When I traveled with my mother, she never crossed the Mississippi. My step father, Denny swore it was because he didn’t want to deal with paying people to unload and load at set up. I never understood it, but he was a retired long haul trucker so I’m sure he knew what he was talking about. She actually tried to forbid my uncle and I from cross the great big muddy but we did it anyway and went into Wisconsin for “Squeaky Cheese”. I actually did it for another state magnet but, the cheese was good too. She used to say that it was just too different for her and I am beginning to understand.
1 Did you know the rivers run backwards here? Well, they do go the opposite direction from where I live. Rivers flow west on my side of the country because of the Great Divide. Here they are all racing east. 2 Everyone is breaking out the long johns already! That one really got me. It was only 42° and people were showing up with their long underwear on. I’m still hiking down the hill to the studio with my long sleeves and a sweater. 3 You can stand at the edge of a forest and look through it up the hill, and see the ground. I was trying to explain that to my new friends here, the deep undergrowth we have in the Pacific Northwest and in North Idaho. They just couldn’t understand, how could you hunt? I almost asked, how do the deer hide but the first week I walked out the back yard and almost tripped on one who blended in.
The reenactors are different here. I sat down with a person who grew up with them and the tails were so different. Mt Men talk about the “Spirit of Rondy” and how mainly the reason for natural fibers around camp is for safety. Back here in the east, it is about being completely authentic. Hiding machine stiching, period buttons and closures, footwear must be accurate and you cannot hold a rank that your ancestors never held. That’s right, you must be able to trace it back to your own geneology. I’m sure there is more to that than just DNA, you probably can’t make up people either. Explaining to my friend the difference with Rondy was like explaining the difference between formal dining and a southern shrimp boil.
What isn’t different is how my art is received. People really like it and I have been happy to share my website with the folks I have met while shopping around Averill Park. Most have told me that they love the way it makes them feel at peace. You know how happy that makes me, that is my reason for creating. So far in my 6 weeks here, I have started 12 pieces and 9 are done, one is almost complete; 2 are drying and waiting for the next layer. The other thing that is not different is how my resolve to produce has been reinvigorated. When I did my first residency, I came out of it with a drive to produce. I created 145 originals that year from 5×7’s up to 18×24’s and they ran from landscapes to skyscapes and a few wildlife pieces. I am beginning to understand and remember why I did that and what it accomplished for me. In the last few years, I had slowed down because I had so much inventory that a lot of it didn’t even see the light of day.
I have gone through it a few times and culled those that I felt weren’t up to the level that I am producing now. I will go back and be far more critical about it this time to make room. It is time to let go of the old pieces I am sentimental about and make room for my ability now. It’s time to reassess, remount and release those that haven’t found homes (now is a good time to reach out and make offers on ones that you like that are over 2 or 3 years old ;) ).
So in the end, this residency is doing the same thing in the east that the one in the west did for me. Keep watching!