Pilchuck Day 1: Arrival

I entered this residency process several months before this arrival with a fear I couldn't really articulate. Each start on an idea took on a burden of judgement that it wouldn't be worth it. I found a paralysis unaccustomed in design work - here I needed to decide what was worth my time and attention.

Then the day arrived with a flight to the West Coast and a bus from the airport to Pilchuck. This first day was one of beginnings - finding Amy LeMaire perched on a rock and sitting together to talk under the blue sky and amongst the ferms - settling into my little cabin - meeting Meriah Garrett my studio assistant in line for dinner - everyone in the moments of arrival, new and open.

Walking the campus with memories of previous visit in 2005. Finding it open, kind, and giving - a place where doors are held open in both concept and reality. Watching the sun set and facing that the biggest limits I have here are the ones I put on myself. This place is the tangible reality that I can do perhaps anything if I only ask for it. Yet still the fear and desire for approval wait in the corners and edges.