I work a seasonal position at the Sheldon Jackson Museum (SJM), May 1 – September 30. I thought that would be ideal for getting lots and lots of artwork done. Not quite that easy!
I co-teach 3 classes with the Rural Human Services (RHS) Program in Anchorage and Fairbanks, a program that helped me get certified as a Chemical Dependency Counselor. Although the Bill Brady Healing Center closed, where I was a counselor for 5 years, I keep my CDCI certification, and I stay involved with the RHS Program.
Sheldon Jackson Museum is one of the places for inspiration for art. Believe me, I have enough ideas to carry me into the next decade! I have drawers of sketches!
This year I thought I’d do some “professional development” in spite of feeling silly for taking 100 level art at age 61. It’s frustrating to have concepts, and to lack skills to exectute them. So I signed up for Norm Campbells Drawing class at the University of Alaska Southeast. It’s a treat to myself. Norm Campbell is a great artist, and a wonderful and patient teacher. Check out Norm Campbell Art on Facebook.
I try to keep in the practice of writing. I have poems in various stages of completion, from jotted notes, to scribbled phrases, to rough drafts. I have journals, notebooks, and loose pages. I have poems on my computer, and poems in my head. Just like my drawer of sketches, I need time to do something with these! So I decided to do a one-month residency at Centrum in Port Townsend. I’ll be there mid-January to mid-February devoting time to completing this manuscript of poems, and to work on another illustrated manuscript. More to be revealed…
So much to do. I love it when my work overlaps and inspires art and writing. “Downtime” is a misnomer!
