Minneapolis | Virtually Gina

The Fruits of My Labors

September 21, 2016 by Gina Marie

While undergoing an intensive yoga training in Minneapolis over the summer, I learned the Sanskrit term svadyaya, or “self-study.” Much to my surprise, I discovered that reading Tarot cards or other types of divination decks (something I’ve been doing since high school) falls under the svadyaya category. Rather than seeing this activity as “occult,” one can simply see it as a method of getting acquainted with oneself in a deep and meaningful manner. During the training, we would often be invited […]

Categories: Divination, Minneapolis, Photography, The Artistic Process, Yoga • Tags: Divination, Minneapolis, The Artistic Process, Yoga

Minneapolis Photo Journal

November 29, 2015 by Gina Marie

Three weeks ago, I returned to my hometown of Minneapolis for a family celebration. It was my first time back home since my visit in 2013. This was a short stay, and I had precious little time to take photos just for the sake of taking photos. However, I did manage to capture a few artsy shots which I’d like to share here.

Categories: America, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Photo Journal, Photography, Urban • Tags: Autumn, Minneapolis

Al’s Breakfast: To Dine Is Sublime

February 8, 2015 by Gina Marie

A queue of people curls around the block. Are they waiting to get into some exclusive new club? No, they’re lined up to dine at Al’s Breakfast: the Minneapolis haunt that’s served the Dinkytown neighborhood for over six decades. To dine at Al’s is to experience life within the belly of a living, breathing legend. But to earn a seat here, you’ll probably have to wait. At eleven feet wide, occupying what was formerly an alleyway between two buildings, Al’s […]

Categories: America, Food, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Photography, Urban • Tags: Al's Breakfast, America, Breakfast, Diners, Dining, Food, Foodie, History, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Photography, Urban

Music Notes

December 14, 2013 by Gina Marie

“When I look at sheets of music, I see a field of snow. The notes are black dots and stems, the lines like tracks.” -from the poem “Music” by Suzanne Parker, found in the collection Viral Minneapolis Mural, (2010)

Categories: Minneapolis, Photography, Poetry • Tags: Minneapolis, Photography, Poetry

Reflections of Minneapolis

October 4, 2013 by Gina Marie

“All that you are seeking is also seeking you. If you sit still, it will find you. It has been waiting for you a long time.” -Clarissa Pinkola Estes Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA: I’ve left her behind time and again, but I always return. Whenever I’m away too long, I miss the city dearly. Recently, I heeded Clarissa Pinkola Estes’s advice and hopped aboard an airplane and sat very still. Within two hours I was magically transported back to the land […]

Categories: America, Architecture, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Photography, Urban • Tags: America, Architecture, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Photography, Urban

It’s What’s Inside that Counts

February 14, 2013 by Gina Marie

Some believe that a girl should never give up a good apartment—not even for marriage. However, I didn’t get that particular memo until long after I’d already married (and long after I’d traded in my studio for a larger unit, sans the dazzling skyline view). Do I wish that I’d kept the place, so that Jeff and I might have a cozy little unit in which to reside whenever we returned to Minneapolis for a brief visit? Not really. After […]

Categories: Boxers, Buddha, Dogs, Humor, Life, Love, Minneapolis, Personal, Philadelphia, Photography • Tags: Boxers, Buddha, Dogs, Humor, Life, Love, Minneapolis, Personal, Philadelphia, Photography

Modern-Day Time Capsule

January 13, 2013 by Gina Marie

Recently, I received access to the data files from an old flip phone on which I had stored several low-res photos. Viewing the newly-rediscovered images was akin to unearthing my own personal time capsule, placed unwittingly in the bowels of this technological dinosaur (otherwise known as a Samsung SGH A157) by a slightly-younger me only to be discovered several years down the line. I share a few of these newly discovered images with you, dear reader. This was a mural […]

Categories: Art, Color, Memoir, Minneapolis, Photo Journal, Travel • Tags: Art, Color, Memoir, Minneapolis, Photo Journal, Travel

For the Birds

September 1, 2012 by Gina Marie

This post is dedicated to our lovely feathered friends, who are truly quite stunning creatures, when you really stop to think about it. The first photo in this series was captured last weekend in Ocean City, New Jersey, where the seagulls practically outnumber the beachgoers. The following photo features a seagull soaring over an uprooted tree awash in the murky waters of the Mississippi River, just south of Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This little guy (or girl) is […]

Categories: Animals, Art, Birds, Budapest, Minneapolis, Mural, New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia, Photography, Zoos • Tags: Animals, Art, Birds, Budapest, Minneapolis, Mural, New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia, Photography, Zoos