"I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life." —Miles Davis

 

My BLURB "urban fallen leaves" book:

 

My BLURB "urban leaves" book: San Francisco Leaves I Have Loved by Jane Underwood | Make Your Own Book

 

My BLURB "urban trees" book: 52 Trees Say "Cheese!" by Jane Underwood | Make Your Own Book

 

My BLURB "abstract veils" book:

Little Book of Abstracts #2:

Urban Veils/San Francisco by Jane Underwood | Make Your Own Book

 

My BLURB "minimalist" book:

Little Book of Abstracts #3

Urban Minimal

San Francisco by Jane Underwood | Make Your Own Book

 

My BLURB "wood" book:

Little Book of Abstracts #5:

Urban Wood/San Francisco by Jane Underwood | Make Your Own Book

 

My BLURB "urban textures" book:

Little Book of

Abstracts #6:

Urban Textures by Jane Underwood | Make Your Own Book

 

bighugelabs.com/dna.php?username=74297035@N00

 

 

 

I no longer believe , as I once did, that to be creative means you must assume the label of "artist." Running a business can be creative. Cooking can be creative. Rearranging the living room furniture can be creative. Solving a problem, any problem, can be creative.

 

Pursuing a creative life is the closest I've come to spirituality. It can be verbal (I have a degree in creative writing with an emphasis on poetry), visual (for me, that is now photography), emotional (motherhood) , erotic. . . or any number of other activities or states of being, seeing, imagining, inventing, nurturing. . . etc. etc.

 

In June of 2007 a friend of mine who had seen a few random photos that I'd posted to my blog sent me an email and said, "Hey, you should check out Flickr. You might enjoy it." I didn't know what Flickr was, but I did a Google search, found it, and was surprised at how overcome I was by a huge urge to pick up my camera (an old point-and-shoot that I used only rarely) and start taking lots and lots of pictures.

 

I began taking my funky little Olympus with me whenever I walked the dog, which was pretty much every day. My budding interest in photography almost instantly became a passion, albeit the passion of a beginner. And my subject matter became my neighborhood, often (but not always) seen in terms of abstract compositions (my natural bent, it seems).

 

What I love about this hobby is how it has opened my eyes to so many new ways of seeing and re-seeing. After focusing primarily on writing for the last 35 years, I've "discovered" a whole new dimension of life, a wonderful new opportunity to be creative. The possibilities of photography fascinate me. And I've only grazed the surface! (Have graduated to a Canon Powershot G9; still not ready for a DSLR, financially or technically.)

 

Being a part of Flickr has enhanced the experience many times over. I'm a total addict, and it's a lovely addiction.