Let Yourself Go

In the book I'm reading, the author equates freedom, to living like no one else exists... I love that.
I cannot imagine a life better lived, than living it on our own terms.. taking the beauty that we are.. that we see.. and embracing it with a roar.
We are awesome.

Andrew Tipton

Close

God is not far away. God is in your breath, God is in your heartbeat, God is in your blood, in your bones, in your marrow - just a single step of closing your eyes and entering within yourself.
-Love, Freedom, Aloneness

Shatter the Windows

The Cathedral, white with a reflection that steals your words.
I watch for snow cats, black silk. making their way across the ledges,
the purple curly tails of pigs in the early morning sky,
that's what Joshua calls them.
roll over and expect nothing,
maybe though.. expect to be dismayed.
expect to be open handed, anything fits.
This instrument tonight, play, strum until you drift. Snow drift
across my fingers. We are warm blooded, Hot. Because it melts under our touch.
Touch. and watch it melt. See how we are. Incredible human spectacle.
I am seeing my voice inside out.. watched it shatter the windows.
like a million diamonds. Slow motion, beautiful explosion.
I wish you could see the inside of my mind.
Lips and sounds that strike a pose, strike a chord
Like songs that stroke the shoulders of your soul... watch with a silent mouth. Wait for it... wait for it... NOW.
I am undoing what has been written down.
Dry erase. Chalk board. Pencil drawing.
discovering that we are better than I ever imagined.
discovering what it was like in the beginning
before we knew cleverness,
before we were broken to the purity and dismay of simple colors.
it comes. melts into itself,
unravelling with grace and silent confusion -
like a conversation about kissing in a language I do not know.
the words hang silent on my tongue,
waiting to silp into the breaking waves..
we do not comprehend what we see.
we do not comprehend what we say.
I hope we do. Love. it. all.



Andrew Tipton

the way the gass sway

Jumping Fences

Once on a Wing

Keep Your Hands Open

So many times it seems like the best thing to do with life is clutch it tightly between my fingers.
"Its so good right now." I tell myself, "Why would I want change?".
Maybe if I squeeze hard enough I can keep it like this.
But I am only clutching air. I am only holding a passing beam of sunshine.

I'm reminded this morning to keep my hands open.
No matter the fullness of this moment .. keep your fingers spread wide, and your palms open.
I'm breathing that thought this morning.

I'm watching the ceiling fan turn.. its breeze gently stroking the black and white photos on my walls.. dancing with the white feathers on my dream catcher from Chandel.





Andrew Tipton

The Questions to My Answers

Where are the questions that got us here?

I've been drawing a lot lately. Black and white sketches of the human body.
It has been an eye-opening glimpse into how I perceive my world.
I have realized that while I am aware of what a human body looks like.. as a whole.. I am clueless to the intricacies and details of its form.

Show me a photo of a naked woman and ask me to sketch her... I will. In a few brief moments I will use my pencil to construct a rough drawing. When I am finished you will see her curves, her lines, her legs.. you will see her long flowing hair, you will be able to identify her as the woman in the photograph.
But ask me to specifically draw her hands.. ask me to only draw her lips, or her shoulders.. ask me to draw her cheek bones, or the curve of her stomach.
Drawing the individual parts is a challenge!
I think this difficulty comes from never fully questioning the details - never understanding how they flow together to create an complex design of human beauty.
Sometimes my sketch of a person looks slightly off.. it seems solid at first glance, but maybe a shoulder is crooked, maybe her torso doesn't quite line up.. Once I know why parts fit together, then I will be able to accurately explain them in my drawing.

To accurately capture the human form.. it seems like you have to stare beyond the general lines.. dissecting the "Answer" of the body until you have fulfilled the questions that create that form.

Q: Why do the shadows fall slightly heavier on the left side of her lips?
Q: How slender are her fingers?
Q: How much space is there between her eyes and mouth?

Instead of looking at a photograph of a person and trying to express their entirety.. it would serve me much better to understand the pieces that make them who they are. Once I comprehend the parts, then I will know how to draw them as a whole.






Andrew Tipton