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A RIVER OF ONE'S OWN

A Heroine's Journey into the World of Story

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Ellen McLaughlin

August 10-16, 2014

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May 31-June 5, 2014
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John and I were watching a rerun episode of the Big Bang Theory the other night when Sheldon disappeared into a basement room, locked the door, took out a Hacky sack, and challenged himself to a game of footbag. "I wonder if my friend Greg has seen this episode," I said, laughing at Sheldon's secret pastime.

In the 80s, Greg Cortopassi, my friend, a professional athlete, was not only a footbag champion but was the national spokesman for the game of footbag, even co-founding the World Footbag Association. The photo on the left shows him in Washington DC doing a demo with a flaming footbag.

When Greg became my client and friend eight years ago, he was traveling the world as an adventurer and seeker of life. A catalyst for inspired living, he has helped thousands live more inspired lives. Now, as a professional photographer, Greg captures the multi-dimensional spirit of nature, from 40-ton humpback whales to tiny crystalline drops of water. View gallery at Corto Images.

Today, as last week's snow melts and rivulets of water run down the dirt roads in our mountain community, I celebrate the coming of spring, and I celebrate Greg - the many facets of nature that he shares with us, the heartfelt way in which he celebrates life, and the secret endeavors to which we all aspire in the privacy of our dreams, even Sheldon. I hope you enjoy Greg's Artist Statement, the images below, and the connections I've made between image and storytelling.

Page

PORTALS

Greg calls this image "Portals." It reminds me of the opening words of a story - how our language should beckon to the reader. "Come," we invite, "enter this mysterious realm of my imagination. You'll be safe, I promise, though I can't promise that the journey will be easy."

FAVORITE OPENING LINES

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver, from "Hallie's Bones"

"I am the sister who didn't go to war. I can only tell you my side of the story. Hallie is the one who went south, with her pickup truck and her crop-disease books and her heart dead set on a new world. Who knows why people do what they do?"

TRANSFORMING

This photo, from Greg's "Facets of Nature" gallery, reminds me of how our most beloved characters undergo transformative changes as the stories we love unfold.

FAVORITE INTRODUCTION OF A CHARACTER

Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea

"Here came Nayeli, late for work again, dancing through town on her way to the Fallen Hand. She didn't mean to dance - it was just that everywhere she went, she swung and swayed, and it was all she could do to keep from running."

ELEGANCE

Greg took this photo in Africa and yes, the bird's plumage is elegant, yet as beautiful as the image is, we can't hear the bird's song. I long to hear the language of its soul, much as Terry Tempest Williams yearned to find her mother's words written on the blank pages of the dozens of journals she left behind.

HEALING THE WORLD THROUGH JOY
When Women Were Birds: 54 Variations on Voice
by Terry Tempest Williams

"Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.

Twinkle, Corto Images

FEATURED WRITING ADVICE

Ray Bradbury, from a speech quoted in Reader's Digest, said this about rescuing a hummingbird from the jaws of a cat: "I held the bird in my hands, one hand cupped over the other. I could not feel the weight of the bird, and would not have known it was there or even alive, except I could feel its heart beating. So it is with a good story or poem. You should feel the heartbeat, without feeling the weight of what you are reading."

Connecting People with Nature PAGE LAMBERT Connecting Writers with Words