Reflections from the Journey

It has been nearly 3 years since I took my first steps towards fulfilling the mission that I believe (sometimes firmly, sometimes not so much) that God has given me. I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently and just re-read my older blog posts. I have to say that I am a bit (OK, a LOT) disappointed in myself, but still hopeful. (You can read them here, here, and here.)

Somewhere down the trail I got distracted and veered off onto a side trail. This is one of the difficulties with hiking seldom used trails and my lack of attention lead me away from where I wanted to be. I should have been looking harder for the blazes that are there for me to see, but easy to miss when I’m not looking forward.  The path I veered onto was clearly marked and very scenic. I even met some great people out on that trail, but it wasn’t the path for me. Thankfully, I looked up to see that I was down the wrong path before I got too far away from my intended trail.

All metaphor aside, I opened up a retail gallery/studio downtown Greenville. While it was great getting immersed in the Greenville art scene, I ended up focusing more on me and my individual success and less on honoring God through the talents He gave me.  There wasn’t anything wrong with me opening up a gallery, but I allowed it to keep me from moving toward the bigger mission.

So here I am on back on the trail at the point where I 1st veered off. Thankfully, though I lost some time, I did gain some wisdom. And who knows, maybe some of the folks I met will end up joining me on this journey at some point.

Before moving forward toward the next blaze I see off in the distance, let me update you on where I am on this journey:

I now live with my family on about 6 acres of land just north of Travelers Rest, SC.

We now have 3 apple trees, 4 blueberry bushes, 4 blackberry canes, and 2 raspberry canes established. I planted more but the deer and drought took their toll.

We have 2 decent barns on the property. 1 which will be usable for livestock and 1 that I will be converting into studio & teaching workspace and a gallery.

Our gardens last year on the new property didn’t do very well, but we learned a l0t that will lead to improvements this upcoming growing season.

In my next post I will lay out some of  refinements of my original ideas and also talk about how YOU can get involved.

Created & Creative by God’s Design,

Rich Nicoloff

An old friend posed a question on Facebook a few weeks ago that just “popped” into my head a few minutes ago.  I often let these thoughts go when I know I should be writing or typing them down, but the call to share this one is much too loud and insistent to let it go.  My friend, John, asked his friends to give 3 reasons why they believe in God.  Now, before I tell you my response I want to point out that only 5 of his friends responded and I find that pretty disappointing.

Read the rest of this entry »

A picture may tell a 1,000 words but it still never tells the whole story.  I’m going to take you on a journey back through the lens and out the viewfinder to tell you the story of the making of the image.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Blog,
Sorry that I’ve been neglecting you. I know I’ve been paying way to much attention to your sibling, Gallery. I promise we will have to time together very soon. OK?

Love,

Rich

Day 2 of my trip to Roan Mt.  came really early.  4:00am is not the time that I generally enjoy getting up in the morning, but the sun (& the other CNPA members) weren’t going to wait.   Wisely, I had laid out all my clothes and gear the night before, so I was out of my tent and ready to roll within minutes.

It’s a good thing I had those extra minutes, because I spotted a few deer as I was leaving the campground & slowed down a bit for safety’s sake.  Let me just say that driving in the dark at 4 in the morning on a strange winding road is difficult enough without the prospect of  deer in the road adding to it.  Anyway, I got to Carver’s Gap met up with my fellow nature photographers and headed up the Appalachian Trail toward Round Bald.

Read the rest of this entry »