Time Away on The Cape

It hadn’t occurred to me that while I was at The Cape, I was at one of the few places on the East Coast where one can see the sunset over the water. In this place, time seemed to graciously slip by. Unencumbered by news headlines and political chaos, my mind was free to dream and imagine. Be creative. Photos captured with my new Fuji mirrorless – I believe I’m in love.

: Provincetown. MA

: Rider on the Beach

: My mission

: Waiting

: Marooned

: Herring Cove Beach

: Race Point Beach

: Race Point Beach

: Herring Cove Beach, Provincetown, MA

: Herring Cove Beach

: Provincetown, Ma

: Provincetown, Ma

: First Night, Provincetown, MA

: The Wedding Party, Provincetown, MA

: Provincetown, MA

: Race Point Beach, Provincetown, MA

: Ties That Bind

: My Bottle of Heaven

: Weathered

: A Stroll at Sunset

: To Play

: Double Vision

: Away

: Race Point Beach

Lisa Mikulski is a freelance writer and photographer based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative. She is presently working on her first memoir.

Podcasts for curious minds and broken hearts

It was a simpler life when our grandparents sat around on a Sunday evening in front of the radio listening to a weekly broadcast. Today, listening to podcasts allows us to recapture the relaxing and informative moments of a bygone era away from computer and TV screens. It really is a wonderful way to relax before bed or better endure a long travel trip.

Here are some podcasts that I’ve come to enjoy. May they serve to also inform you and renew your spirit:

Strength for broken spirits

I cried yesterday. That doesn’t happen often. I cried until my eyes were swollen, my body exhausted, and the cats freaked out because they didn’t know what to do about me. But that is generally the way – most people (and evidently cats) don’t know how to react to someone’s sadness or tragedy.

The cause of yesterday’s crying jag might have been because I was working on my memoir and memories were stirring deep. It might have been because of the post I read by Final Girl over at Kelly Sundberg’s site*. Whatever the reason, that crying session felt really good.

While I’m not particularly prone to crying, I’ve done my fair share of boohooing over the last year and a half. I’ve shed tears because of family and friends who have been silent. I’ve cried because of arguments with my son as he tried to reach through my trauma. I’ve cried over triggers (always a surprise) and an assortment of issues which were really uncomfortable.

Yesterday was different. I cried for me. I cried for the person I was twenty years ago, the person I was seven years ago, three years ago, and for the person I am today. I apologized to all those women. Naive and trusting. Scared and alone. Empowered and strong.

***

People often tell me how strong I am. They have been telling me this all my life. They tell me so often that it has began to feel dismissive. So, what does it means to be strong and what does it mean when we are told we are strong?

Life in Jamaica Plain, Boston

I’ve been working on a photography series and I thought I’d share it with you today. Freedom – JP, is still evolving but features photos from lovely Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. The locals here simply refer to this Boston neighborhood as “JP”. It is home to a diverse group of professionals, young families, artists, and activists. It was the perfect place for me to land after my life in Sweden providing the support and solace I needed.

Quiet and laid back, the neighborhood contains a number of parks and even some grand country estates, but is close enough to the heart of the city to make the trip downtown in minutes. Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum is 281 acres of magic during lilac season and is the oldest public arboretum in the United States. There is also Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace that includes Franklin Park, Jamaica Pond, and Olmsted Park. Along Centre Street, JP’s main street, are independently owned restaurants, boutiques, and shops. These streets are lined with old Victorian townhouses and traversed by hipsters, bicycles, and friendly faces. Jamaica Plain was America’s first street car suburb and was once home to poet Sylvia Plath.

: A Street Where I Live

: Freedom, Jamaica Plain, MA 2018

: Working

: Serenade, 2018

: Sunday in the park

: Snowed In, 2017

: Facts Matter, Centre Street

: Behind Hyde Square

: Dumbwaiter

: Jamaica Pond, 2017

: Reaching

: Jamaica Pond

: Departure

: Rim, Jamaica Plain, MA 2017

: Spring Play, Centre Street

: Ascending and Descending

: No Rush

: It was all brand new and nothing hurt

: Jamaica Pond

: Coffee, Danish, Muffins

I hope you enjoy the photos. There’s more to come but in the meanwhile please leave your comments below.

Lisa Mikulski is a freelance writer and photographer based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative.

The certainty of my uncertainty

At May 03, 2018
By Lisa
In Editorial, Experiences, Features, Musings
4

No one teaches us how to think. It’s not something we learn in high school and it’s not until perhaps college where we may be instructed as to the fine art of critical thinking or logic and philosophy. Many of us make important decisions based on emotional thinking.

Several months ago, friends and I were sitting around my strangely colored living room drinking cocktails and discussing the state of things. “Things” in this case would be politics, divisions between genders and society, physics, magic, writing – we frequently have such discussions here in Boston. We are not afraid of expressing opinions and having gentle (sometimes not so gentle) debate.

I can’t remember the exact topic of conversation at the time but my son who is a student of physics at UMass Boston said to me, “Why are you always so certain about things?”

How living abroad can break your heart

It is something that many of us might aspire to – the adventure and romance of living abroad. And while for some it is all of that, with travel to nearby foreign countries, new friends and new languages, there are ways in which living abroad can break your heart – no matter how effortlessly you have managed to fit in to your host country.

Being away means exactly that. So when there are weddings, graduations, births, or funerals which take place in your home country and you can’t go, either due to work or financials, it can be a devastatingly lonely event for those who have chosen to live in another country. It might not even be something as traumatic as a death or as joyful as a marriage. It could simply be that one day you are walking down the street and are struck by a feeling – an all consuming heart-wrenching knowledge that someone you love very dearly is 3,582 miles away.

Boston Design Week Gala

Last night’s AD20/21 2018 Gala was a fantastic evening. April showers brought the who’s who of art and design into the beautiful historic Cyclorama building on Tremont Street in Boston. Delicious food, wine, champagne, art, and home furnishings … who could ask for more?

I attended with Venü Magazine‘s publisher, Tracey Thomas, for a celebration of Boston’s Design Week which runs through the 15th of this month. 100% of ticket proceeds from the Gala went to support the ASID New England Scholarship Fund. ASID New England recognizes the outstanding achievements of local undergraduate and graduate students by awarding scholarships to help them complete their interior design education.

Yayoi Kusama in Venü Magazine

While I’ve seen a lot of my work online – graphic design, photography, and writing – there is nothing quite so satisfying as holding something you created in your hands. Some of my favorite days are those when the new issue of Venü Magazine arrives in my mailbox. There’s that satin soft cover, a beautiful interior layout, and the articles are always compelling. In its entirety, the magazine is high-end and luxurious.

This issue of Venü showcases my cover story on artist Yayoi Kusama. Many know her as the “Princess of Polka Dots” but I find that title to be demeaning. If you knew about her past, her work, her extraordinary living conditions and the breathe of her career, you’d understand that Kusama is more than polka dots and fans taking selfies in her installations. In this issue of Venü you can get a taste for Kusama’s art and life. Photography is courtesy of the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Japan and there is also a special message from Kusama to humanity.