HMB Walk #2: Jamie

What is key to Walk with Me working is having a community member that can connect you to awesome people to walk with. And there always seems to be a reason why the people who say yes, do say yes.
Jamie is a friend of Laura, the woman running the residency. Jamie is an artist who makes amazing clothing from recycled fabric. It is more than that....I mean she made a dress out of a tent. Like in the style of a medieval woman. It is pretty awesome. She also draws and paints. She is a very composed woman. I mean she walks in and you are like. This person is put together.
The fogs were amazing. The sun was just burning through the fog....so it created this spotlight that made the plants brillant and then the background was grey and opaque.
She is also very open to walking with some woman she has never met in the tiny town of Half Moon Bay. We chatted with Laura and her daughter Coleen for a little bit and we got to walking. We walked along the bluffs and chatted amicably about family and moving from home to the wild lands of California. It was so refreshing to hear of someone so firm in her belief that this is where she should be.
Our conversation was immediately open after talking openly about life while with Laura. I was so impressed with how Jamie fell in love and with all that brings with it. Including step-kids, she seemed to know it was the right person. And there I was blurting out how I had been keeping a safe distance from people for many a year. Jamie clasped my hand and I don't remember what she said but it was a really soothing moment.
There were a lot of people about and after reading Jamie's reflections she was conscious of them. But during the walk, i would have had no idea. We just chatted along. She did sort of flutter her hands a few times....sort of like loosening them. And we did stop holding hands for her to show me the length of a shirt she had made.
It was a really really enjoyable walk. And over time the "reason" for the walk became apparent. We are two 30 something artist. Who wonder where the passion of what we do is? We are getting out of the rut of mid career artists. I didn't even see myself as an artist till a few years ago. But I have been doing this for, at least, 10 years. Jamie spoke of coming to NorCal and being so glad people didn't know her as AN ARTIST. I can see how this gives you freedom and takes off the pressure. Wow, that sounds nice. For me, I fight so hard to fit into the art world. I fight so hard to keep my head above water. To have people acknowledge me.....here I am doing this project and realizing my burn out is HIGH. That I want to just run away from something I can't really run away from cause it is part of me.
Overall, a great walk. Jamie wrote a lot about the sort of thoughts of apprehension women have when we walk on these walks. If other people are making assumption, thinking about the "male gaze", and if your mother would approve of this project. This quote is my favorite though, "Perfection is all in our minds as an illusion making us uncomfortable & taking us away from ."

the moment