Winter's Kiss

Winter has a quiet calm that has always drawn me to it. It somehow manages to be still while... still moving. I must associate it with the stillness it causes people. People hide inside their homes, burrow under blankets and dread going out. But it's never stopped me. Snowy storms are serene and mesmerizing and they quiet my anxiety like nothing else. My favorite time in winter is moments after a snowfall has ended when the world is silent and the fresh snow is completely undisturbed.



This self-portrait was made as a tribute to my love of winter and the quietness it brings me. I turned my dining room into a gorgeous winterscape for this portrait—covering the floor with pillow stuffing and frosted branches and adding falling snow in post with a scatter brush. I placed an ice pack on my cheeks and nose to mimic the chilly kiss the freezing temperature gives.