Sampling

I guess it's not surprising, when I consider it, that many of these posts actually begin as communication with a friend or colleague. I think my best thoughts come out when they are being created for someone specific that I appreciate. The lack of surprise comes from my artistic and personal interest in being social. In letting social context and information inspire my life and my art. I am most certainly an extrovert; I do gain the great majority of my energy from being with others who I appreciate. I DO love my alone time (particularly since I got pretty good at and learned to crave it in grad school), but I definitely prefer people over no people when it comes to recharging my batteries.

This line of thought came from composing a reply to a student who sent an awesome email full of information on sampling after we had a brief discussion after class one day regarding this practice. She sent links to songs and ideas that definitely expanded my grasp on the concept of sampling, and lead me to think a little deeper on it again. It's awesome to realize that one artistic exploration of a concept does not dig it up and leave you with EVERYTHING; there is always more to go back to, and I find this exciting.

I LOVE this Curtis Mayfield tune that my student pointed out, and of course never REALLY knew who did it or what the social context was; in a certain way, I feel certain types of EDM, for some of today's 18-45 set (yes, an intentionally wide range!) serve the same purpose as "Move On Up" and other tunes did for soul lovers in the 70s. I also think it's interesting to take a look at the socio-cultural background of those in question. Soul really was an uplifter for many folks who were of lower socio-economic status and often African American. As soul developed a history and travelled, more folks found value in it.

I am so interested by this conversation; I am horrified by appropriation, yet equally horrified by not being able to enjoy the all cultural products of our beautiful world. To me, the answer has become being informed. That is why I loved getting this email from my student; I think when we get interested in ANYTHING (be it 'from our own identity demographic' or not), we owe it to that thing to dig. Hip-hop, soul, yodeling for god sakes - anything! It makes life so much richer to dig and to be able to give appreciation to originators before running with the material in another potentially as interesting direction :)

In our brief conversation, I had mentioned a documentary I was tipped off to by a visit to my grad school campus by DJ Spooky: I believe it was "Copyright Criminals". That said, I really feel like there was another one too . . . I am sure it is written in an old journal somewhere that is packed for my move this Friday :) Perhaps it was "Sample This"? I just love this conversation: what belongs to who? Should we even talk about it in those terms? When something becomes a part of popular or mass culture on any scale, it becomes really hard to decide these things. I think rather than trying to decide, we should focus on knowing and respecting origins.

I created a piece this past summer I ended up titling Coattails. i.e., riding on those of others. 'The Coattail Effect' is an actual political term for a candidate gaining traction in an election due to side by side exposure with another candidate - Hillary and Bernie, anyone?! I wanted to explore this double-sided coin of sampling. I worked with a live band to link together four different commonly-sampled hooks and breaks, those from "Apache" by the Incredible Bongo Band, "Think" by Lyn Collins and "Amen, Brother" by the Winstons (origin of the Amen break), and the "Funky Drummer" James Brown backbeat pattern as a way to hook them all together. We had jean jackets I attached tails to that I sewed, and I had to reinforce them enough that they'd bear body weight, as we literally rode on each others! It was performed in August, so I suppose I am about due to go back and look at it. Again, there is something really enticing about coming back to something. I have so many pieces I made and then walked away from, and am feeling a real itch to go back and examine them with fresh eyes (ones that have been through grad school and honed their aesthetic slant :)). I definitely think some redux is on it's way . . .

Back to sampling. This line of thinking is just a huge one for me. On a note related by its steeping in socially-generated information, I have been thinking a lot lately about how the skills I want to keep developing for my own choreographic and performance life often do not correspond to taking morning ballet, modern and sometimes even jazz dance classes. I am so interested in social improvisational dance, from a personal and professional standpoint. Professionally, I am interested in how this information can be translated to presentational dance as well as be presented alongside it. That said, it's not often enough that I get out to dance at a funk or house night or to go salsa or swing dancing. I'm always trying to work on this, but my propensity for mornings, partner that will dance but for whom dancing is not the choice activity and life and dance friends who also do not 'go dancing' much, it's tough.

