"I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer." - Rainer Maria Rilke

Over the past couple days, the state of Tennessee has been declared a State of Emergency. We have ice everywhere, and while it makes moving around difficult, it is gorgeous. Achingly so, at times. My husband convinced me to go with him on a photo expedition of sorts yesterday (we are photographers, yes), and the photos you see here are some I took in my moments of bravery. Having grown up in the North, one might think - and, rightfully so - that I would find the wintertime here very mild; but, I don't. I acclimated to the area very quickly, and can be seen wearing jackets in the 50's. Yes, I have come to accept that I am "that" woman...

I met Alena Hennessy through her book first, Cultivating Your Creative Life, and more recently in person at The Strawberry Patch Summer Mart in Nashville, TN. She is a lovely artist, author, “facilitator of self-love and magic," and holds workshops and online courses where she really encourages people to develop and strengthen their own personal aesthetic.

Alena's art is full of whimsy, and her use of colour makes her pieces just dance. She is more recently offering an interesting project called Co-Lab: Paint, Paper, and iPhoneography Magic. From her website: "This is a brand new online class created by myself and the brilliant Susan Tuttle, where we bring the world of paint, paper, and photo (plus so much more) together in one brilliant virtual experience!" I am so happy to introduce you to Alena!