Morning Breath :: 12x12" pastel pencil on paper. Copyright 2010 Pia Walker

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This new piece of art is a perfect emblem of a January morning (with a December sky). I am not, by nature, an early riser. However, I can, when needed, get up at the crack of dawn, without a frown or complain. Once I’m up and going and out the door, I love being surrounded by that morning calmness that starts each day. The soft haziness of the sun slowly awakens my eyes to the quietness and stillness of my surroundings and I find myself smiling. The few open coffee shops have perhaps 1 person in them, there are no other cars on the road to avoid or worry about, there is actual quiet. It is as if the world is all mine, as if I am the only seeing it awaken.

This pastel drawing was made in that spirit, in the awaiting of a new day, with all its possibilities. This is a morning without Internet or BlackBerry, just a simple quiet start. Being surrounded by the mountains of Northern California and driving mostly on back country roads, these landscapes are quite common in my every day. I am always amazed at how sharp the contrast is, between this quiet natural world and Silicon Valley just 30 minutes away. In those California freeways, the buzz never stops, and even in the early morning hours, as I try to crank my next to see the sun come up over the Bay Area, I am passed (whizzed by) those rushing to a job that must be extremely important (although I doubt that it is as important as that!).

Those quiet mornings wipe away the darkness of the night, the reminder of the stars that another day has passed. Breathing in the stillness, I forget, for minutes, what I did not accomplish the day before. I let my past wash away and look only towards today and tomorrow. I am gladdened by that daily cleansing

Pia