Putting this into words helps me realize that settling on those limiting factors is NOT something I am going to do. The title of this blog sums up my approach: making plans and putting them into motion. It is often planning that really helps me get actionable, so I'm getting planny on this thing. Looks like Wabasha Street Cave's Swing Night is dance lesson at 6pm, live music 7-10. YES! That timing is my jam :) I have been trying to attend a house gathering on Sunday nights at the apartment community studio of a hip-hop practitioner in the cities, but it's often later than works well for me, and I have been down in Winona for the last several Sundays.

Planning. Planning a system . . . Yesterday, I added to my calendar all the Zumba classes I could feasibly attend in a week as a part of a new scholarship project. I think seeing a reminder stare at me on my calendar will help me prioritize the time. I think I am also going to add regular house, swing, and salsa dance nights so they are there staring me in the face when I am met with considering how to work these practices into my life. Systems, planning . . . adding an event on my calendar for each weekday that repeats that says 'Dance Opportunities, ' in which I can list all of that day's regular opportunities in the notes.

Here I go. I LOVE when my thinking leads to actionable things. I just hope that the pathway ends up as thinking . . . planning . . . system . . . use of system :)

Use of system. A sampling of how I progress.

My Next Journey Around The Sun: 2016 New Years Resolutions

spectrum

vibration

simplicity   complexity

stillness   motion

contentment   advancement

inner   outer

spontaneity   planning

desire   expectation

detachment   commitment

routine   sporadic

boundless   limited

unsustainable   sustainable

change   habit

pattern   randomness

disengagement   engagement

inaccessible   accessible

gratitude   concern

helping self   helping others

not opposite, spectrum

not mutually exclusive, spectrum

not obvious or only, spectrum

everything has always

is always

will always vibrate to live

atoms, frequencies, objects, people

Out of my new years reflections this year came the intention to embrace these concepts. The above image is my current way of reflecting all of this together in one gaze. Is it ideal? Probably not. Will it change? Probably. Given the content, both of these ideas are fitting. This is the most fluid new years reflection/ resolution outcome I have ever had. My initial illustration was more to take in than the above and it sort of stressed me out, though that is reflective of all these ideas too (my ability to handle complexity, my wish to, the idea that complex = too much instead of just what it is). Much to mine from these ideas. 

Cheers to 2016!

2015 Year in Review

Enjoyed it last year, going to give it another go this year!

1.) What did you do in 2015 that you'd never done before?
Put on a show in a bar, defended my masters thesis, performed in D.C., went to a concert at Red Rocks, graduated from grad school, GOT MARRIED, went to Italy and Spain. Just a couple little things :)

2.) Did you keep your new year's resolutions and will you make any for next year? 

Of course!

3.) Did anyone close to you give birth?

Megan . . . is that really it? I guess there are just a lot of young kiddos from 2014!

4.) Did anyone close to you die? 
No.

5). What countries did you visit?
Italy, France and Spain on our honeymoon, also travelled to D.C. to perform and Elkins, West Virgina for American Vernacular Dance Week!

6.) What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?

I lacked prioritization of my scholarship and choreography in the end half of 2015, and I'd like to keep working actively toward space and time for that in 2016.

7.) What dates from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory and why? 

May 9th, 2015: MFA graduation. May 23rd, 2015: Gettin' hitched :)

8.) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Graduating AND getting married; tied! And my JODE article! I am already sensing how important it will be for me to not expect every year to be like this in order to consider myself successful and progressing.

9.) What was your biggest failure?

Not performing more in Mpls/ St. Paul; working on it.

10). Did you suffer illness or injury?

Actually, nothing monumental, besides a couple bizarre but small toe injuries!

11.) What was the best thing you bought?

Last year's post on that makes me giggle; those boots were gone in less than 6 months! In June, I replaced them with a pair of perfect Red Wings that will last forever that I love. I also think the wedding and honeymoon were good investments, and my foam roller!

12. Where did most of your money go?

See above!

13. What did you get really excited about?

See above above, morning routines and minimalism. And Walking Dead continued it's rein.

14. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer?

Generally jovial, but even more so, perhaps a little less fit than during grad school (working on that too), and had a couple costly investments to make but also entered into a two-income household, so I guess its sort of a wash?

15. What do you wish you'd done more of? 
Dancing. Again. Going out, rehearsing, creating, MORE DANCING outside teaching.

16. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Watching TV. Again! But there is something about it (particularly being able to do this with Kris regularly again) that is also frustratingly satisfying.

