How many people live inside of us? How many versions of ourselves are waiting to be born, grow their voice, and take control of what they (and they alone) know is coming? Some of us wait and then struggle fiercely against the loss of that person we have known so intimately. For me, she dances away easily as though off to a place she’ll never come back from. I don’t mind watching her go. But others of us hold on to our skin so tightly, suffocating it, willing it to please, please stay where you are and be the same and never change.

It hurts us to become someone else, especially when who we always thought we would be is a distant memory kept alive by pure hope. We feel our skin unzipping to that slow uneasy click, click, click and we reach to hold it together. Our compulsions are too empty of meaning.

I had the most perfect morning imaginable. I really mean that, even more than other days that I say the same thing (what can I do, I’m an eternal optimist.). I awoke early from a nightmare at 3:45am so I decided to make use of my extra 15 minutes and drive out early to scout. I went about 45 minutes away to find a beautiful forest. As I walked through the trees a family of elk grazed in a nearby field. It was blue out. I felt like the only human for miles. I was completely at peace.

My mind wandered through the forest to the farthest reaches of my imagination and back again as I took a moment to lay quietly on the ground. An ant crawled up my hand and back down again, and I let the tickle linger before wiping it away and going back to my equipment that lay a few feet away. As I set myself up for a portrait I noticed the absence of something. The anxiety that is ever-present in me, be it big or small, was gone. I wasn’t thinking of how much time I had or if my idea was good. Where it would have been there was only calm.

Portrait finished, I began setting up for video. I knew only that I wanted a loose narrative and to learn slow motion. I spent the evening before reading forums and tinkering with my camera until I felt certain I could achieve what I wanted. As I began filming I let the narrative take over and lead myself to different parts of the woods, each shot becoming what it wanted to be. I never forced it. I became it.

I hope your day is as kissed by the sun as mine has been. I’m quite proud of today’s content, and for that I am grateful. Day 8, I love you.

One week in and I can’t think of a better way to be spending my summer. The mornings are cool and dark and peaceful, my editing sessions are filled with tea and music, and my afternoons are for working. Evenings bring walks and yoga and cooking up new recipes. Nights bring Star Trek and reading.

When I began creating images years ago, I was just out of college (technically still in the very end semester), and I had nothing to my name. I had no money. I was moving and unsettled and had no place to call home. I took a job as a receptionist and saved everything that I possibly could, eating lots of Ramen soup and paying off my student loans extremely diligently. One year in to being out of school, I had paid off my student loans and I was moving toward this dream career.

I remember waking at 5am each morning to shoot before work and editing when no one was looking throughout the day. I remember how exhilarating it was to have the freedom to create; to come up with a new idea everyday made me feel powerful. I also burned out on it, as we all do at times, and I’ve found balance since then. With this July challenge brings memories of that time in my life, when I had never taken pictures before so everything was new. Everything had never been done before, in my world.

During those times, because money was so tight, I had a strict rule for myself: buy nothing. I used hand-me-down equipment, a tripod from a thrift store, and anything I could find around me. I remember once dragging a shopping cart up the stairs to my second floor apartment, getting stuck and pinned on the way there. I remember gathering branches. I remember finding old fabric in an alley. I remember my utter amazement, and subsequent empowerment, I felt at realizing the great many uses of a bed sheet.

We don’t need fancy things to create. Our imaginations are free. We are free to use them. And they can set us free.

Today I celebrate how wonderful it is to be a CREATOR in this beautiful world. To see the things that others don’t; to see potential where others see roadblocks. Is that not what makes an Artist? Seeing something different in the world and expressing that view in your own unique iteration?

Today I photographed the most ordinary items: a rope, an old oar I’ve had for ages, a candle holder…and I created from that. Can I afford more now than I could then? Yes. Do I feel that I need to spend money to prove myself? To make myself feel more ‘professional’? No. So here I create in my happy world of my own building, where rarely does anything cost more than $10 and I can exist blissfully inside my imagination.

There’s lots of room in here, if you want to join.

