To Name, To Claim
This, Too, is Important
While at VCCA, I immersed myself in the benefits of being an artist at a residency. I didn’t have to think of, prepare, or cook meals. I didn’t have to wash dishes (I did a couple loads of laundry during my stay though) or clean my bathroom. I didn’t have meetings or appointments. Left to my own creative devices, I walked in the woods and alongside the woods every day. I read three books in two weeks. I took naps in the middle of the day and early evenings if the desire arose. I talked art and community, listened to jam sessions, and visited studios.
It’s easy, when away at a residency, to focus on all the ways that the residency is not your real life, the sentiment being that you are distraction-free, away from all the things that stop or stifle your creative freedom. It’s easy to fall into dread in those last few days of residency, worried that you hadn’t done enough or made the most of the precious gift of dedicated time for your art.
Having gone to a couple residencies, I know that temptation well. This time, though, in between basking in the luxury of unscheduled time and giving myself over to the rigor and revision of my memoir draft, I took note of the things that were present rather than the things that were missing, the things that made me feel creative, powerful, and inspired. Instead of focusing on what I didn’t have to do because I was away from my “regular” life, I honed in on the things I did to feel my most inventive and invigorated.
What I found was that there were very few things happening at the residency that I couldn’t recreate, at least in part, when I got home. Walking, napping, listening to music, reading, and daydreaming or all things that I can do at home, all things that apparently ground me and inspire me to be my most creative.
This isn’t to say that I don’t appreciate residency time away, which is definitely a gift to be appreciated. It’s to say that naming distractions is easy, but the more useful activity is naming and claiming practices that feed our creative selves regardless of where and when we are.
END OF THE YEAR TINGS
Y’all know I slow way down for the end of the year. I already had more activity this fall than usual, so when I go offline for the last two weeks of December, it’s going to be oh-so-good! Before then, though, catch me talking submissions and writerly goal-setting before heading into the new year!
Submission Workshop with The Porch on WEDNESDAY!
irl. IRL. In Real Life.
Excited to be the 2025 Visiting Writer for The Porch in February!
Writerly Goal-Setting for the new year with Free Expressions!
SAVE THE DATE!
Or REGISTER NOW if you bout it-bout it!
Better Get Your Rest Now…
Even though the Nap Bishop Dr. Tricia Hersey says we shouldn’t rest with the intention of shoring up energy to overwork ourselves, “We are not resting to be productive. We are resting because it is out divine right to do so,” one of the top five sentiments from folks who learn that I’m having a baby with my wife in 2025 is: “Better rest up!”
My wife and I are so excited to grow our family, and while there is A LOT to do to prepare our home and make sure the pregnancy is going well (so. many. appointments.), we are committing to relaxing, spending time just the two of us, and enjoying uninterrupted nights of sleep.
We thank everyone for the enthusiastic well wishes and if you wish to support our growing family with a gift, you can visit our registry for Baby Smith-Greer here.
