Rainbow Crosswalk for Chilliwack!

I have so much to write around this, but still processing it all.

The thing most forefront in my mind is: MY HEART IS SO FULL. What a beautiful, positive event steeped in love!

Check out the article from the Chilliwack Progress here.

Check out the CTV News coverage here.

THANK YOU to everyone who spent their time, energy, funds, who generously gave their love, presence, support, good vibes, and heart to the project - and a big shout out to Amber Price for putting this all together!

More photos to come in time, but in the meantime, I’m so happy with the turn out, during a huge rainstorm, and in spite of the 5 or so protester’s who also showed up - there was just such a good energy, so much love, and I’ve received so many positive messages from those who couldn’t attend as well. Much thanks to everyone involved, especially Kate & Pam who helped assist me in the rain - here’s just a very few images from the night!

Our second photo of the evening, taken about an hour after the first image.

Rainbow Crosswalk Photo Shoot for Chilliwack!

I am SO EXCITED to say that on Tuesday July 9th at 8 p.m. I’ll be photographing a gigantic group of amazing people - all are welcome - in order to show support for a Rainbow Crosswalk downtown. Here’s a link to the group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/chilliwackrainbowcrosswalk

Here are the details from the group, organized by Amber Price from the Book Man - and there will be a petition available to sign as well to show your support. A lot of people have come together to make this event work, and you know it’s my favourite thing when people create & collaborate together and make magic. This feels pretty dang magical.

This rainbow crosswalk means so much to me - I’ve talked a lot about the power of visual language - and I think it’s so important to create a symbol of support, inclusion, love & pride in our community. There’s always more work to be done in action - but gathering in the streets and raising our voices with love seems like a pretty amazing, powerful place to start. Art HEALS - and I’ve only had to spend a minute reading some of the comments below the Chilliwack Progress article (on Facebook) to know that our community really and truly needs this. A heads up that the comments could be very triggering. I was also so heartened to see so many comments of support.

I have never been someone, even through my business, that shies away from showing support to what I’m passionate about - and I am passionate about inclusion, passionate about love, passionate about making space for people to share their stories, and spaces where they feel safe doing so. This idea spoke to my heart - and while I originally envisioned something much, much smaller, I am amazed and ecstatic to see how big of a crowd is planning to come out on Tuesday. I hope you can join us and lend your voice!

Here are the details for Tuesday:

CASTING CALL!
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WHAT: A concept photography session showing what a rainbow crosswalk would look like, surrounded by people who support the idea! Sarah Sovereign Photography will be shooting photos to capture the magic!
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WHERE/WHEN: Tuesday, July 9th at 8pm at the crosswalk at Mill Street & Wellington Avenue
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HOW: Choose a solid colour to wear from the list below. Wear as MUCH of that colour as you can! (On the event page there is a poll so you can see which colours are lagging!)
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WHO: EVERYONE! Invite anyone who is supportive of the idea! Dress up your baby, bring your grandmother, your friends, your colleagues, anyone and everyone is invited!
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MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Frequent one of the local restaurants/pubs for a meal or a drink before/after and support local business! Or, just come for the shoot!

(Check out the Facebook group to see the event, join in discussion, and find out more!)

How We Self Care: Re-evaluating the Project

I started this project a few months ago wanting to connect with narratives of how women “should” self care, and how self care has become an industry, a commodity, and a distraction. I say this all knowing that accessing & allowing self care can be a privilege - and it can also be challenging. The gift we give ourselves when we show self-compassion, kindness, rest, is beautiful, but at times, it can be difficult to believe our minds, spirits, and bodies worthy of it. We are worthy of self care.

I felt that the industry was directed at women, and wanted to get away from the “marketed self care” narrative, but in doing this I think I actually fed into another narrative - the one that suggests that self care is for women only and/or that men don’t need/shouldn’t want to access care/mental health support. I 100% do not believe this, and I think it’s so important to have a platform for all genders to share the ways in which they give themselves love, compassion, care, and support. We need to have a wider conversation about what mental health & care looks like for all - and so with that recognition, I’m opening up this project to all genders/identities. However you identify, I welcome you to come and share your story.

