It’s Artist Residency Time!

Soon I will be taking advantage of a most generous gift of time and space.

On November 15 I’ll be driving down to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts where I will be among 25 or so other writers and visual artists. I’ll have a nice little room to sleep in, a nice studio to work in, and delicious food to chow down on.

I find I’m very productive at residencies. I’ve done four now, and in February 2009 I was at VCCA and did a lot of work on the film, as well as write the first draft of a nonfiction piece. I also gained some much needed weight thanks to Chef Rhonda.

What do I hope to accomplish this time?

I try not to go in with too many expectations, but  I plan on cutting the Robert Darden footage Wolfgang shot in Chicago into the existing 27-minute sample Cabot edited. I’ve spent the last month preparing for this edit immersion, transcribing, logging, reviewing the sample, and just thinking. I also met with Cabot to discuss Darden and how to include him in the edit. If I come back to New York City with a 35 minute sample that features all of A Life’s Work’s subjects, I’ll be extremely happy.

I also hope to hone my ping pong skills. Last time I was at VCCA I discovered the artistic value of ping pong. A rousing mini ping pong tourney after dinner acts like a digestive and sharpens the senses, perfectly readying one for an evening back at the studio. At the residencies I did before I discovered ping pong, I was useless after dinner. Since ping pong, I do good work post-dinner. My only regret is that Mary-Louise, Sara Y., Nick, Josh, Deb, Art, Eduardo, Cheryl, Sara M., Reinhold, Kate, Linda, Lauren, and Walter won’t be there for me to reduce to quivering bowls of Jello. You hear that Jenn? You ready? Don’t think I didn’t notice you only played once when we were there the last time! You have been warned!