New Year’s resolutions when followed out for a time have a wonderful way of reordering our personal experience.

Since agreeing with myself that I would “knit the sky” each evening, I have both spent more time looking up than looking down and been able to carve out just a few minutes each evening for my favorite pastime. This past Monday the sky was a beautiful shade of almost perfect blue. I kept being caught up in the vastness of the space above.

I had great spans of time in which to gaze out while driving to visit one of my oldest friends in Barry County. About halfway between Neosho and Cassville I realized that I was framing up visual “shot” as I drove. I was thinking out an old barn or a stand of evergreen trees would make a nice picture. Blame it on another New Year’s endeavor, this of my friend Chrissy Day. Since the first of the year she’s been capturing a photograph image a day and posting on her blog http://thewaywereallylive.wordpress.com/

Chrissy has a great eye. She sees things that I miss – until I see her photograph. I’ve added to my very early morning routine a visit to her blog, just to have a little “inspiration” time before the day becomes too hectic.

I keep giving Chrissy grief about needing to enter her photographs in an exhibition. Not because that will somehow lend credibility, they’re already “worthy” but because they’re good enough to share with a wide audience. Hopefully next year she’ll enter an image or two for possible consideration in the annual PhotoSpiva exhibit.

The 36^th Annual PhotoSpiva opens this weekend, March 10, at 10 am. PhotoSpiva is Spiva Center for the Art’s national claim to fame.  This exhibit brings together art and photography,  surrounding viewers with outstanding images selected by a nationally known juror.

There was no theme or categories. No way to distinguish photographic processes or professional status. Spiva had 156 photographers submit 844 images for consideration by photographer Andrew L. Moore. Moore, who photographed Joplin for the New York Times, selected 88 images by 64 photographers, that he felt showcased excellence and visionary work. Included in the exhibit are photographs by both amateur and professional U.S. photographers.

PhotoSpiva 2012 runs through Sunday, May 6, which allows plenty of time to make a run to Joplin and view the exhibit.

Chrissy, on the other hand, will be not quite half finished with her year of photographs come the first of May. Fortunately there are plenty of beautiful days and bountiful shots just waiting.