17. How did you spend Christmas?

Turned the tables and did Liebhard's Christmas Eve and Olson's Christmas Day. It was awesome to get to spend some of the holidays with Larry, Net and the kids.

18. What were your favorite TV programs?

Walking Dead, Dr. Who is slowly losing prominence with us, and HGTV has taken a stronghold of what we tend to watch together!

19. What were your favorite books of the year?

Didn't read for pleasure nearly as much as I would have liked to. Read Tina Fey's autobiography and I Am Malala over this break, and I liked both very much for very different reasons!

20. What was your favorite music from this year?
I feel sad that I do not have an artist to discuss, but I will say that getting introduced to the Spotify 'Discover Weekly' feature that gets tailored to your tastes was awesome, and pretty instrumental in helping me have great instrumental music for modern class.

21. What were your favorite films of the year? 
Not saying Star Wars would be lying. Additionally, I cannot remember much about the earlier end of the year in this regard.

22. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you? 

30!!!! OH YEAH! That was a thing this year too. It's been a really big year. I had to teach this year, but we did an in-studio activity (Rosas Remix) and it was super-fun. Great way to start the day. I took the rest of the day and took myself to breakfast, did a little shopping and spent too much (which is VERY rare for me) including buying a kite! I flew my kite, had a nice late lunch/ early dinner and went to tech for The Current at CU. Kris got in late (but got there none the less) and we went to Darkhorse. Later that week, friends came to see the show and we grabbed drinks after. It was suitable. My 30th birthday had to take a backseat to the show, graduating and getting married. I think I forgot about my Valleyfair request. Perhaps I will make Kris take me for 31 this year :)

23. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More dancing. Again.

24. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015?Layers, items that can transition easily from cute and presentable normal clothing to warm-up and classwear and back. A lot of choices revolved around those boots, short skirts and dresses are always a must. At the end of this year, I also got back into reading about minimalism and decided to overhaul my wardrobe; I took out all but about 80 pieces (not including underwear, outerwear, workout wear and accessories) and packed them all away. I'll leave them all packed until the end of this next semester and pull them back out at the beginning of summer to see if there is anything I wish to keep. I am imagining that Ill get rid of it all! I'm looking forward to doing this with my jewelry and other accessories too! I'm tired of having three of something that are ALMOST that one thing I really want instead of just having that one thing. Along the process of boxing, I also made a list of those (and some need staple pieces) to be looking for.

25. What kept you sane? 

My morning routine (toward the end of the year). Having a purposeful beginning to each of my days feels really important for many reasons.

26. What was a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015?

Two: 1) probably a reiteration of the idea that 'it's not always you' and 2) a continuation of an idea I'll never 'get to' (it's not a thing) but will keep considering; balance. In the numerous ways I've come to phrase it. Another version coming up in my 2016 New Years Resolutions :)

Back to School

I've traded in mountains for bluffs. My days as a CU student have ended and the ones as an Adjunct Faculty member at Winona State University (part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system) in beautiful Southeastern Minnesota have begun. I am already enjoying my teaching, getting to know a new institution and building new routines in my life.

On Sunday night, I picked out my back to school outfit, but this time not as a student, or as a student and teacher, but as a teacher alone. I got to thinking about this on my first drive down on Monday, and realized that this line of thinking actually isn't accurate; aren't we ALWAYS teaching and ALWAYS learning, no matter what label we are given or give ourselves? It is with this consideration that I approach my first school year as Adjunct Faculty at WSU.

I'm teaching one of the three sections of Dance Appreciation class and the Intermediate/ Advanced Modern class and am creating a new piece on student dancers for their annual concert in February. My spring schedule is yet to be set. I realized along the process of creating my syllabi and course calendars that part of what is attractive about this kind of work is that it asks you to be constantly redefining your values on the subject you are versed in and care about. I loved writing these documents; they speak proudly to my systems of value surrounding dance. It is also intriguing to be a Minnesota State employee; I've had to do mandatory trainings, I've been assigned to a union and I'm sure there will be more where all that came from as I move deeper into this experience. I am already so stimulated.

Additionally, the HR and other administrative folks have been so friendly and helpful. I've already identified a couple super-engaged students and am excited about my classes. It feels good to be back in the teaching saddle. The drive is beautiful and gives me time and space to contemplate. I am already starting to figure out how my hours can provide a sense of normalcy (from there, I'll need to figure out normalcy - or at least routine - with diet and exercise, and with my personal life and artistic life in the Twin Cities and beyond). Some more images of my new half-of-the-week home:

First day of school outfit!

