I spent the past week taking a photo workshop at Art Center Padula led by Douglas Beasley in the small medieval town of Padula, Italy. I met Doug years ago when we were in a two-person show at Newspace Gallery in Portland. Over time we stayed in touch, and he was kind enough to write an essay on mindful photography for my most recent book "I Hope You Find What You're Looking For." He was the perfect workshop leader/friend for me at this moment in time. I got back into making some meditative work and was able to spend time thinking more about my relationship with photography as I move forward and just how much it means to me. It was a healing kind of week in that sense. But the icing on the cake was that there were two women in the group who had become widows in their 50's. They actually met in a grief support group five years ago after the deaths of their husbands. While the whole group was really interesting and easy to be with (after all, I've not been hanging around with many people these last few months and honestly, it feels awkward and exhausting) these two truly understood my state of mind and provided me with a sweet, soft place to rest.
I can't say enough about how well organized and flawless the workshop was, thanks to the folks from Art Center Padula.
Here are my favorite images made in and around Padula.
