"Contemplation" by Kasie Hayes

“Contemplation” is the first piece that I printed as a digital photographer. This piece is also the first piece I ever exhibited as a digital photographer when it was accepted in the Texas Visual Arts Association September Shadows Exhibition in September 2018. As I entered into motherhood, things in my life began to shift. The way I thought needed to shift. The way I created needed to shift. I faced a fork in the road and I was either going to evolve with the challenges life presented, or I was going to become bitter as I held on to “the way things always were”. Motherhood unearthed deep mysteries in my heart. Recollections of my traumatic experiences, coupled with the new demands I faced, sent me into a whirlwind of introspection like never before. I captured this photo in my bathroom in front of the mirror. I leaned on the counter, held my camera in one hand and pressed the shutter release. There was no technique. There was no aim other than to capture the essence of the moment. And the art emerged from there.