VAGABOND LIFE
VAGABOND LIFE
I have always dreamt of sailing away from civilization like the French sailor Bernard Moitessier who participated in the first non-stop solo sail around the world and almost won but decided to just keep going and Paul Gauguin, the avant-garde artist famous for being disowned by his wife for denouncing their middle-class French life and moving to Tahiti.
Both of them believed that getting away from civilization made for a more suitable life for themselves. Being self-sufficient, in their own rhythm, living off the grid, being at sea for months on end, and experiencing a lifestyle free of the usual trappings were the things that lured them away from civilization, stereotypical careers, and their families.
Of course, I could never go through with it now and have only dreamed of that kind of alternative life in my head. I'm a mother and wife for goodness sake! I do try to live a life like that where I can without completely leaving home. I have dabbled in it and experienced it happily when I climbed in the California and Colorado mountains alone and when I sailed to French Polynesia with my husband. In my series', At the Edge and Fragile Potential, I relive the sublime experience I had at sea and explore the fragility of nature and humanity in all of us.
Is this enough for me? For now, it is and has to be as I witness my family adapting to adversity and growing at every turn. I wouldn't miss that for a moment. So, I continue to escape when I can with my photography and am grateful for the somewhat 'civilized' life I have for now.