Settling Into Our New Life

Spring is here and with it sunshine, even if the breeze is chilly. I got a haircut today, maybe to celebrate all of the change that’s been happening around here. Cutting away the old or something like that. Nearly 8 inches gone and it feels good. I can also see more gray, all of which I am nurturing in hopes of them growing.

We are beginning to settle in to our new island while still going back and forth to the townhouse until it sells. I will admit I am absolutely loving our time in the camper when we’re here. It’s vintage (two years  younger than I am) and doesn’t have any modern conveniences but it’s charming and cozy and the view can’t be beat. I wake up as the sun rises and the wall next to my bed is all windows facing the water so it’s the first thing I see. These days I tend to stay under the quilts a bit longer as it’s still fairly chilly in the morning but eventually I make my way to our temporary kitchen to make coffee which goes into a carafe and comes back to bed with me. 

There is progress on the house as well. The house site is clear, the footings are in, the land around the house has been leveled for a yard, and just last week we had a small drive cut into the hillside down to the meadow. And watching each step completed fills me with an excitement I don’t think I've felt since childhood. After nearly two years of planning and dreaming, sketches and research and making lists, it’s finally all coming together right before our eyes. 

If you would like to follow along on this adventure you can join us on Instagram to see us build!

And then there’s the studio. After a year and a half away from making pottery and knowing we are a long way from a studio on our property, I decided that I needed to find a space to work in the interim. I was lucky to find something that will work well both for making and to welcome people in occasionally. It’s on the north end of our island (we live on the south end) quite near to a few of our favourite places to bring guests. I hope if you are ever here on Gabriola you will stop by~

I’m hoping to have a shop update in the next few weeks. I’m heading in today to mix glaze and then crossing everything that this first firing goes well. There are some great pieces on the shelves ready to go in. These pieces were all made in my last studio. They were bisque fired there and then packed away. It was interesting to pull them out as in the past two years I’ve been inspired to try new things. I’m looking forward to seeing how my work evolves in the coming months. I’m already working on some terra cotta pots with holes for my favourite plants~ maybe you need some too?

Welcome to Birthday Month

Because what’s better than a month celebrating how far we’ve come?

November is nearly here and with it some of my favourite things. I’ve been doing a lot of reading {and listening to podcasts and audio books} and I’m feeling inspired as I head into 53.

Reading

52 was the year of reading again. I actively sought out books that were outside of my usual comfort-read. I listened to and read quite a few. I enjoyed Joan Didion, Patti Smith, Tyler Merritt, and Maggie Smith to name a few. I bought some gorgeous books about photography and creating home. I listed to classic children’s books like Anne of Green Gables and The Velveteen Rabbit. There were autobiographies by Sally Mann, Brandi Carlisle, and Prince Harry. And then there was The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. Yes, I’m a bit late to the party but it really is living up to the hype. I bought the actual book as I wanted to be able to highlight it but then decided to ALSO get the audiobook as Rick narrates it and it’s the sort of book that the more you listen to it or read it, the more you learn. I feel like I’m getting twice the benefit this way. If you are a creative {and if you are breathing, you are a creative so let that be your bar…} this book will help you see the world differently. You will grow, your mind will expand, and you just may return to the sense of wonder that you had as a child, if you let yourself.

Writing

I love writing. I’ve always enjoyed it, as it seems like a suitable companion to photography. Plus, I always have so many thoughts going round in my mind that it seems a good way to get them out. Last November I decided to take part in NaNoWriMo- National Novel Writing Month. It‘s a month-long event that gives writers a chance to be a part of a large group setting goals and cheering each other on. This will be my second year and I will be adding on to what I began last year. The official goal is to write a novel with 50,000 words. Ambitious and definitely not in my game plan. However, I love the act of writing each day of the month and seeing what I can accomplish. Check out their website and if you decide to try it for yourself let me know. I’d love to find an accountability partner.