What is more magical than our ability to create? To pull something out of thin air, to empower our imagination to be wild. Is there anything more beautiful than pure expression? My world fuels itself on ideas, inspiration, and creating. When I am out of sync it is because I’m not freely creating whatever my mind might have in store that day. Not that I create randomly, but that I allow my imagination to breath so that when it comes time to create, I am ready.

I’ve been so closed off from inspiration this year for many reasons. I can always find an idea at the drop of a hat, but an idea that fulfills me is a whole other thing. I wanted to take time to cultivate that intense creativity while I am on a break from traveling, so for the month of July I am going to create a photo, video and blog post every day.

You might be thinking that creating every day will only stifle my creativity. I tend to agree – forcing creativity can be painful and unfulfilling. For me, giving some constraints with an easy-to-identify end time is a good thing. A month is a short time, and I know I can fully dedicate myself to it. I want to learn how to create better videos and this month will help me. I want to get the ideas out of my head that have been building up, and this will help me. I want to write more and document my days, and this will help me.

Each day certainly won’t yield something great. After all, I’m largely only giving myself mornings to do all of this considering I do still have jobs/tasks/other activities planned. But for each morning, I will dedicate myself entirely to my craft.

This month I will be working on a Creativity Challenge to release at a Pay-What-You-Can price in August in case anyone else wants to try out a challenge like this…assuming I make it through! After all, if I can’t be an example I probably shouldn’t be helping other people along!

Wish me luck, comrades!

And remember…

“There is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.
And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.”
— Martha Graham

…so create, because our uniqueness is a gift that I believe makes life richer when explored.

Lately I have been reminiscing over my earlier photos from when I first started photography. There are still, miraculously, some people who support my work that have done so since those earliest days. And sometimes I hear people telling me to go back to what I used to do. Some days I agree. Some days I want very much to be overtly deathly and creepy and to create more simply. Some days I try. Other days I rebel. Sometimes I recognize my growth and I revel in having come so far. This month has been one of those times when I keep looking back and desiring to create as I used to.

The problem is obvious, once you are on the other side. I am a different person from who I used to be. My interests/talents/mindset is new. I can’t create those images again. They were golden, but they are stale. Still, my desire remained so I decided I would put myself in the same situation I used to be in, with some of the same inspirations, but resolved to do something new.

This resulted in a rather hilarious photo shoot. Picture this: Me, in my bedroom, with a Disney princess kiddy pool, black fabric, and a jug of almond milk. Cue my husband, wondering 1) what I’m doing, but more important, 2) how I plan on doing it without soaking the floor in almond milk. That was when he found helping to be less futile than letting me alone with the soon-to-be mess.

I set my camera up on the tripod above me, using a Sony a7ii and 50mm lens. I made sure my shutter speed was high enough to catch some motion of the milk splashing, and after I was in focus, I got to shooting. Using a 10-second remote timer, I was able to click, get rid of the remote, and wait those L-O-N-G 10 seconds until the milk splattered all over me.

The first time, I actually forgot it was going to happen. I was so focused on trying to get my pose right that it hit me in the face like a huge shock, and I proceeded to laugh uncontrollably for a whole minute. Afterwards it started getting easier, we got timings better, and it took about 30 (very cold) minutes to finish. I realized my error of refrigerating the almond milk only after I started.

In the middle of shooting I had a moment, as I so often do when finding myself in a strange position, where I was filled with gratitude. These are the moments I remember. These are the memories I want to keep close. Some people may say I’m bonkers for wanting to do things like this, but I say the rest of the world is mad. To not desire a more interesting, fun and joyful existence is insane to me.

We might choose different ways of achieving it, but I can say something with certainty: The more you put yourself out there and do the things that other people think are crazy, the more alive you will feel. Trust me. It works every time.

We did it! When I started my promoting passion series I had no idea that I would make it to 100 videos! But here we are, and I can safely say that for the last two years I have released a video (almost) every single Monday. The topics ranged from photo shoots and editing to inspiration, storytelling, and adventure. I had such an amazing time creating them, and coming to the end of the series made me think a lot about content I want to create next year as well as my goals for the upcoming year.

