Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

I haven’t quite decided what I want to do with this space yet, but I do feel compelled to do something. I have been an infrequent (& manic) diarist since childhood, but like my childhood diaries, I have started and abandoned blogs almost simultaneously. Now as someone who has committed spending her life observing and documenting the world, it seems collecting my observations & artifacts here would be the least I could do.

As a child, each diary entry would essentially be an essay about who I was and who I wanted to be. As I get older (and as I enter my last week of my 25th year), I find myself less concerned with being anything in particular as I am with doing – when I imagine my future, I no longer imagine titles and honors I covet, but rather how I want my days, months and years to look and feel. Although I am not yet comfortable with identifying myself as an artist, I have decided to spend my time making art. Perhaps this is why I find myself increasingly drawn to routines as an expression of who I am and strive to be.

Jesse teases me about this – as soon as I discover something that I love (big or small), I try to incorporate it as a standing appointment. “I love this place – we should come here every Sunday morning before we go on our weekly walk” or “I want to keep in better touch with my friends, I should send a batch of homemade postcards to my friends every month.” I am afraid if I don’t incorporate each new positive experience or promising idea into a routine, it will get lost in the chaos. Yet in moments of chaos, routines are usually the first thing to go.

I decided to go to grad school almost explicitly because I knew that if I didn’t, I would stop creating. It’s not a routine I have. As I look around my apartment (or sort through my harddrives), the remnants of several neglected projects haunt me. My new year’s resolution (and if there’s anything I love more than routines, it’s resolutions) for my 26th year, I think, is to make creativity a routine – one that takes priority in my life. I’m still working on the specifics (suggestions welcome) but am particularly drawn to the 365 Project model that my high school friend Roxanne introduced me to it via her inspiring work. In a lot of ways, it makes sense. I am an aspiring documentarian in need of a routine, so what better practice than documenting my own life? It’s a bit intimidating, as so many people I know do it so well, but I think I am ready for the challenge.

Stay tuned.

Fireworks from the 4th of July on Anderson Island, Washington.

Blogging is by no means my strong suit, but I certainly owe anyone who stumbles across this site with any sort of regularity an update, if not an apology.

Since January, we returned from South America and I started an awesome new job managing media for The Moth, a not-for-profit storytelling organization, insanely popular podcast, and the good people behind The Moth Radio Hour (check it out on a public radio station near you!) So far the position has struck the highly coveted balance of rewarding/challenging and I dare say I have some of the best coworkers on the planet (and not just because they might be reading this – hi guys!).

On a creative note, I finished a re-edit of A Problem Like Maria and completed another documentary as a part of the International Documentary Challenge (both are now posted in the “Film & Video” section this website) for which I was lucky enough to collaborate with the incredible Nicholas Whitaker among others.

I have also recently begun the Integrated Media Arts MFA program at Hunter College which I will be pursuing part-time over the next several years. As a part of that program, I hope to increase both the quantity and quality of posts on this site, but if I’ve learned anything it’s that inspiration works in mysterious and unpredictable ways. No promises, only good intentions.

Tonight  my pseudo-newly wedded husband and I will board a plane headed to La Paz, Bolivia where we will embark on a three week journey that will take us from the heart of Bolivia, through Peru and eventually on a 3-day trek on the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu. We are, of course, taking along various documentation equipment and are hoping to keep everybody updated as we go on this here blog.

Just to get started and a little context for our trip, here is our itinerary. Upon the suggestion of many friends who have made a similar journey, we have built in some wiggle room to our schedule to accommodate various curiosities, opportunities, and needs that arise along the way:

Dec 10: Overnight flight from JFK to Lima
Dec 11: Lima to La Paz
Dec 15: Bus and train (11 hours) to Uyuni salt flats
Dec 17: Bus (9 hours) to Sucre
Dec 20: Fly back to La Paz, toodle around Lake Titicaca
Dec 24: Show up in Cuzco
Dec 27: Hike the Inca Trail
Dec 30: Arrive at Machu Picchu, return to Cuzco
January 1: Fly to Lima, long layover
January 2: Arrive in JFK after overnight flight

Here’s hoping that next you’ll hear from me will be from the other side of the equator!

Laura

After two glorious years in San Francisco, the huzzy & I and our two precious cats moved to New York City this past week for East Coast adventure and dream-chasing. Hopefully I will live long enough to tell (or at least blog) the tale.

Inspired by the incredible work of the folks at Just Seeds and the incredibly vibrant San Francisco scenes of local artist Hilary Williams, I decided to take a 6-week screen printing class at Root Division here in San Francisco prior to our great push eastward.

Not only is Root Division an incredible community art resource, I find that I absolutely adore screen printing as a medium. For me, it’s the perfect blend of what I love about photography except with even more freedom and creativity. It allows me to use my brain in ways that stretch beyond simply capturing reality into an entirely new dimension that I don’t spend much time in.

I’m currently working on change of address cards which I will be printing… above is the first draft of the design! Feel free to drop me a comment to tell me what you think and stay tuned for updates on this latest endeavor and more designs!

My friend Zoe Jacobson and I are beginning an audio documentary about egg donation and are looking for women who have donated (or are considering or are currently donating) eggs and those who make use of this service.

Our audio documentary doesn’t have any particular angle beyond just speaking with people about their concerns, challenges and hopes with this process. We can also offer full anonymity (using only the subject’s voice).

We are specifically looking for leads in the Bay Area.

If you or anyone you know is interested in speaking with us, they can email me at haddenist@gmail.com.

Many thanks to you all for your help!

I came across one of these guys today peaking over a used car lot in my neighborhood – one in a series of billboards nationwide apparently “funded by an anonymous East Coast donor who was depressed about how the country was reacting to the economy’s tailspin.”

I have to say I don’t really get it personally. I agree that excessive panic isn’t particularly helpful, but I don’t see the value in trying to get the nation to buck up (pun intended) so blindly, either. If we’ve learned anything from this economic situation, I think it’s the importance of everyone understanding & being educated about the economic system so we can make informed decisions for ourselves instead of being screwed over by the system again – not simply follow instructions on a billboard.

One billboard reads “stop obsessing about the economy, you’re scaring the children.”  Quite frankly, with everything that we’ve been doing to the planet and each other, the children have every good reason to be scared.

Perhaps most perplexingly, this “anonymous donor” feels compelled to use his resources on this issue – a change in American economic attitude based on little evidence and no analysis – above all others?

Excuse me, but I’ve got some learning to do.

Who turns a whopping 26 years old today (in case you couldn’t tell from the picture)!