Capturing

I’ve spent quite a lot of time with my camera these past few months. I’ve made photos of artists and their work, couples, & seniors- including my own. {grade 12s for non-americans} I’ve also worked on some personal projects that I have had a lot of fun with. Thanks to inspiring books, podcasts and being more intentional about taking in art that inspires my own work I’ve stepped outside of my comfortable creative zone to capture things that have long resided inside my head, wanting to get out. I’m now in seach of those books and podcasts designed to help me FINISH said projects. I am such a great starter but am not quite sure how to pull all the work together and find a way to present it in a way that feels true to what I want it to be. Maybe 53 will be the year that skill finds its way into my toolbox.

I’m also shooting film and have loved being transported back to the first half of my life when that was the only option we had. I’ve pulled out old cameras, purchased one or two new/old beauties, and a few weeks ago was lent one of my darling Grampy’s camera’s. It’s the camera that he used to capture my dad and his sisters during their childhood. I’ve shot a roll and am really looking forward to seeing how it turns out. To think that he carried that camera with him everywhere and made photos of the people he loved makes the experience of using it precious to me. As many of you know he is the reason I began taking photos and it’s one of the many things that connected us. I wish he were here to ask the many questions I have for him.

I’m guessing it’s the camera he used to take this image of Grammy and I.

The Goods

I don’t know about you but I’m finding the world feels so heavy right now. And much of that heaviness is out of my control. In this season I’m learning that I need to focus on staying current with what's happening but also to let myself look for goodness and beauty at the same time. It’s difficult to hold both but I believe it’s imperative for our mental health to find balance in our day-to-day life when we can.

These are a few of the things that have brought me joy lately.

We finally got our building permits for our new island home! Now we can begin focusing on lining things up to start the build this coming spring. I loved what this couple created in their own build.

My FAVOURITE annual holiday fair is coming to Seattle in December and I think I will actually be in town for it. Renegade Craft Fair was something my eldest and I did every year when I lived in the states. Do you live in a city that hosts Renegade?

I LOVE soup season. This recipe by Ina Garten looks fabulous and will be added to our lunch menu regularly.

There are so many Instagram accounts that I find inspiration but there are a few that really capture what I want life to “feel” like moving forward. Do you follow Hilde Mork? I could get lost for days in her work.

Wishing you a wonderful November loves. Be well~

x

An Old Love Revisited

Hello friends,

It’s been a minute. So many changes here on the island - Vancouver Island currently. We are in the planning stages to build on our new property on a little island further south. If this feels confusing, I understand. So many islands…

And there have been some big changes since we last connected.

As many of you know I have paused my work with clay as I no longer have a studio to work in. It’s given me the opportunity to pick up my camera and allowed me to begin making work that I’m really proud of. Last month I went to a photography retreat in the desert along with a number of really inspiring photographers from around the world. I learned a lot and was inspired to push myself outside of my comfort zone in certain areas of my photography.

At home I’ve been making photos for creatives who do beautiful work and I’ve loved telling their stories through photographs. I’m hoping to expand on that and work with more brands looking for editorial images to help them share their own stories with their customers. I believe there is so much value in connecting with the people who support your business. Allowing them to know you and understand your company’s values creates brand loyalty which creates a stronger relationship. If you or someone you know are looking for help telling your own story I’d love to connect. Feel free to reach out at kim@kimtaylor.co

…a personal project

Making Home

~

All of this change has me thinking about home.

I have moved 21 times in my life. It has ingrained a deep desire in me to create home. A place that feels familiar and welcoming and safe.

I come from people who always had pride in their home but for whom, with one exception, home was not too precious. And that one exception? Plastic on the living room furniture in one of my grandparents homes.

{Can I get a show of hands as to how many of you experienced the “plastic covered sofa”? If you haven’t sat on one, in shorts, in the middle of a humid midwest summer, with no air conditioning, you really haven’t lived… }

When I think of home I think of my grandparents’ house. It was the place I felt the most comfortable throughout my entire childhood. What I felt inside those walls was what I envision the feeling of home is meant to be.

Recently I’ve decided to work on a personal project with the focus on homes. I’m still working out the details as to what it will look like and I have no idea what I will do with it all in the end, but for me, it’s about the value I find in the process.

Part of that project is starting a series of discussions with a few friends whom I admire for their ability to create home. To start we will be hosting them on Instagram live. My hope is that, through these informal discussions between friends, you will feel inspired to look at your own home with fresh eyes.