When I started the series, I didn’t know if I could commit. Making a video Every.Single.Week. is not as easy as it may seem. It required a lot of planning and scheduling and putting big girl clothes on when I just wanted to stay in bed some days. But it was an amazing thing in my life and it won’t be going away anytime soon. I won’t be doing a video every single week, but I will be producing two a month for 2016. One will focus on more sit-down, interview style inspirational talks, while the other will be a more playful behind the scenes look at an elaborate and ongoing series that I’m focusing efforts on.

All of this “thinking ahead” made me want to write out my resolutions for next year, so here they are!

BROOKE’S RESOLUTIONS & GOALS:

1. Finish and sell my novel.

2. Start and finish my creativity book.

3. Begin a new charity project.

4. Successfully run year 2 of the Promoting Passion Convention.

5. Finish and exhibit a new series.

6. Submit 10 motivational speaking applications.

7. Become a smarter business woman.

8. Start a portfolio case company.

9. Experiment once a week with a different way of creating.

10. Be kinder every day.

If you share your resolutions with me in the comments here, I will be choosing one person at random to receive a 1-hour Skype mentoring session so that we can talk through your goals and work out an amazing plan to move forward!

PS…Be sure to watch the final minute of the video for ridiculous bloopers with my best friend and assistant Kelly!

Image: “Forgotten Treasures”, Character portrayed by Steph Perez, Photographed in a location provided by Marsha Denlinger.

“I’m going to jump in there,” I told myself.

The day before these things always seem like a grand idea, the type that happens in movies but rarely in our real lives. A fantastic gesture, a willingness to take hold of your own destiny. Movie characters amaze us in this way. We strive to be more like them, but rarely do we go through with it.

I wondered why I was doing this. I wondered if it was really worth it. I wondered why I ever put my self through these situations. Yet still, I set up my camera, put a beautiful dress on, and steadied my breathing. I didn’t want to jump in that water. I had no desire in that moment to do it. And that is precisely why I knew I had to.

And so I jumped…or rather, waddled awkwardly across the rocks that stood in my way at the shoreline. And when I got to where I wanted to take a picture, I sat down in the water, splashing my way in, and took a deep breath before laying my head back. I was only in that freezing water for a minute, or maybe even less. It was almost too much. It tested me. It pushed my limits. And then I was out, getting back to dry land as fast as I could, the first rays of sun just barely kissing the mountain peak in the distance.

Even after we drove away and left the lake behind us my toes were still burning from the cold, and I thought, at first, that I didn’t enjoy the experience. I don’t like jumping in cold water. But then again, that was never the point. The point was not to enjoy myself or to feel good or to buy into another guilty pleasure. The point was to create an adventure, to push myself, and to do something that I would remember. All of those things happened. And in doing so, my definition of who I am as a person expanded. Suddenly I was who I had been, and now I was more, too.

If I had slept in that morning, not gone camping the night before, and waded blindly through my morning routine, would I have been fundamentally changed? Probably not. But now, because I created an adventure, I wrote new lines in the story of my life that are worth reading. And I am a better person for it.

I challenge you to go jump in some water – any time of day, any body of water – be as creative as you like. Video tape yourself and share that video with me, and if I receive 50 video submissions I will donate $100 to one of the charities listed on this site in the Giving Back section.
Use the hashtag #PassionPlunge.

I’ve heard people counter the idea that with imagination we can create anything we want. Someone once said to me:

“I know that imagination is nice, but it won’t make the gray clouds outside go away.”

We can see through the darkness if we bring our own light. We can imagine and create and believe and see the world as we want to see it. If I didn’t believe in this, I would not be living the life I am living, and that is a life I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. We build our own fortune. We carve our own book of words to live by. We write the song of our life.

Art allows us to manifest these desires and visions. It allows us to spread our messages. It gives us power where once we felt nothing. It gives us hope where once we saw despair. And above all else, it gives us a voice. It allows us to speak through universal words that contain a thousand different meanings.