One of the views from my drive: beautiful and GIGANTIC Lake Pepin :)

Folks heading to class through the green green campus

The mighty library

Monday, the day I took these, was overcast; I'll have to pick a sunnier day to get some good ones of the lake that encases many side of the city and the Performing Arts Center and Memorial Buildings where most of my work takes place. It really is a beautiful area, city and campus. I'd really like to write more when I am in a more contemplative mood; the original one inspiring this post has passed and I am in self-preservation mode as I look to simultaneously enjoy myself and make it through while the state fair and school overlap for two weeks.

I look forward to seeing how these adventures play out and sharing more when the time is right.

Transitions

Forceable. Planned. Inevitable. Welcomed. Happenstance. Happening.

Happening is key. Regardless of their quality, transitions happen. It is up to the individual how they choose to experience and process these transitions. A minor transition today of having to accept that this writing would be here and typed rather than in my own personal notebook that no one sees.

It was happening. With the choice between losing time but having the object I wanted, I sided with time this time, opting for typing rather than penmanship. These words tend to automatically come out less visceral and more elegant when typed. Different feeling. That said, it is always up to you how you choose to process a situation. I could have chosen to let myself melt down and waste time being disappointed at my mishap, but I chose to jump right in and start offering myself my words in typing. And it is feeling good.

I am in the midst of asking the same from myself regarding my extremely impending move. It has been hard to actually sit down and process this happening, as the last several days have been a swirl of events and guests and tying loose ends with classes and life maintenance. It is a testament to what a whirl-wind it really was that my subletter showed up today and I was surprised; I've been quoting both Monday and the 10th as her move-in date. I tried to let this whoops become a benefit, choosing to see what was to me her early arrival as an opportunity to get my room and objects buttoned down so that my mind could fly free. And so it goes.

Here I sit in my favorite coffee shop in Boulder. Amante on Baseline, full of clean lines and black, white and red. It has become a haven for me; I place where excellent scholarly and creative work has happened, a place to spend time with those dear to me, a place to contemplate and look out at an incredible view while I am at it. I am so happy this space has a place within my last full day here as a resident.

As a resident. I repeat: as a resident. I am finding myself consider again how 'nothing is absolute.' There are many who would argue me on this; 2 + 2 being 4 is absolute, right? I guess it depends on how you conceive of 'absolute.' For me, it seems that it is the idea that set-in-stone can be shattered. Your own perception is your own reality, so I am deciding that goodbyes to these people, places and sensibilities are not permanent. They are an acknowledgment of my life shifting and changing (which is really happening all the time), but they are not permanent. Perhaps I actually won't see Kara Turner, Mecca Madyun or any number of the wonderful people I have gained here again. Thinking and writing that immediately brings tears to my eyes.

I find myself trying to temper them into an amount I feel is right. It is not that I do not wish to acknowledge the salty, tart and sometimes burnt parts of transitions among the sweet; I do. I think it is very important to grieve. I also think it quite important to contextualize and consider the larger picture whenever I can, something challenging to me as a detail-oriented person.

I am simply trying to strike a balance between burnt and sweet as I take each somewhat surreal step through this transition. It's ok to feel sad, but ultimately, I wish to be able to encourage my perceptions toward these steps being ones that are fortunate to be fueled be all the additional knowledge and truth I've gathered as a result of having made the choice to come here and to eventually arrive to where I am today, taking these next steps.

Next implies sequential. I find myself channeling that dear friend Mecca, considering the idea that everything is spiraling and non-linear, moving in many directions all at once and not simply backward and forward. The present, past and future are not fixed locations in time. Just ask Dr. Who.

These people and places who have been my past and are currently my present are likely my future too, in mysterious and beautiful ways. Wouldn't I be selling myself and them and this and all short if I were to decide that these goodbyes have permanence? What does? It can be both scary and freeing to believe this, and I am not going to try and get it to be either. They will co-exist in a fragile balance, much like many other things in this life that are worth it.

So I will reach out and update my contact information with them via email and in very Erinn-like form, and will trust that the combination of the universe and appropriate hints of my own careful engineering will see each other into our lives again and back and around as needed and as they will be. Trust. A mix of influence (I am choosing not to say control) and trust. Swirled together like a spiral. Pulse. All the options outside of being right. Be.

