As I animate, I take notice in the small aspects of movement, light, shadow, emotion. How a leaf falls. How light moves through hair.
In response to that curiosity, life around me becomes a living meditation. I love to sit in the garden,or with the animals, noticing how a bee lands on a flower. What happens to the tree when the wind blows. It’s awareness that others may find boring or mundane.
One could say a life of busy-ness is also life. Which is fine, if you notice the the ongoings of that life and not just sleepwalk through it. Staring at a screen and scrolling mindlessly ( which I do too at times) is moment escapism. Staring at anything when your mind is somewhere else is sleepwalking.
When I first moved here to Belgium, I noticed a difference in driving where I had to pay attention to everything, rather that moving on autopilot through Los Angeles traffic. A trip to the office can be so repetitive, that you can arrive without knowing how you got there. Not only are there different traffic and street laws, the beauty is always something to look at.
So animating the “illusion of Life”. Sees life. Awareness of life. You are forced to break it down. And become one with it.
If the joy is not there, I have the luxury to get up and do something else. But the fact that I am almost finished with a 15 minute film, shows that a lot of my life has been in the bliss of art making and story.
The photo here was taken by my beautiful wife Aleide on a morning walk this week in Neerwinden. I love her photos.
They are a moment of life. You are a moment of life.
