Welcome

As an artist and photographer I know the art of moving through outer and inner landscapes, carrying the essentials - a camera, a journal/sketchbook, and questions:

  • What attracts my attention, and why?

  • How does an image serve as a window into what is going on in my life, at this time?

We carry such questions as we journey through careers, relationships, and the terrain of life. We can make meaning, only we pay attention. Taking pictures, painting a landscape, and writing in a journal about the thoughts and feelings that a scene evokes, is a practice I rely upon for intimate connection with the world around me.

Photography as Contemplative Practice

My father gave me his Nikon, in 2011, as a final gift. When he died, I began a daily pilgrimage, of sorts, going out along the Atlantic shore, with camera and a journal, to photograph and document the landscape of my loss. Photography and journaling helped me channel my sorrow. It was a journey not of my choosing, but deeply moving. I discovered that an image can capture the expression of one’s internal experience, if only I/we slow down and take the time to really notice.

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To engage in photography as a contemplative practice is to dip into the mystery and depth of experience.

In Contemplative Photography the photograph becomes the focus for reflection and deeper engagement, and the perspective shifts from documentation to an expression of an intimate connection with the subject. The same is true when I paint a landscape, or a beloved pet- it is not only reproducing what is before me, but the experience of connection to the subject (landscape or object).

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I studied art as an undergraduate, and then I earned a Master of Divinity Degree in Spiritual and Pastoral Care (Andover Newton Theological School), and am certified as a Spiritual Care Specialist (AAPC), and Spiritual Direction (Gateways to God Andover, MA).  

I garden, cook, paint, and cycle, pausing for coffee and reflection. I live by the ocean, with my husband, Michael, where we delight in hosting guests in our guest house suite, in Newburyport. Whenever we can, we travel to Nova Scotia and Vermont, to spend time with family. We have two adult children, Gretchen and Bayley, and Cobberdog, Digby- the subject of many of my paintings, and photographs.

Contact: ingridcyros@comcast.net