Hello friends,

It feels like exactly forever since I’ve sat down and written a proper newsletter. Not gonna lie, it feels good to be back. I’m sure it’s largely the weather, but life has felt a bit more doable lately.

Overall April was a good month, albeit a busy one: lunch with my dad, time spent with my mom and my sister, country roads to tiny, old churches, playgrounds, bike rides, and even a portrait session for the first time in nearly two years. And of course afternoon walks with the pup, him noticing the squirrels, me the newest blooms and fragrant air. It’s the time of year when my neighborhood becomes almost overwhelmed by all of the delicious early summer scents; honeysuckle and privet, and magnolia, and the mimosas any day now. It might be the thing I love most about being back in the Deep South.

I’ll keep this section short as there is - finally! - quite a bit to explore below. Thanks so much for reading. I hope you all are doing well, and of course I love to hear from you, so write me back.

much love -

kg

MALNOURISHMENT OF SELF

I’ve been a bit deprived of inspiration lately. Some of it is simply how upside down my life has been for the last half a year. But some of it is my own fault too. It’s been months since I’ve taken the time to read for my own pleasure, listen to the podcasts I love, or even listen to music in a way that feeds my soul. As life has been teasing at least a glimpse of normalcy lately I’ve been getting back into some of the things I’ve missed, and realized just how much I was starving for them.

I think I thought that if I could just separate myself enough, clear my head enough, that I would be able to write and make and, I don’t know, be something better, truer, more authentic I suppose. Which is of course ridiculous. We would never stop feeding ourselves and expect to thrive, stop caring for a plant and expect it to grow. It’s no wonder I’ve felt so empty of words and pictures and self these last months. Every living thing is dependent upon another, our creativity and wellbeing dependent upon taking the time to nourish them.

I just absolutely adore this from Alok Vaid-Menon on a recent episode of one of my most favorite podcasts:

“What feels important to say now is that we have to become fluent in everything that makes us want to live. I'm seeing so many people, rightfully so, detail everything that's wrong about the world right now, get apocalyptic about the future of our government, about the future of the world, and I am here with you.

AND, that's not how you continue going.

It’s just not. The way that you keep going is you notice the beautiful things. The small gestures of kindness, those are the things that give you stamina…

I feel so much despair, all of the time… But the beauty is what is keeping me going…

So… find your beauty and become a publicist for it. Represent it everywhere you go. Say, I saw this thing… I had something that touched me, made me feel human. And preserve that humanity, preserve that empathy, preserve that ability to feel everyone's grief and pain. That's what's going to protect us long-form.”

RECENT POSTS

STILL HERE (four images)

The last few months I haven’t been writing as much, and when I do I mostly save it for my newsletter. But as I’ve been getting out and making pictures there are still some I want to share. Maybe it’s my little way of saying, even if only to myself, I’m still here. Some days that in itself feels worthy of noting.

UNTITLED (four images)

These days I think often of one of my favorite Kate Bowler quotes, repeating it to myself as both a reminder and a prayer:

“Life is so beautiful. Life is so hard.”

AT THE MOMENT

LISTENING TO

Sometimes you just need a change, you know? A couple of months ago I started building this playlist, then have hardly touched it since. It’s mostly a mix of some new-to-me and very obscure tracks, combined with a few old favorites; different from what usually stays on rotation, but it’s definitely hitting the spot right now.

READING IN

This month I read Lois Lowry’s The Giver as part of my oldest son’s language arts curriculum, and was not expecting to love it as much as I did. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s well worth the (fairly) short read.

CRUSHING ON

My friend Adam is an incredibly talented photographer, and equally gifted writer. He recently published this fantastic little article over on medium, about something I’ve talked about before, and think of often: praying for a visit from the angel of uncertainty.

THINKING ABOUT

The way the darker clouds at the bottom of this image - taken a few weeks ago from the window of my studio, which is very much not in the mountains - fool the eye into thinking they’re mountains…

Or perhaps sometimes we see the thing we need, the thing we want so badly to see.

That’s all for this month. Thanks for being here!