Spring Brings Change

I’d like to start by standing outdoors in the beautiful sunshine and taking a few deep breaths of the gorgeous spring air that has finally arrived. We’ve waited so long for it this year and it’s a welcome change.

Speaking of change…

At 51 I am finally accepting that life is a journey- a series of chapters that continue to ebb and flow throughout our lifetime. As a child who moved continually for my first 20 years I dreamed of roots. Settling in to a place that I could call home. Forever. That was my plan and as anyone who knows me understands, I need a plan to feel comfortable. But it seems that my entire life has been a lesson in stepping towards what makes me uncomfortable and finding “home” there. And if I’ve learned anything over the past 51 years it is that I always land on my feet and I can make a home wherever it is I land.

With that in mind, there are changes on the horizon for Scott and I. I can’t share everything yet but I will tell you that we will be selling our fabulous little island property in the near future. For those of you who have asked- we are fine. We are more than fine actually- we are wonderful. And being in such a good space with him is the reason that I can even entertain this idea. Because he gives me a solid place to land no matter where we are. So with that said, we are moving on to our next chapter which we both know is exactly where we need to be.

So what does that mean for the pottery studio? Well, it means that it will be put on hold until we settle into our next space and can build something for me to work in. And while initially I was apprehensive about that, I am now seeing that it is opening a door into a space that I’ve been missing for some time. Until I can play with clay again, it gives me an opportunity to pick up my camera to make photos of more than just my pottery. And truly, I can’t tell you what that does for my heart. I am SO excited for the possibilities. I know that when I have a pottery studio set up again I will be excited to get back to work but right now, knowing that I will be able to spend time focusing on photography gives me a sense of stability amidst the changes that are coming.

So my hope is that I will find connections with makers, shop owners, or anyone who needs photographs for their business. I’ve missed capturing creatives at work, beautifully curated spaces, and of course travel photography- which I don’t anticipate is a part of this next chapter. But I am putting it all out into the universe and manifesting opportunities to capture beauty with my camera.

However, before we leave this wonderful chapter there will be one more pottery sale. I’ve got a number of things from the pottery tour and a few things that came out too late to add them to the shelves this past weekend. So I am busy photographing, measuring, and adding them to the online shop. Once they are there I will send out a newsletter with some preview photos and let you know when the shop will go live. And don’t worry- this isn’t the last update, simply the last one for a bit, while we search for our next place to call home. I’m really excited about that process.

With love,

K.

Late Winter

February 23, 2022

While officially it is still winter, spring has been poking its head up lately. Gorgeous sunny days, some a bit cooler than others, have us ready to begin planning the gardens for the year. I’ve sorted my flower seeds as we now have a dedicated flower garden. I’ve been harvesting seeds for the past few years and at the end of last summer one of our wonderful neighbors sent me home with a number of seeds from their extensive gardens. Not only do I love cutting flowers from the garden for the house but this year I’m hoping to grow a few things to dry for tea as well as plants that lend well to making dye for fabrics. We also started our first indoor seeds this week – ground cherries. We’ve never grown them before and we’re excited to see how it goes. While I’ve never had them in our gardens, I certainly enjoy eating them!

Last year we started our orchard with a few apple and cherry trees, and nearby are our three fig trees. This year we need to decide where we are moving our raspberries as well as where we will plant the blueberries and strawberries. Thankfully Scott is wonderful with knowing what each plant needs and I’m happy to follow his lead on where things like that should go on the property.

As for our edible gardens, we are busy planning for this years layout and already buying seeds. One thing I can’t wait to participate in is our island’s seed exchange. People harvest their vegetable seeds and then share them with other island gardeners. Thus this year we are being very particular about which seeds we buy, making sure there are no GMOs so that all of our seeds can be harvested.

When it comes to vegetables we learned a lot last year. Lessons such as “grow no more than TWO zucchini plants and you will still probably get far more zucchini squash than you will need” or “you can NEVER plant too many pea vines” and also “you can definitely plant too many beans unless you plan to preserve them”. But that’s the gorgeous thing about gardening isn’t it- the endless lessons it teaches you through the years. This will be our third year gardening on the little island and with the new gardens Scott built this year we should be able to grow quite a lot of what we need for the summer.