Teri Hofford
570 - 70 Arthur Street R3B 1G7 Winnipeg, MB, Canada

When I was young and we were driving through the Rocky Mountains we drove through the big, puffy clouds I could see as we ascended the mountain top. I remember wishing desperately to have a jar so I could reach my chubby hand out the window to collect a cloud and keep it with me always. I now realize WHY that wasn't possible but the idea of it still brings me joy. While I didn't collect clouds, I definitely collected dreams. I'd get into trouble for taking my time daydreamin...g outside at recess. I'd get snapped back to reality for staring out the window. I'd get head shakes as I'd stare up at the glorious sky and marvel at its bigness - which would send me into a dream state of wondering who I was going to be and what I could do and for whom. A few years ago, I found myself dreaming less. Telling myself I should be content with where I was, how grateful I should be for my career, and how I just needed to focus on the next client, the next shoot, the next workshop. "But this is what being an adult IS" I convinced myself. One day I took a trip to the farm and I laid outside on the trampoline with my niece. As we laid there in the sun I pointed out the beautiful prairie clouds to her and we sat there dreaming together. I had forgotten how beautiful it was to stop. To dream. To collect. That night I made the error of logging onto my phone, the fomo of the world moving on without me caused me to have a panic attack full of snotty crying and chest heaving. That's when I realized something was wrong and that I had lost sight of dreaming. On the drive home I had 6 hours of prairie driving to consider what had transpired and what I wanted to do about it. As I cruised down the highway the empty skies filled with billowing clouds, so I pulled off to the side of the road. I got out, leaned on the hood of my little orange Yaris and literally watched the cloud formations to take shape and imagined what I wanted, what I needed, what I saw for myself. Since then I've kept stopping, Dreaming, Collecting. I found out who I was, by finding out who I wasn't. #selfieisolation

For years I let other people treat me like art. Some of them believed they were sculptors, using their hands to literally and figuratively take parts of my body as they saw fit without care for the softness of my clay or the memories that would feel like they were forever carved into the stone of my story. Some simply felt the need to critique the firmness of my breasts, the roundness of my belly, and the sharpness of my tongue.... And I believed it too. I thought I was a lump of clay waiting for someone to turn me into the perfect specimen to be ogled and admired. I thought that someone always knew better than me, had a better vision for me, and I believed that if I kept manipulating myself to the masses it would just be a matter of time before someone came along and painted me in the way that I was desperately desiring. But my mistake was assuming I was a blank canvas, when in fact I was already a glorious smattering of watercolors melding together with chaos and color. Every brush stroke I let other people take or make, covered up a part of my already magnificent existence. Then one day, I realized: I own the paintbrush. the carving tools. the paint. the clay. the canvas. I choose the colors. the textures. the fabrics. the etching, the sketching, The lines. I choose who collaborates on the art project of my life, I choose who's hands are worthy of my clay I choose which critic I will or will not listen to I mean, even if someone poured oil paint all over the Mona Lisa, wouldn't she still be smiling underneath it all? I found out who I was by finding out who I wasn't. #selfieisolation

Thank you to everyone who purchased a copy of The Geode Theory!! You have put me on Friesen Press' best seller list!!! <3 https://books.friesenpress.com/store/bestsellers

Photographer: https://terihofford.com/boudoir-photography Author: https://terihofford.com/the-geode-theory Speaker: https://terihofford.com/workshops... Body Image & Mindset Coach: https://terihofford.com/coaching Educator: https://terihofford.com/everybodies-education Change Agent: https://theboudoiruniversity.com/ Self Love Enthusiast: https://www.instagram.com/terihofford/

#happyaf #joy with my friend @emilyscottpackphotography when we were in mexico for @bodyimagebootcamp there was a lot of joy being at that retreat - I don't think it's a coincidence that there was also a lot of guacamole I miss my friends but seeing them in this format gives me some solace

By now you probably think I have a lady boner for pizza, but tbh tacos are still #1 in my heart, I just usually eat them too fast for anyone to capture joyful images of me eating them. This picture by @alchemyportraits was perfect to keep my #joyvember challenge going AND to introduce a local initiative to help our small businesses in Manitoba. The #bitebacklocalchallenge is here to encourage you to buy local this holiday (and afterwards )! Swipe for details on how to par...ticipate (and win!!!!) Or check out my stories!! - #bitebacklocalchallenge #winnipeg #manitoba Support Local! Buy Local! Challenge others to do the same! This is for our local businesses. This is for our community. This is for our future. Keep the CYCLE OF SUPPORT going! Be part of a local initiative with a GLOBAL impact!

PART 3 of my 5 PART SERIES ON BOUDOIR SHOOT IDEAS!! This is one of my absolute absolute faves! https://terihofford.com//5-boudoir-shoot-ideas-to-make-you

#boyjoy this shot was taken when I shared an airbnb in Toronto with some of my favorite photographers/humans in the world we laughed a lot trying to put these 2 boys into the same skirt to create some epic art. This trip was definitely full of joyful memories