This balance between being and influencing, presence and projecting was an interesting and brief conversation this weekend. It is perhaps life's biggest mystery. I am fascinated by it. So I will ask myself to both influence and trust that my experiences here will swirl around the spirals of my life and and all those who it overlaps in vibrant and ever-present ways. I am working to shift my transition away from 'Goodbye, Boulder,' and toward 'Thanks, Boulder, for becoming an influence in my life.'


I am learning how to not be discouraged about not being able to figure out an answer, and how to instead be encouraged by the journey along trying to answer a question whose form is always changing.

DC/ Dance Considerations - American Modern Dance as a "Pyramid Scheme"?

I am writing from an adventure in Washington, D.C. This week, I have the fortunate pleasure to perform again with Gesel Mason Performance Projects at The Dance Place, D.C.'s hub for dance. Non dance-heads would automatically assume that The Kennedy Center is the place for dance in D.C. This is the home-grown place. This is the rooted place. This is the experimental and community-supporting place. I am so amazed by what their Founder and Director Karla Perlo has created. What is particularly intriguing about it is the business model of combining local, national and international presentation with community support. She accomplishes this in a way so genuine it makes me consider the idea of having a space. Considering I am less interested in presentation itself than supporting a specific kind of dance, this is likely not the right track for me, but I am still amazed that this place has made me think on it for a second when I never have.

Very smartly, they also have housing for their large staff of interns (not to mention, a solid internship program) and the artists that come through for residencies/ shows. They can CERTAINLY pay less to the artists when they are providing them housing that I am sure has paid for itself/ is worth it. I am saying this with entire positivity: artists often choose to accept a poor fee often having to use it to pay for housing for their dancers, which in turn causes them to tour small casts and create less jobs. The Dance Place has cut this pattern by including housing (or offering it for a MUCH smaller cost, I am not sure which). SO SMART. I hope that I have the chance to talk a bit with Karla, or at least to mention that I'd like to connect later (she barely had time to speak with Gesel for an hour, and they go way back). What a smart business woman-artist. There is 'scholartist.' How do we fit 'business woman' into that title too?!

One thing I'll offer question to is this; the large intern staff. On the website, information about the program notes that some interns stay on with the staff of The Dance Place:

• "Transition into a job. Some interns have continued to work full or part time at Dance Place!"

How often? Just like any small non-profit, the staff is tiny. While this certainly cannot be argued with as a reason to cite, it is likely also an infrequent occurrence. This thought connects me to my own take of recent Dance/USA 'Green Room' blog post "Is American Modern Dance a Pyramid Scheme?" At the heart of my thoughts, perhaps 'scheme' is not the right word for describing this collection of thoughts. I say this because I think, as many responses have acknowledged, that much of what the author said is factually true. That said, it also came along with a lot of opinion that I believe is indeed off-base. After reading many articulate and seemingly well-thought out responses to this article, I am feeling pressure to write a perfect manifesto in response. As giving in to this would keep me from simply getting out my thoughts (a reason I am posting on my unpublicized personal blog), and the pull toward that feels much stronger right now, I will go stream of consciousness and just get it out.

In a way, I am RELIEVED that the author put forth these ideas: I do think there is an amount of coercion of young aspiring dancers at the hand of university dance programs. But who can blame them?! When operating in a system where enrollment number is the MOST important of only a handful of measurements of success and funding decision, OF COURSE university dance faculty and staff are trying to get their numbers up. The question at hand should really consider how they go about this. To suggest that ALL recruitment lures in additional students for the purpose of profit, with no promise of personal gain, is short-sighted. To suggest that ALL recruitment is innocently based in embellishing liberal education while offering complete transparency about the current state of the dance world in the United States is also short-sighted. It seems to me that both of these are true, and that it is indeed difficult (and perhaps not worth) trying to measure how often the approach is the former or the later.

As a product of this system myself, I do find myself troubled even by my own use of the word 'system.' Yes, there is an amount of choice in the fact that we put ourselves into it. Yes, the amount of other choices also seems to be shrinking. There is truth to this statement. There is also truth to Tere O'Connor's response that notes the author's binary thinking as "intrinsically belligerent," and I'll say dangerous. It is a danger to creative thinking to suggest that choosing art means either winning or losing according to an old model of thinking about success. The author continually suggests that to "win" is to land a job in a modern dance company, and that to "lose" is to not land a job in a modern dance company. Is that all there is?

