In Spring of 2017 I studied abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland. I was there for five months where I also was able to travel many countries in Europe. Being in a foreign place for that long I was able to get to know not only the area, but also I got to see Edinburgh change in weather from winter to spring. Over the course of my semester, I was always admiring the weather of Scotland. The weather was consistently rainy, cold, and gray. I know it sounds awful, but with the sky always being gray it made me focus on the colors surrounding me. I noticed a large contrast the sky made to the objects on the ground. Buildings, landscapes, and even flowers caught my eye more because of the cloudy sky, and that is how I started my Instagram project: graymatterrs.
I was very fascinated by what I was seeing, and I just thought it was so different compared to the beautiful, bright sky in Virginia where I feel I'm always looking up, but in Scotland I was always paying attention to what stood out in front of me.
My first post on graymatterrs got me so excited for this project, and I started wandering the streets of Edinburgh to see what amazing things I could discover. My eyes became more aware with color and paying attention to the unique characteristics of Scotland, as well as other places I traveled to, and I continue to do it today.