I was lucky enough to get into two of the three residencies I applied for last fall. One of which was Ragdale in Lake Forest, IL. I'll be there for two weeks in April. After that I'm back for a bit and then off--back to Wyoming!--for Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts in May. The last time, and first time, I went on an artists residency was at Jentel Arts in Banner, WY two years ago. And as you know from my weekly posts then I had an amazing time. I came back a bit wrecked but made so much progress on my collection and gotten to know myself on a more professional and personal level, all the while meeting and befriending some great artists whom I still talk to today.
I dunno what to expect at Ragdale or Brush Creek. Obviously it won't be the same as Jentel and it'll be a shorter amount of time at each, but combined will equal my 28 day stay at Jentel. I have lofty goals of course. To completely revise and/or write portions of my collection that I hadn't buckled down to do in the past several months. And also start revising some flash fiction and start submitting again. But, we'll see.
I have to say that these residencies couldn't come at a better time. Those who follow me on Twitter and are friends on Facebook know that the new neighbors living above me have been a strain for the past few months (luckily they'll be moving soon after I return from WY) and that in general I feel like I haven't been able to focus on my creative aspects seeking freelance work to help pay the bills as costs continually rise while other things don't.
So for 2 weeks here and 2 weeks there I will be all about the creativity and attempting to stay away from social media. I will sleep late and read and walk around new locales and not worry about rush hour, or loud and inconsiderate neighbors, or my bank account or project deadlines. I will focus on me and my work and hopefully return from both instances refreshed and having grown that much more as a person and as a writer.
I will report back on my experiences of course because sharing means caring.