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“I have a deeply hidden and inarticulate desire for something beyond the daily life.”
. . . . #VirginiaWoolf Its been a few years since I photographed professional trumpeter Doug Woolverton. It has been a pleasure bearing witness to my friend's career skyrocket, becoming one of the most in-demand, versatile trumpeters of his generation. Today we pick up where we left off and are shooting once again during his visit to the beloved state of Rhode Island.
The barrier during self-improvement is not so much that we hate learning, rather we hate being taught. Much is acquired with humility.
"Advice? I don’t have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. Write like you’re a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and there’s no chance for a pardon. Write like you’re clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and you’ve got just one last thing to say, like you’re a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for God’s sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves. Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secret, so we can wipe our brow and know that we’re not alone. Write like you have a message from the king. Or don’t. Who knows, maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t have to.".
Alan Watt Here's to Saint Brigid, Ireland's great female patron saint!
St. Patrick is celebrated around the world every March 17, but St. Brigid ("Mary of the Irish") is less well known outside of Ireland, where she is held in high regard. The tale as we know it is as follows.... There was an old pagan Chieftain who lay delirious on his deathbed in Kildare (some believe this was her father) and his servants summoned Brigid to his beside in the hope that the saintly woman may calm his restless spirit. Brigid is said to have sat by his bed, consoling and calming him and it is here that she picked up the rushes from the floor and began weaving them into the distinctive cross pattern. Whilst she weaved, she explained the meaning of the cross to the sick Chieftain and it is thought her calming words brought peace to his soul. He was so enamoured by her words that the old Chieftain requested he be baptized as a Christian just before his passing. St. Brigid's Day is linked to the pagan Celtic festival of Imbolc, heralding the return of spring on February 1. The Celtic Goddess Bríd was regarded as a goddess of healing and the ancient Celts acknowledged her on this day as the day that signaled renewal, new growth, and escape from darkness. I entered darkness to take this photograph in Ennistimon County Clare, Ireland as I stepped into an abandoned cottage with a rotting roof and soft floor. In the well-lit kitchen (it had no roof), I discovered this Brigid's Cross on the aging wall with beautiful patina. Hand made Brigid's Crosses are found all over Ireland. This cross is thought to keep evil, fire and hunger from the home in which it is displayed. https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/st-brigid-ireland-female-patron-saint |
May 2024
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