Thus far I’ve been asking people on a case by case basis as I’ve had time to take on shooting - I’ve been attempting a bit of a balance because I tend to open sign ups and then bulldoze through, running off adrenaline, insomnia and coffee - and that seems like a real strange approach to take when we’re talking about caring for ourselves. It’s something I’ve been working on for myself - as part of my own self care. I may not have room to organize shoots for everyone who reaches out, but I welcome your stories, and if you’re comfortable, may look at sharing them as text based Instagram stories. I’ve also been considering adding these on as purchasable sessions - portrait sessions that explore our processes of care. I’d love to hear feedback on this!

Excited to share more of these stories - thank you to all of you who have created with me so far.

-Sarah

How We Self Care: My Plants Take Care of Me with Alyssa Campbell

“Discovering our needs and the voices of our body and spirit and what they are asking for is a unique and individual journey - and I truly believe that recognizing and giving space to listen, explore and develop this is an act of self care in and of itself. ”

I’m so excited to present the second installment from an ongoing series of photo essays that explore individual rituals of self care. 

About these Photo Essays: This project began when I started recognizing marketing around the concept of self care - especially marketing geared towards women - that seemed to summarize acts of self care as treats to be purchased, and/or overwhelming missives of things we “should” be doing to cope with expectations of busyness, the hustle, ingrained capitalism, the pressure to stay plugged in, perfect, et al. While I believe that every act of care we give to ourselves - big or small - is a triumph, I also believe that self care goes deeper. It doesn’t begin and end with self-soothing - self care is not always easy, or easily accessible to all. For example, it can also involve us nurturing ourselves through the ecosystems in which we thrive, caring for ourselves via caring for the air we breathe into our lungs, the earth that supports us, the plants that nourish us - and so much more. Discovering our needs and the voices of our body and spirit and what they are asking for is a unique and individual journey - and I truly believe that recognizing and giving space to listen, explore and develop this is an act of self care in and of itself. 

The concept of this project grew from wanting to tell stories from a unique female-identifying perspective about some of the individual ways in which we engage in self care. 

In documenting these self care rituals, I engage with a self care ritual of my own: visual storytelling. I am often compelled to make & create projects, and being able to document processes has always brought me peace. The interesting thing to me about this project is that it engages my own desire for self care as well, but doesn’t involve purchasing a product, or a list of things I should be doing to keep up. Instead, it mingles with the parts of myself that will always be fascinated by rituals of soothing, nurturing, connection and creation - while documenting the very real and incredibly individual stories of how we define care.

This is an ongoing series, and will slowly be developing over the next year or two.

“it was a flurry of beautiful activity, a process of care & emotional intention. I documented it as it happened, and we didn’t stop often - in some ways, it was almost as if I wasn’t there. There was an inward focus that felt, to me, very therapeutic - this mindful intensity for each individual nurtured planting, from the root of every marigold, to the heart of every seed.”

One thing that’s been very important to me in developing this project is being able to hear the stories from the subjects - and so the words to follow were written by Alyssa Campbell, a local baker. For our shoot, on a really rainy May day, she brought all of her planters and plants, en masse, to Gwynne Vaughan Park. She brought so many that someone thought we were holding a plant sale. I watched as Alyssa poured so much into each planter - it was a flurry of beautiful activity, a process of care & emotional intention. I documented it as it happened, and we didn’t stop often - in some ways, it was almost as if I wasn’t there. There was an inward focus that felt, to me, very therapeutic - this mindful intensity for each individual nurtured planting, from the root of every marigold, to the heart of every seed.

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My Plants Take Care of Me

By: Alyssa Campbell

“Plants, like our souls, mind, and body need care, positivity, sunlight, devotion, and nutrients. As I apply these things to my garden I am in turn also applying them to myself.”

I'm such a sentimental person and I save everything and this also gets channeled into gardening for me. Keeping the seeds over all the seasons brings me so much pride. I can say generations of marigolds have grown in my gardens

To be able to grow plants and vegetables to share with my loved ones is a really good feeling because I put so much time and love into my plants it's a really (or at least I feel) precious gift.

