Bonus Year No. One
I didn't think today would be weird. It is.
Bonus Year No. One
I hadn’t planned on writing anything today, but I think its importance is just now hitting me.
One year ago I walked out of my morning workout at the gym feeling not quite right. I got home and told my wife that I wasn’t feeling great. No big deal. Thirty minutes later we were on our way to the Heart Hospital just to error on the side of caution. Five minutes after that I was on a table in the cath lab. I now have the tiniest scar on my wrist that blends with a few of my freckles that surround it and I now have a stent in my left anterior descending artery instead of a 95% blockage. You can read about that particular day here. I urge you to do so if you haven’t already. There is a reason so many fatal heart attacks are a surprise to everyone…the signs can be incredibly subtle. Mine definitely were.
I’m going to focus on every day since then because today I want to take the time to recognize just some of the many things I’ve gotten to do and witness in my first bonus year.
I got to shift my understanding of time. I can still feel rushed and behind schedule along the way, but most of the time I am able to let all of that slide away without consequence. Time can shift from slow to fast and everything in between and I am one thousand percent ok with that.
I have continued to slow down my studio practice and refocus the ideas surrounding all of it.
I found my father’s old medium-format film camera which re-established a love of photography and more importantly, a love for the tactile deliberateness of shooting on film in our digital world.
I have created the space in my studio practice to work on large-scale objects consistently (instead of once a year).
I learned to own the fact that I am an artist and am beginning to understand how that will impact and inspire my world for the rest of my bonus years.
I’ve begun to bring a camera almost everywhere I go.
I have gotten to see my kids flourish as they find their own passions and sort out their own place in this world.
I get to be inspired by their passions and thirst for knowledge of the things that bring them joy and intrigue.
I’ve gotten to see my wife focus on her immense love for the garden and the outside world while watching her soak in new knowledge as she is enrolled in a Landscape Design program at Austin Community College.
I got to celebrate her fiftieth birthday in the most incredible way, at one of the top restaurants in the country where our son was working. A meal filled with moments that brought us to tears for so many reasons.
I got to visit my daughter at college to watch my first college basketball game with her.
I’ve gotten to photograph live music for the first time…with both my digital and film cameras.
I’ve learned to eat less red meat.
I have not learned to eat less dessert yet.
I got to see my mentor’s retrospective, Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within, at the Noguchi Museum and I’m about to get to visit it again in Houston at the MFA next week.
I made it back to Cape Cod, where I lived for twelve years, with a camera and explore it in an entirely new way.
I’ve gotten to help one of my closest friends cook at some super-fun food events here in Austin.
I got to see my wife’s mind explode while walking through the gardens at Lotus Land in Montecito.
I got to eat at my favorite restaurant in the country. Bell’s…with a side of Bar Le Cote.
I sent my ceramics work out to the shop owned by my friends that run my favorite restaurant in the country which felt like a confirmation that those who supported my work when I was making dinnerware will find a way to continue to support my work now that I don’t make dinnerware.
I got to photograph my daughter’s pre-prom dinner at our home.
I got to see my son graduate from culinary school.
I’ve seen my friends open new restaurants and businesses.
I’ve seen my friends close restaurants and businesses and watch them understand that it’s not the end of everything, but rather the way to create space for new things and that their work will continue to inspire all of us.
I’ve gotten to play tennis with my old doubles partner again…and yes, we won the member-guest tournament…again.
I released my first collection of Ltd. Edition Photography which was shot on my father’s old medium-format film camera on Cape Cod, where my creative life began with my first ceramics studio almost thirty years ago.
Lecount Hollow No. One • Medium Format Film • June, 2024 I released a large collection of my Large-Scale Ceramics.
I found a way to combine both of those things with my Pots in the Real World series of film photographs.
I saw my youngest get into her first choice for college…where she’ll be attending with her older sister.
I got to see my middle daughter get into a study abroad program for the upcoming fall semester. *one of my biggest regrets was not traveling abroad when I was in school.
I am working on fixing that missed opportunity.
I brought a camera to ACL Fest for the first time.
I’ve seen my friends get their very first Michelin Stars.
I hosted a PopUp with my dear friends at Billy Reid for the first time since 2019.
I got to celebrate my birthday with my first-ever trip to Mexico City with incredible food, beautiful museums, and time wandering through what is perhaps my new favorite city to explore…which just so happens to be a two-hour flight from Austin.
I’ve gotten to explore small towns around Texas with my friends and our cameras.
I’ve gotten to explore new forms, new ideas, and new techniques with clay in my studio.
I’ve made it out to visit friends around the country that I’ve been meaning to visit for years.
I got to spend the high-school soccer season on the pitch watching and photographing my daughter’s final season.
I re-wired my kilns…again.
I found new favorite restaurants in Austin and beyond.
I’ve spent time connecting with friends, acquaintances and neighbors that inspire me over breakfast, coffee and lunch because I decided that this is the year to re-engage with the real world as often as possible.
I traveled with my parents to San Miguel de Allende where they ate street tacos in Mexico for the very first time.
I’ve spent time returning to some of my favorite places in Austin like the Blanton, The Long Time, The LBJ Wildflower Center, and Town Lake Trail to name just a few.
I have made plans for more travel throughout the rest of the year so that I can continue to feed my creativity and build my work.
I’ve gotten to do all of these things that have brought me joy, learning, information, and expanded my vocabulary simply because I made the right decision to go to the hospital one year ago today. I believe that time will continue to expand and contract as needed in my life.
I’m happy that I’ve been granted the space in this world to witness that magic continue. I am honored that I get to carry on and focus on the beauty that resides within each of us and within this world we share.
Beautiful Kieth. 🌷