Be Still (Steele)

NASHVILLE, INDIANA - Everyone is always on the move, I mean that's how we have to be isn't it? In order to keep up with everything that's going on around us, we have to keep moving.

Some of this movement is inefficient, wasted effort, wasted energy, wasted resources and wasted time. During my two hour solo hike through the rolling hills of Brown County, I took a break, sat down on a snowy log, and decided to just listen to the sounds of nature.

I had never been in a place that was so quiet, the only sounds I could hear were the occasional chirping birds and the snow falling from the trees onto the ground. I listened. There was an overwhelming feeling to simply BE STILL. Just be still, stop moving, be still. So that's what I did, and I was at peace with my mind, my body, and my surroundings.

My surroundings were the same ones that famous Indiana painter T.C. Steele were at peace with as well. Steele was born in Indiana and would go on to travel all over the world simply painting what he saw. In 1907, while looking for more scenery to paint, he stumbled across the beautiful Brown County, and built a home/studio. He painted what he saw.

After looking through a lot of Steele's work there was a photo that really caught my eye, Winter in the Ravine, and I prayed that it would snow so that I could attempt to recreate it. Well it snowed.... A LOT. This is Sampson in Winter in the Ravine. You can click here to check out more of Steele's famous artwork.

At the end of every adventure that I take, there's always a message that I receive that I didn't go there looking for. That message was to be still. I love how Theodore Clement Steele saw the world, I love how he saw INDIANA. This is a relatively short article, but I documented my trip with my GoPro: