Austin Artist Life

To kick this blog off, I want to share a few photos of some of my favorite places in Austin (not all photos taken by myself!):

View of the city from Ladybird Lake, which has a wonderful greenbelt trail all around.

Lake Travis, which I spent 2.5 weeks exploring while housesitting.

A cool abandoned beach party house. The beach has moved about a mile away due to drought.... CRAZY :(

And now... on to my update! Today I shadowed Havilah Rand and Darden Smith at the "Be An Artist Program" (http://www.dardensmith.com/?page_id=22), watching them teach a lessons on creativity and songwriting to elementary students. I am excited to be working closely with Havilah as she takes on some of the Be An Artist Program while Darden travels and expands the program. I am hoping that perhaps someday I will be able to help out with this program. I think every kid deserves to hear that they ARE artists, and that they can do what they love, follow their passion, have a fulfilling career doing what they love, and nourish themselves using art as an outlet. LOVE IT!

Afterwards, Havilah and I met to discuss all the wonderful projects we are working on: yoga retreats for musicians, songwriting classes in Bellingham and Austin, and expanding the Be An Artist Program. I am so proud of Havilah for all her artistic pursuits, and excited to be learning as I work with her and moving closer to my dream of making a living as a full time artist.

I feel so blessed to live here. The weather is so beautiful (sunny and 70 again today!) I want to start taking more pictures of Austin and sharing them. I'm sad to say I have barely taken any since I've gotten here. I miss my BellingFam and our constant adventures and extensive photo-documentation!

View of the Capitol from South Congress

Funky shops on South Congress (there are tons of neon signs, food trailers, vintage clothing shops, and fun outdoor spots to get a drink and listen to music).