Imagination is the life-blood that flows through the veins of an artist. I believe all people to be artists. We do not manifest our art in the same ways. We do not all see the artist in ourselves. But it is there, sometimes sleeping silently, but always there, waiting. It is up to us to wake it.

What is your relationship with IMAGINATION?

Given that the walk is called the Caterpillar Walk, and the symbol is the butterfly, I was instantly connected with that symbol and wanted to create art to raise awareness for Fibromyalgia. To be honest, I can’t believe I haven’t thought of it before! It might have been a subconscious act to not bring attention to my own weaknesses due to Fibromaylgia. After all, I don’t want to seem like I’m complaining. I have it much better than a lot of people. However, the time is right, I feel it in my heart.

Create an image centered around butterflies, and post that picture as you would to your social media. And in that post, mention something about the Caterpillar Walk if you are so inclined, or simply put a link to some information about Fibromaylgia. The goal is to spread the word about a disorder that is very often invisible, since the symptoms do not manifest in any obvious way.

Post your images in the comments section here so that I can send them all in to the lovely people running the walk. And if you can join me in NYC on May 9th for the walk, I’ve got a group put together called Brooke Shaden’s Butterflies, so we can walk together! If you would like to donate to the cause, you can do so under my fundraiser.
 

Fibromyalgia is something I was diagnosed with when I was 14 years old. Before that I used to wear a knee brace to school, and I started realizing something was odd when I couldn’t remember which knee hurt the day before because my symptoms would shift, so I would switch knees for the brace every other day. Soon kids at school noticed too, and they would question if I was telling the truth about the pain or if I was just doing it for attention. The truth is, Fibromalgia is widespread pain, and every day it manifests a little bit differently.

I count my journey a lucky one. After all, I learned from my mom, who has Lupus, how to push through and conquer. Plus, so many have it so much worse than I do. So I am raising awareness for those who suffer in ways far worse than myself, that they might not feel so alone. And even more importantly, I’m willing to support any cause that reminds us of how little we can see of someone else until we really ask the right questions. We never know what someone else is going through, so let’s be kind and show just how great our capacity for love is.

Where: NYC, Hudson River Walk
When: May 9, 2015
Why: To raise awareness for Fibromyalgia and funds that go to National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association
How #1: Create an image with a butterfly and submit it in this blog post!
How #2: Donate to the cause under Brooke Shaden’s Butterflies!

To read more about Fibromyalgia (click to make bigger):

..And for more on the walk:

“I was told the other day that I should start to produce some other art: being aware of not getting to comfortable with my style, that I am always doing dark stuff and should do something else. I would assume that you have faced a similar comment in your career and was wondering if you could share you’re opinion on this question – either in a future blog post or here.”

That email got me thinking about criticism, but specifically how frequently people seem to tell artists what to do with their work. I really like the relationship between artist and public, if we could call it that, which social media provides. I welcome all feedback – good or bad – and try to learn how to receive it with grace. However, I’ve only gotten to that point by being able to understand a few things about myself and my creative process.

1. Understand what YOU like about your art. Be able to define that for yourself, be it in a string of words or in an artist statement.

2. Understand WHY you are creating art you are creating.

3. Understand that for each opinion, there is an opposite opinion. Listen to your own.

4. Growth is a natural part of the human experience. We grow and change as we feel the need. If you are holding yourself back out of fear, you know it. Change it. If you are truly happy with your work, keep going. Happiness is key.

5. For each friend lost, a potential is gained. The same is true of internet followers. Do not let your art be dictated by the opinions of others.

6. What is the goal of your art for yourself, and what experience do you want to give to others? My goal personally is to create worlds I wish I could live in. If I feel that way when I picture is completed, I have succeeded. My goal is to get others to question something about the world or themselves by seeing something different to everyday life. I do not get to decide if I have succeeded on that front.

7. Art is interactive. If you are sharing your art, you are inviting opinions. Let them come. Others interacting with your art create something even more special.

Have you ever faced a problem with criticism?
How do you deal with criticism?

Thank you Gabriel Isak for the email and for creating such incredibly beautiful art!

Model (top right): Olivia Clemens
Model (bottom left): Kate Berman