My history of gardening all began up the east side of Harrison Lake 22 km and 40 minutes outside of town where my family and I lived for almost 7 years. My first memory of anything to do with plants is planting a peony with my Nanan and the greenhouse my dad and Papa (his dad) built. My mom and Nanan worked in that greenhouse and it was pretty full of veggies, mostly tomatoes. I admit I never wanted to help out or be involved with it at the time ( I had quite the bad attitude as a child) but I know that those memories are what planted the seed of my love for gardening. (Pun definitely intended.) I am not a pro but I've been using the internet and winging it and loving it and that's all I need.

Four years ago, before I had my daughter, Chloe, I worked a lot. I have always been a little bit of a workaholic, so when I went on mat leave I found that I had way too much time on my hands. I struggled with postpartum depression, anxiety, and really lost what it looked like to take care of myself while trying to care for everyone else around me. I have learned that because I have these workaholic tendencies being productive, completing tasks, and achieving goals brings me peace.

Self-care to me is body, mind, and soul.

Our world is so fast paced: screens, phones, jobs, social media can all trigger anxiety and racing thoughts. Its so important to take time to slow down, calm your thoughts and care for your mind. So when I'm feeling down, anxious, or when my thoughts are overwhelming, instead of letting my anxieties whirl out of control I turn to my garden. Taking care of my garden is a reflection of taking care of myself.

Plants, like our souls, mind, and body need care, positivity, sunlight, devotion, and nutrients. As I apply these things to my garden I am in turn also applying them to myself.

Being outside in the sunshine improves mood and stimulates body's production of vitamin C, and sunlight and mood elevators are so important for people struggling with depression. When you are down it's hard to bring yourself up, but I've found that when I put myself into a natural atmosphere with sun, beauty, and nice garden smells, I feel better. I also completely believe in talking to plants. Outputting and surrounding yourself with positive affirmation aloud is not only good for the plant’s growth but it's good for one’s self-esteem - not to mention the hard labour it takes to tend to a fully thriving garden.

“I know that gardening makes me feel calm, productive, proud of my plants and myself, and I get excited like a child when I see my first sprouts. So, when I’m feeling anxious and my thoughts are overwhelming me, I go outside. I get my hands dirty, rally my thoughts, and busy my mind. My plants are my babies and knowing that they need me to flourish motivates me to get out there and take care of them.”

I know that gardening makes me feel calm, productive, proud of my plants and myself, and I get excited like a child when I see my first sprouts. So, when I'm feeling anxious and my thoughts are overwhelming me, I go outside. I get my hands dirty, rally my thoughts, and busy my mind. My plants are my babies and knowing that they need me to flourish motivates me to get out there and take care of them.

A garden can be a whole job in itself so I keep myself focused - complete tasks, water, feed, transplant, and get to the end result: a beautiful productive garden. It's exciting to see each new stage and it brings happiness to my heart.

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“1. Time to get your hands dirty! Preparing the soil. I usually use a mix a miracle grow dirt and then a cheap $2 bag of top soil from Superstore or Walmart.”

“2. These particular planters have holes in them, so I line them with landscaping material to hold the dirt in.”

3.

“4. 3rd generation marigold seeds. Featuring cat hair, dog hair, and petals from other flowers.”

“5. This is a almost whole dried marigold and you can see where the seeds come from under the little orange petals.”

“6. It's absolutely amazing and beautiful that this old, little dried up flower will be a new blooming flower in a few weeks.”

“7. Sprinkle marigold seeds and gently massage into top of soil with tips of fingers. The seeds like to be kept close to the surface and evenly moist.”

8.

“9. Sunflower time.”

“10. Poking holes for my seeds.”

“11.”

“12. Again, 3rd generation sunflower seeds. Planting an inch and a bit into the soil”

“13.”

“14. Sunflowers need lots of sunlight and water”

“15.”

“16.”

“17”

“18.”

“19.”

“20.”

“21.”

“22”

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How We Self Care is a small batch project happening over the next two years, sharing self care stories told from a female-identifying perspective. Each story is developed into a visual process through conversation, documented in photographs chosen by each participant, and explained in their own words. Comments, Questions, and Inquiries regarding the project are welcome!