creative practice.

shoot. develop. write. print. write. shoot. develop. write. print. write. write. read. write.
this is what my creative practice looks like currently. 10% work, 90% edits and supplemental reading and writing. but my work is getting stronger. i am more sure of the decisions i am making. i am beginning to believe in my work and my message. i'm in a good place. and i'm incredibly thankful for that right now (and for all of my family, friends, classmates, and professors who are supporting and driving my work currently).

lovelovelove,
autumn jordan

signs of spring//

1// paper cranes on my radiator in the most wonderful afternoon light
2// currently reading: I Wanna Take Me a Picture, Wendy Ewald; Flowers, Robert Mapplethorpe
3// happy succulents and precious things; currently listening to: Cat Power, Sigur Rose, Jenifer Avila
4// new typewriter to assist in my creative practice
5// spring color inspiration for a vintage bedside table i am rehabbing

I've been a super busy bee, but these are some of the things fueling my days lately. I'm currently in the middle of a lot of projects and although it is stressful at times, it fills me with so much excitement for what is to come! Spring is a time of creation, long walks, morning tea, lake picnics, fresh cut flowers, root vegetables, and late nights listening to the rain.

have a happy week!

xo,
autumn jordan

mimic

pictures from an afternoon with h at the lincoln park zoo + conservatory a few weeks back. this girl is my favorite subject. she's a kind soul who doesn't mind having a camera in her face (most of the time). it was very chilly, so we spent the majority of our day huddled in the conservatory while i taught her to use my 35mm camera (she enjoys using disposable cameras and my polaroid). i hope that these are photographs we both look back on together as we grow older, remembering our early days as best friends / adventurers.

the earth//

still swooning over last week's visits to two local conservatories. i wish i had known about these hidden gems earlier in the winter or in years past. i really want to start a small garden. even if it is only composed or perhaps a small windowsill herb collection this summer. regardless, i am recharged and in love with the earth.

this girl//

this girl has my heart. which swells every time she hugs me goodnight or mimics one of my oddities. she loves america to the bone and even dances to billy idol + hall & oates with me some days. she dreams up outfit concoctions i only wish i had the chutzpah to rock now. she's a tiny dancer. a real outdoorsy girl when she wants to be. a kitchen helper. a creative mind. an explorer of the world.

just last weekend she was directing me where to sit as i tried to explain how to use a 35mm camera to her. she turned my chin towards the light with her small fingers and instructed me to look up into the flowers. the amount of patience she shows when it's just the two of us-- huddled in a fort reading, watching jellyfish at the aquarium, carefully composing 27 photos on a disposable camera, and even walking alongside the lakefront of a blisteringly hot day-- swells my heart. this girl has shown me kindness in the purest of ways. a shared apple slice. inviting me to read her bedtime stories. going to the farmer's market together in matching sequined mouse ears.

this girl has my heart. my whole entire heart.

paper cranes

according to an old Japanese legend, anyone that folds one thousand paper cranes so pleases the Gods and the folder is granted a wish.

i'm not sure if i'm going to quite make it to a thousand, or if making a grand wish is even what i am trying for. but doing things with my hands (working in the darkroom, knitting, playing banjo) is what i need to keep my serenity. i've never done origami before, so early this week i bought some origami paper and watched some paper crane tutorials on the internet and taught myself a new craft which i later shared with my little cousin H. i'm thinking of making a garland or mobile out of the cranes. but in the meantime, it's something to occupy my restless hands.

happy weekend--

**canvas camera prints by valentina ramos

yearning for summer

it's been hovering well below freezing the last couple of days in chicago. my mornings have been slower, my stretches deeper, and feet colder. winter has always been m favorite season, but with achy days like today, i'm ready for sunshine, ferris wheel rides, pitchfork music festival, farmer's markets, afternoons spent on my vintage red schwinn, barbecues in the yard, fireworks, and to see my city full of life again.

summer, please come soon.

1: resolution

let's be kind to our bodies in 2013.
left, e; right, a

a walk

a morning walk past rows of frank lloyd wright houses. empty storefronts and full coffee cups. construction sites and marquee lights. the birthplace of hemingway. remnants of the holidays. and the green line overhead with trains heading towards the city i call home.

there is a solace in walking and feeling sunlight on rosy cheeks. chapped hands untucked from pockets. and a mind wrapped around the wonderful smiles of strangers. there is a lot more i notice behind a camera or on my red schwinn than i do when i'm all caught up in my own head.

i'm thankful for the breathing room the winter gives me, for my east-facing window, easy mornings to be spent on creative work, a house filled with h's giggles, taking cat naps snuggled next to j. i'm thankful that i get to call this space home.

in the morning

mornings are for waiting  for sunlight to enter through cracks in the blinds, taking time to greet the day beneath a cloud of white blankets, doing morning stretches towards the daylight on a large rug, planning out the the day in lists, putting in some good work, taking a lavender epsom salt and rose water bubble bath, then slowing down to enjoy a simple breakfast and a good book.

currently reading, wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit.

_______

i call this smoothie a handful smoothie, it's my favorite way to start the morning. this smoothie is excellent for enjoying alongside a book, in a thermos on the morning commute, or for indulging in after a morning workout.

1/2 cup of vanilla or plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 banana
a handful of strawberrier
a handful of blueberries
a handful of pineapple
1 tbsp flax
2 large ice cubes

mix together in a blender and enjoy.