Ready and waiting

Sitting down to blog feels absolutely foreign. I think picking up a brayer or can of ink would feel even more strange. It's been awhile, to say the least, since I've thought about making anything art-related. I finished up this print right before I left Ohio. (The only large vertical piece I made)

Submerge : Emerge, Collagraph Monoprint

The whirlwind move from Ohio to Wyoming was just that and I feel like I never stopped moving. There was not a lot of time to get resettled before I hit the ground running at my new job. Things are going really well with the residency program. The Pilot Program that I designed is at capacity with some really amazing talent coming to visit Wyoming this fall.

I've been working 60-80 hours a week on the project but I'm ready for a break. It's time to start setting up a spot for myself to make some art. It will be strange not having a press, but I know I will manage. Perhaps collage, drawing and collecting will come back into play.

Having not made work for over two months or so, it's funny when you realize that the act of making is not a want, but a need. It is the balance I crave in a busy, busy world. Becoming more of a spiritual practice, the act of creating can transcend just the decorative.

I truly believe all the arts are valuable to society. Art and Humanities have the power to change, slow a person down to think, tap into emotions and soak up the world that we too often take for granted. Which makes what I am doing here at Brush Creek even more valuable. I think there will be a good chunk of education that I didn't realize I would have to do. But it will all be worth it!

(After typing a few paragraphs, I also realized the intense connection between word and image for me. Writing plays a crucial role in the image that unfolds. They are not always one in the same, but compliment each other in an inextricable way.)

It is exciting to think how many other makers I will come in contact with in the coming months. Johntimothy and Patti have been phenomenal first residents-- both making leaps and bounds in their work but more important, reminding me why I need to carve time away for my own creation. It feeds the soul. And I am ready and waiting to feed my soul a little bit more.

Things I'll Miss About Ohio

Two nights ago it officially became summer-- I saw the first fireflies of season! These glowing little bugs will never grow old to me, never cease to amaze me. I'll admit, when I see them I get a bit giggly with wonder. Fluttering neon as they flit by my head, dusk turns into an enchanted, dark night. What's not to love?

This weekend is Father's Day, another marker of summer, and I find myself doing a lot of thinking. Missing my dad and the West brings a lot of reflection. As I listened to the radio this morning I was not surprised how many "dad" stories aired, but was surprised how many other people found themselves missing their fathers. And then it hit me (again), this experience is not unique to me. It sent me down memory lane a little.

Each year at this time in my hometown is Woodchopper's Jamboree and Rodeo. It is almost always on Father's Day weekend. My dad was a sometimes-member of the Lion's Club, the folks who sponsored this annual raucous weekend. He used to sell beer during the woodchopping events and ride his horse around later in the afternoon, looking official in his yellow vest. In a small town this is a big to-do.

As a kid it was candy at the parade; in high school it was acting (with my dad on occasion) in the ribald yet hilarious melodramas and trying to sneak into the dances; during and after college it was staying up all night, dancing and drinking to good old fashioned live music... in the street! Now it means catching up with old friends and family (and still dancing in the street 'til the wee hours of the morning). All of these events included my dad. That was until a two years ago when we squeezed his funeral in right before the festivities. That year the weekend took on an entirely different feel. I haven't been able to go to Jamboree since that summer because I moved for graduate school.

Here in Ohio there are other markers of summer. When I moved here I didn't really care for the town, the humidity, the heat, the flatness.... and on and on it went. I just didn't like it! But I was enchanted by the magical lightning bugs my first night here. Maybe there were my gateway to Ohio and the Midwest.

It's incredible that two short years have gone by. Over the course of my MFA, I've grown to love a lot of things because of Ohio. This little town. Mixed hardwood forests and all the great plants. That calm and wide river. Cardinals! Amazing new friends. Bermuda shorts (I never wore shorts in Wyoming; Thanks, heat and humidity). And there are many other things I will miss about this place.

Just three weeks from now I will be departing, mid-summer, to head back West. *insert hoorays!* So on this weekend of reflection, amidst a little bit of sadness and a few tears, a smile comes to my face. It comes because of fireflies. Thanks, Ohio!

(P.S. Make sure to hug all the dads tomorrow, and don't forget to say, "I love you.")