Be Still 52 - Week #1: Beginning Thoughts

I signed up for Kim Klassen's Still Life Photography class called "Be Still 52." I really enjoyed learning about Still Life photography last year in Cheryl McCain's Frugal Still Life Photography class and decided I wanted to continue that journey. Kim Klassen's class is a year long! I usually have trouble sticking with a project that long, but I'm going to give it a try.
I have enjoyed classes taught by Kim before and follow her blog. As she describes in the class registration link posted above, one of the reasons she started a still life photography practice was because it helped her through the life-altering experience of having a husband diagnosed with lymphoma and going through treatment with him. As long time blog readers know, that resonates hugely with me having "been there, done that" with Paul. (Yes, you get to be a bit irreverent when you've lived the experience).

So, for the first photograph for the course, I decided to honor our common journey and photograph the rosary which I brought to the hospital with me during Paul's treatment. I'm a pretty badly lapsed Catholic, but during certain moments, sitting in the hospital, seeking peace, I felt the need to pray. And to say the prayers of my childhood. So, I dug out this rosary that I had inherited from my Aunt Vera. And brought it with me to the hospital. 
I still keep it in my purse. The links have broken a bit and I rarely pull it out to pray. But I still feel its power to calm me, to bring stillness and peace when I need it. So I continue to carry it with me, recognizing the importance of peace and stillness in my life.
And, now, I am glad to have captured its essence and its story in words and pictures. Thank you Kim. I'm looking forward to what comes next . . .