Years ago, I published a photoblog. Remember those? The premise was simple: a photo a day with some links to see more of that artist’s work. Instagram changed everything, so I’m trying something new: the Monday Muse, a visual inspiration for your email inbox. No algorithms, no ads. Just a picture to start your week. Would you like to show something of yours here? Please email anytime! —AA

How’s everybody doing out there? It's been a while since I last wrote to you. I had coffee with my friend Richard last Friday, and he noticed that I hadn’t sent a FlakPhoto Digest for quite a few days. Life has been too busy lately, and I dropped the ball.

To be honest, the last few months have been challenging.

In April, a big hailstorm came through town and did all kinds of damage to our house and car. We spent our summer reeling from the many decisions we needed to make to set things right. Needless to say, we let our minds run riot with our emotions, which is natural — but last week marked the autumnal equinox, which felt like a kind of marker and a time to take stock. We replaced our roof and found a new car. We’ll fix the remaining house stuff later this year. So it feels appropriate to turn the page and start the fall with a lighter load.

I ran into photographer and friend Sarah Stellino at the PhotoMidwest Biennial exhibition opening reception last week and was bowled over by one of her prints in the show. I love pictures like this — they’re quiet and beautiful and offer opportunities for meditative reflection. I needed that, and I thought you might, too. The image is from Sarah’s To Be Chosen series, a project documenting her experience as a young mother and parent. She writes:

LGBTQ+ families currently face the erosion of rights and recognition. I feel that tension as we seek community in a place whose political and cultural structures do not fully affirm our family’s existence.

After my wife and I asked my brother to be our sperm donor, I struggled to find my place in the process. The steps required to legally protect my parentage meant that the legal system scrutinized every facet of my personhood — my health, my financial standing, my personality, and the safety of my home. I did not anticipate the psychological toll it would take. I began to photograph myself and my wife to find refuge amongst the doubt and uncertainty I felt.

By using this process as a means of inquiry, the photographs serve not only as a record, but also move beyond to hold the weight of memory, place, and connection.

Sarah creates to make sense of, and fortify herself against, the challenges of the real world. There is a lesson in this approach — Don’t let the bastards grind you down, right? I keep coming back to the stillness in this picture, a stillness I haven’t felt in too long, and one I can sense is returning. Here’s hoping the fall season is calmer than the spring and summer have been.

Please take a look at Sarah’s website when you have time this week. and if you still use Instgram consider following her @sarahstellinophoto. She is incredible.

Take care, friends, and talk soon!

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