As a dancer who proclaims herself to land "somewhere between jazz hands and postmodern stare" on the continuum of concert dance, I find myself questioning this simplistic understanding of success within the field (and reductive definition of it, in alluding to all concert dance outside ballet and calling it simply 'modern'). I often feel as though I am wedged between an aesthetic rock and a hard place, uninterested in the spectacle of commercial and Broadway dance, yet uninterested in the ways contemporary-postmodern-avantegarde-callitwhatyouwant dance can be SO inaccessible to the populous. While it would be MUCH EASIER to let this rock and a hard place pin me down into wishing for a full-time performance or choreography job in concert dance, I've instead decided to think creatively about how to become fluid, dripping through this place to explore new crevices of the American presentational (and social) dance landscape(s).

I've chosen this career path not because I think the world owes it to me, but because I think I can offer something back to the world (or whatever parts of it I can manage to touch) through dance, regardless of how many prestigious grants I receive or Martha Graham dancers I train. Some of the most poignant experiences I have had as a dancer have been teaching youth and adults alike who do not go on to 'dance professionally,' but certainly hold their dance experiences dear as a part of what allows them success in thinking critically as a human. For aspiring dancers headed to university programs to think that those programs owe them a full-time performance job in a modern dance company is an entitled and also short-sighted way of thinking.

By exploring, defining and following my own interests in accessibility, musicality and social connection, I've developed my own projects like Rhythmically Speaking, which support both me and the work of other choreographers. Do these endeavors completely support my financially? No. Do I wish they did? Perhaps. Am I grateful that this has pushed me to become a well-rounded, many-hat-wearing artist who can not only make and perform a dance, but also write, organize, manage, teach and analyze with passionate fury? Without a doubt ABSOLUTELY. Having to be a choreographer-performer-teacher-scholar-coordinator has taught me that my time is worth anything from schmoozing with a funder down to scrubbing a toilet. I believe that this has made my life INFINITELY more interesting than it might have been just performing someone else's work or even just creating my own choreography.

I would be lying if I didn't acknowledge there was a piece of me going into college, and now still, that would LOVE to have a life like that. I'd be doing what I know, and it would be simpler. The great majority of me knows that being able to wear so many different hats with confidence has likely been much more fulfilling for me. While I have indeed followed the track that "Pyramid Scheme" has laid out (BFA, MFA, college teaching), teaching in a university program is just one piece of the many moving parts that make up my professional career in dance. I acknowledge that I am very fortunate to have found this kind of work, and also the volatility of such opportunities. That said, like most others that make this choice, this is just a piece of my professional interest and financial puzzle. 'The hustle' of continually looking for various kinds of dance work has become somewhat normal, and for that I am both resentful and grateful.

Coming full circle, I'll return to the Dance Place interns. With all of the above considered, I can say that I do not think having a large internship program is questionable. What is actually questionable in this and like situations is whether or not those applying for and accepting such opportunities seek out as complete of understandings as they are able to of the world they are entering. Dance programs and organizations do not owe jobs. Aspiring dancers owe it to themselves to gather as much honest information as they can while they work to make choices about their futures.

I'd like to acknowledge that, much like the original article I am referencing, nothing I am saying here is news to anyone in the trenches of the dance world. I am simply offering, having felt honestly compelled to do so,'? my own perspective to the conversation. Regardless of the issue, multiple perspectives are always better than singular ones. In this particular instance, I think the article would have benefited greatly from simply acknowledging that people go teaching in the university system for many reasons. While a more stable financial situation is certainly one of the reasons, another is true belief in the benefits of the liberal arts educational model. Both of these are reasons for me, and I am sure there are many other folks who could offer many more reasons. Roll-call?

Back to Normalcy

Back to what it is right now, at least. It's a fleeting and comforting thing, and one we often want to get away from when comfort has been the tide. I am noticing comfort and normalcy in the jewel blue color I used for my show; it's now popping up everywhere I look in objects I use every day. Subliminally messaging myself . . .

I wanted to continue my trend of giving myself a little time before jumping into my work in the morning, and it appears that I am doing that. However, the pull toward work is strong and it's good to listen, so I am headed there.