I love surrounding myself with an evolving collection of interesting resources, whatever the topic. After building a career in publishing that was not especially gratifying, I was on a quest to figure out how to build a work-life that would include my artistic self within a profession that offered a reliable means of support. Early…
This happy jumble of cleome, coreopsis, cosmos, cone flower, sweet peas, and morning glories has the power to draw me outdoors at all hours of the day to water, fertilize, and snag the weeds that elbow their way into the garden patch. Alas, there are no edibles this year — my focus has been on…
I took a stand yesterday. It wasn’t comfortable but it was necessary. Patty Perfect — that would be my very lively inner critic — was harping in my mind’s ear, but instead of giving in, I ignored her. In a single bold move to rescue my gasping-for-breath creativity, I barred myself from logging in to…
Mrs. R was a patient woman who coached me through five years of adult piano lessons. Sage quips rolled off her tongue, salve for my frustration and disappointment. It was her notion that “there is a season for everything” that had the strongest stick-value, and I hope she would be flattered to know that I…
School’s out and I’m excited! Granted, I’ll have some responsibilities over the summer, and prep for the fall semester cannot be left untended, but in general I have two months in front of me and the creative possibilities feel thrilling. As if she could read my mind, one of my favorite entrepreneurial people, Barbara Winter,…
The second half of the summer residency (SNHU-MFA) was held at the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island, in the Isles of Shoals, off the coast of Rye, NH. My first thought as I stepped off the Thomas Laighton ferry was, “This is just like the setting for a Bobbsey Twins novel!” Peeking around the corner towards Vaughan…
Forgive the post title — it’s way past my bedtime and I’m punchy. But I just had to tell you what I’m up to. For the next two weeks I’ll be in that delicious bubble otherwise known as the residency for the graduate writing program at SNHU, only this year I’ve got a new gig….
I haven’t been napping. Honest. It’s just that ever since last September, week after week my time has been dominated by class planning. Teaching new courses will do that, apparently. The lack of personal creative exercise has felt like a slow suffocation of my spirit, but I finally grabbed control of the situation and started…
It’s messy but it’s mine. All mine. I’ve been fighting a state of analysis-paralysis for days, which followed the syllabus nightmare. No, I’m not joking. Christmas night the anxiety kicked in and I woke up convinced I’d failed to get my syllabi completed and in to the department head on time. Well, that deadline has…
I can’t believe it’s close to a month since I last wrote to you. What negligence and with each day that has passed since the end of December, my embarrassment has grown, throwing me into communication-paralysis. After meeting all of the new end-of-semester obligations as a first-time adjunct, there was Christmas to make happen at…
