.foggy morning walk + Lila Shaw Girvin.

 I took a quick weekend trip to Spokane, a city a few hours away and woke up Sunday morning to 40 degree weather. Which felt mild for mid-January here. I decided to take a morning walk at Manito Park and was greeted by a very foggy landscape. It was beautiful, it felt like a veil had fallen over the frozen landscape.

One of my favorite finds was the Northwest Museum of Art. On exhibit, Gift of a Moment, showcasing the art of a 93 year old local woman, Lila Shaw Girvin. She paints large abstracts with oil. I was so touched by her work. At first glance, I saw a typical landscape for Eastern Washington, rolling field of wheat and the next one almost looked like an ocean wave rolling in. Yet, the more I looked the less I saw and the more I felt. I was mesmerized by the paintings, some felt like they were expanding out towards me and another pulling me in. Then reading about Lila, her life and approach I was in awe at her expansiveness. 

A quote that stood out was, "The outer life has been conventional, the inner full of surprises." 

She also had a collection of books that inspired her, Dream Work by Mary Oliver, What have you lost? poems selected by Naomi Shihab Nye, The Aleph by Jorge Luis Borges, and Knowing Woman by Irene Claremont de Castillejo. I ordered the books and can't wait to start reading them, trying to absorb some of Lila's ideas + inspirations.