Adobe Illustrator and one for Lightroom Classic.
My friend Chana Messer nominated me for the Adobe Education Leaders (AEL) program, and in late July we attended the AEL summit together in San Francisco. Visiting the Adobe office was something I had aspired to for a long time.
In early November Celeste Guidice came to visit me in San Diego and the two of us attended Adobe MAX together in Los Angeles. It was my best MAX yet. I TA'd for seven sessions, attended the LinkedIn Learning author dinner, spent time in the Creative Pro booth, spent time with friends I usually only see online, and made new friends and connections.
Travel for 2019 included two camping trips with my girlfriend Carey, a staycation in Carlsbad with Blaise for our anniversary, a four day trip to Santa Barbara with Blaise over Memorial Day weekend, and a summer vacation with family in Michigan. The midwest trip started with a day in Chicago, and a drive to the University of Notre Dame campus on our way to Traverse City. The second week in Michigan included a two night stay in a Frank Loyd Wright designed home with my Uncle Bill and Aunt Pam.
Our trip to Santa Barbara included an exceptional, and unexpected tour of Lotus Land.
The Frank Loyd Wright home we stayed in is one of five in a community called The Acres. Two homes are occupied, one is under renovation, and the one we stayed in is a full time Airbnb. I captured these interior shots with a tripod and multiple exposures.
Clay
2019 was a creatively productive year, especially the last third. While in Michigan I spent a lot of hours in my Aunt Pam's studio working in clay. She taught me how to sculpt a head, which was completely new to me. I had no idea I could create something three dimensional like this. The time spent working on him felt so good, and I love how he turned out. I hope his presence will inspire me to keep being creative for a long time.
Digital Illustration
I left Michigan with a desire to keep creating and thus spent the entire return flights drawing on my iPad. At home I kept going with more drawing. First I did some eye studies, and then followed those with three digital paintings of Burano Venice. After the paintings were done I created an illustration of the Ghost of Christmas Present for our Christmas card. I finished the year with a special portrait of Blaise which I gifted to him for Christmas.
Photography
Photography remains my number one creative outlet. Although I didn’t print and show much in 2019, I did make time to shoot. I took several solo outings, and a couple more with friends. Here’s a sample of photos from my Fuji, Canon and iPhone cameras.
Family and Friends
In addition to the Michigan trip, I made it a priority to spend time with family and friends. We celebrated my dad’s 80th, my mom’s 81st, and my Aunt Nancy’s 80th birthdays. I hiked with Brendan for Mother’s Day, biked around Mission Bay with Brendan and Blaise on Father’s Day, visited Sanford when he lived in San Francisco, and his girlfriend Victoria when she was without him in Santa Barbara. I went to art shows, concerts and baseball games with friends and family. I joined Jennifer and her daughters at Wonder Spaces in San Diego for her birthday in June. Even our dog Jameson joined some of the fun with trips to dog beach. Of course Blaise and I shared many sunsets with just each other too.
In memory of Kim, Mike and Grace
In 2019 I lost three friends from different parts of my life. Each of them inspired me, and made me a better person. All of them were too young to leave. Their presence and loss, reminds me to live each day fully, with gratitude and humility for all that I have and love.