I'm packed. I'm ready to go. I'm flying out of the Charlotte Airport very, very early tomorrow morning for a two-week art residency at PLAYA in the remote "Oregon Outback". My shipped sewing machine and supplies arrived on Friday. Mentally/emotionally/spiritually ... part of me arrived when the FedEx Ground truck pulled into the complex on the banks of Summer Lake. My mind's eye can already see a trace of snow, the shallow water, and the Milky Way night skies.
I spend October 2015 in cabin six. It was a magical month and I started missing the place on my first day there. I knew I'd have to leave. I knew I wanted to return. Thankfully, I was selected again ... for a stay during a different season. I am already missing the place and I haven't even started the cross-country journey toward arrival. PLAYA has very little cell phone coverage and an Internet station that works at the speed of dial-up. I don't care. I won't be available. I won't be logging on to Facebook. Instead, I will be my truest self ... a solitary artist steadily at work, soaking in nature, bathing in creativity, communing with inspiration.
(Above: Two triptychs of anonymous photos with collaged words about family.)
In the meantime, I've finished up three more pieces for The Wall of Ancestors, an important component for my solo installation Anonymous Ancestors. My husband Steve has told me (on more than one occasion!) that I don't need anymore. He's right, of course. Even though I've been sending out exhibition proposals and applying for opportunities, I don't have anything scheduled ... and storage is a problem!
I can't help myself. I still have a box of anonymous old family photos and I'm still finding good deals on old frames. The three featured in this blog post were purchased for a total of $11. That's a successful $10 bid plus a 10% buyer's premium at Bill Mishoe's auction. I regard it as a "rescue mission". Those frames needed something special and I happen to have it!
If anyone reading this knows of a small to medium sized museum or a gallery scheduling solo installations, please let me know. I am well aware that shows of this nature are booked two to three years in advance. Lord knows how much this show might grow until it gets out of its boxes again!
Nope...you aren't reading this comment. You aren't seeing what is posted on Facebook. You aren't worrying about stuff going on at home. Steve (and Waldi) have got that. You are at Playa. That's all that matters. I'm SO thinking of you though!
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