Thinking About and Still Appreciating Last Summer

Last June I was able to go the the Vermont Studio Center, in Johnson, VT for 2 weeks. That wasn't as long as most residents, but it was the longest break I've had seen I became a parent. The time was essential to delve into the new work I wanted to make, so different than what I had done before.

I brought along a group of works, some made as maquettes, some as wearable, others just to make. These I put on the wall, simple enough, but I don't have that kind of a wall in my studio.

 I spread out all over the floor, wrestling with materials, trying and failing to see them advance into a strong enough vision. Hurray for failure, it leads to better things.

I attended a poetry reading by another resident, mid poem a powerful image flashed in my mind, something I have never experienced this way before. I ran back to the studio afterwards to make it. I was happy to share the experience with the poet. I made these

A trip to the local thrift store just days before yielded the string that these are wrapped with. The blanket was a donation I used  earlier to lay my cyanotype out on the ground. I also scored a great chief's jacket and other white garments to try out an idea I had been waiting to realize. It became this, what you first see at the entrance of my show, "The Quick and The Deep".

I didn't know it at the time, but the textiles were key and continued to factor into the rest of the work, more that I ever anticipated. I also discovered beautiful blue plastic hoses, stacked coils illuminating a window of a local business. More than half a year later I called them and got some.

When I left VSC, I wasn't sure that I had "done" what I set out to do. I kicked the entire creative process, consciously and subconsciously into high gear, I failed, I meet inspiring artists, breathed in the most fragrant summer air I have yet breathed. The whole experience was glowing, essential. I am still grateful. My show opens in just over one week. Thanks for reading.