Hello my lovely friend,
It’s Saturday evening and I am currently sitting criss cross apple sauce next to my adorable mom in a tiny little bed, in a wee little room in Scotland. Fort William, to be exact.
It’s Saturday and the weather outside is absolutely delicious. Rainy, cold, crispy and all the things you would wish Scotland to be in October. We took a bus over from Oben earlier today and got absolutely drenched trekking from the train station to the hotel, but I wouldn’t change a moment of it.
It’s Saturday and just yesterday I dropped the 9 women I spent the entire week with at the airport and immediately missed them. We filled our time together snuggled into a gorgeous retreat right off Holy Loch outside of Dunoon. The house was filled with chaos and noise and the kind of chatter that only happens when you get women together. We spent evenings by a fire in the living room reading, knitting, chatting and drinking tea. Our days were filled with education and breath work, sound baths and massages, photography and adventure and every single thing felt like a piece of a puzzle that slipped together with ease.
It’s Saturday and I launched Naughty November today…and I have big squidgy feelings about it. Maybe it’s the vulnerability hangover from a week of splaying my heart open or maybe it’s simply the climate we are currently living in, but this year feels different. Over the last week I watched as women blossomed through the art they created behind their own lenses. I held cameras and cheered people on, we edited together and printed images on polaroids. As a group I watched them run around the house half clothed and giggling and I was able to witness, first hand, how art can truly heal things inside us all.
It’s Saturday and I am so proud of the work I have done over the last 11 years that brought me to this exact moment in time. Snuggled in, working next to my mom, exploring the world, bringing women together, healing through art communally and bringing to life spaces that allow people to truly be witnessed, supported and seen for the incredible humans they are.
It’s Saturday and I am thankful. For you, for this life, for this art, for the space and time to heal, for the ability to bring people together when the world feels like it’s ripping apart at the seams and for the excitement of next month, where we will get to build something together that feels different. Feels bigger, feels more important and feels like something dredged up from the very depths of my soul. 11 years of work has built to this moment and maybe that’s why I feel so squiggly about it.
So this Saturday, I invite you to check out this year’s Naughty November. Maybe even go so far as to imagine looking through an entire gallery of images that you created over a month’s time, knowing that you did the thing that maybe felt scary, squiggly and squidgy. That you were part of something bigger than just pretty pictures and that you showed up for yourself in a way you never have.
Because I love you. I know there is more out there for you. I know that life can get really juicy and delicious if you just open the door a little to the unknown. And I know that if you decide to jump, I mean really jump, there is no way you could possibly lose by using art to heal the relationship you have with your body. Click here to see what it’s all about!
Thank you for being part of this incredible troop. I love you to the moon and back.
Katelyn,
Your fearless but sometimes vulnerable and squidgy troop leader!
