Oh my, did we just have the most incredibly lovely evening out together.
Alex, the director of the colony organized a spontaneous boat outing for all of us (there are 4 of us attending the colony as artists) and a group of her friends with the father of one of the trustees of the colony on his most beautifully restored wooden motor sailing ship. A genus of a man who developed the GPS for the CIA and owns a local mapping company, and who is the spitting image of Ernest Hemingway in his white haired and bearded days.
Just priceless, so romantic, so New England in the summer…
Sitting on the deck getting to know my fellow Fellows, taking in the environment, getting to set off the cannon fired at a boat of rowdy drunken middle aged men. I swear it was a real cannon, miniature in size, but quite big and loud when fired (had to wear both head and ear protection to shoot it off.) Notice it on the bow of the ship where Kate and Lonardo stood on the Titanic. Argh!
Docking at a nearby island to have drinks, snacks and then dinner (on the house) on the porch of a classic colonial hotel overlooking the bay, with the most fantastic of sunsets. How could we ask for anything better from a day (well the others decided to go out dancing after we got back to the dock) I opted out, wanting to instead play with my new MacBook Pro that I bought today, just shortly after upgrading to the Incredible 2 Android phone. So now that I am all teched out and upgraded for the summer it is time to dive into some good old fashioned technology like paper making, sewing and book binding.
The strangest part about the whole adventure was how everyone (including myself) kept on taking photos of the experience on our smart phones and cameras. It was like we were all in the experience but also on the outside as observers looking into a scrap book of someone else’s collective memory. I really began to understand the song of how I think I’m turning Japanese standing behind the camera and catching time in incremental moments held within the borders of the picture frame.
I guess what also made me feel this way was how our host David just smoothly orchestrated the whole experience in his heavy New England accent, from inviting us onto his incredible floating space, to taking us to such a beautiful spot and then paying for all our food and drinks. How generous. He later even invited us over to come pick tomatoes from his farm. Perfect for a deadly night shade. Maybe next time. I have been eating hydroponic ones from a local farmer at the market that I plan to try and visit. And we all agreed that we would love to cook him a meal in the incredible professional kitchen we have decked out at this place.
I feel so incredibly blessed to be just here to live and work for the summer. It has been a while since I have attended such a type of residency, so much so that I feel a bit awkward and out of my comfort zone. Our studios are rather open and shared like in graduate school, and we are just left to our own schedules. To come and go as we choose, to work on what ever we decide. Even if that means just going out for the day exploring the area or just sitting and reading comic books as Alex says. It is just that I have gotten rather used to working alone in my own apartment for the last two years, after moving out of the house in NJ, but this is good, all good, to break out of old habits and be open to the new through the visions of the community around me. I await with pleasure how the summer will proceed.
Though I have to say I was a bit bummed on the 4th when I tried to find this so called great party, and I could not because this guy never sent me the address and all the houses on the promenade looked huge and filled with people. So I found a stoop to sit on to watch the fireworks eating kettle corn, and you know, after experiencing the works in NYC, I have to say I found Portland’s just a bit boring, so actually took off early for the long trek back across town.
Hope you enjoy the pics and stories.
