March 29 I am moving to Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Trying to find a place to live in a location under such a severe housing crisis is hard. Every avenue I explored turned into a dead end. I had the first two weeks of April at the residency to hang my show, but I didn’t know where …
A few weeks ago a friend told me an uncomfortable thing. She said (names changed) “Gabe isn’t taking pictures anymore. He told me there was no point. He’ll never be as good as you. He still wants to hang out with you and go hiking with you, he just doesn’t want to take photographs.” More …
How do you have a creative life? The good news is that there is no wrong answer. The bad news is it’s not easy. I believe that the single most important requirement to have any success in the arts, and by arts I mean anything that is a creative effort whether it’s writing or photography …
A year ago, more than that, when my host invited me to stay with her and referred to her home as being outside of London I imagined a two bedroom flat, possibly one bedroom and I would sleep on the couch, in Twickenham or Croyden or perhaps Chelmsford. There would be easy access by rail …
We have one day left in Iceland. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking while we drove the ring road about what I want the shape of my life to be. Ever since walking out from under the shadow of grief I’ve been in flux, knowing I want -something- but not knowing exactly what. Being …
My time in Longyearbyen is a little more than half over, and a month now seems way too short a time to stay here. I should have opted for two months, but I did not. In two weeks I have watched the change from 24 hours of daylight to 13 hours of daylight – 11 …
Today, thanks to a question from a friend, I did the research to discover that I am in fact drinking glacial meltwater when I drink from the tap. That’s… amazing. Astonishing. It means ice for drinks – 10,000 year old glacial meltwater. When I wash my face, 10,000 year old glacial meltwater. When I flush …
Today I did one of the most important things I wanted to do before leaving Seattle. I visited the Tsubaki Grand Shrine to ask for courage, focus, and creative inspiration at the shrine of Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto. I feel a special closeness to the Fearless One, patron of the arts, among many other things. I love the …
I’ve now done the last major thing on my slate – being with my friend while she had surgery. I’m a strong believer that no one should be alone in the hospital, and I was glad to stay with her. But now that’s over, now it’s less than a week to my departure, a flock …
Today I made the first steps toward closing my studio. I signed the lease for my space in October of last year. I was full of anxiety. It was so expensive. Could I really do the work I had in mind? It was a big decision, and I was full of doubts. Kij looked at …