Residency 2013: @BrushCreekArts Overall

This is an overdue post. And for that I apologize. Reality hit me smack-in-the-face as soon as I landed back in NYC with the humidity enveloping me after being in a WY hailstorm just several hours prior. And being atop a mountain means rain turns to snow, people. Snow in May. Yup. So what sums up my thoughts on Brush Creek? Peaceful. QUIET. Calm. Comfortable. Yes. What I may have missed out at Ragdale I had at Brush Creek. So, as I am prone to do. Let me break it down for you:

PROS

Space

For the writers this is spacious and warm. Mine was designed more for comfort while I feel like the Rancher's Daughter studio beside me was a bit more stylish. Either way I really liked both spaces as they were twice the size of Jentel (which was lovely and cozy) and separate from my room unlike Ragdale. Each writer's studio equipped with extra chairs (each studio had a La-Z-Boy), a couch, I had bongos for some reason, and lots of pillows, lighting, and a blanket. It was definitely cozy and if I could have or had more time I probably would've napped in there at some point.

The visual artists studios are a bit smaller than ones I have seen. Lighting comes in straight through the glass doors in the front and via some windows higher up that you'd need a ladder to reach for on the other side. They are spacious but again, not as big as I've seen visual artists work in at other studios.

The composers have houses! The Schoolhouse is massive and was a school house so it has several rows of pews and a stage. Armstrong studio has a piano and a good amount of space for a couch and fit several people in for a jam session so I'd say that's a nice space in and of itself.

The resident rooms were small, not really meant for lounging, but more as a place for rest and storage. But the bed was super comfy (foam) and the bathroom spacious. You get a robe and several sets of towels and cute toiletries. You have a big dresser and area to hang items with wooden hangers and a nice spot for your shoes/boots. There's a lot of light and a heater/air conditioner and it is QUIET. Everyone is respectful of being quiet once back in their room and you cannot hear sounds from the other studios. The housekeeping ladies are the sweetest and clean every Monday morning and they do a phenomenal job. Love them to bits.

The artists lounge is a bit small in terms of the library and computer area but very cozy as I read in there a bit. The library is still being built so feel free to add to it and send donated items! There are also games and some more additions we made when we went to a couple rummage sales on Saturday in the town of Saratoga. The kitchen is great but not well stocked in terms of cooking items since you're meant to reheat more than cook but this may get fully stocked as time goes on and if things change.

Out and About

Hiking you can do in abundance here. And not just hiking along a road but on trails, on roads too, but going to see land and nature and animals! Mainly moose, deer, and dogs, but still nature!

Also you can use the facilities at the main lodge. Colette and I tended to go to the gym every few days and once Jim started us in on the game room Hoop Fever and Buck Hunt became staples in our routine when we needed to get out and were restless. Plus, unlimited Gatorade in the game room!

CONS

Wifi

You have to log into the open access internet once every 24 hours which can be burdensome and irritating if you're using the internet steadily in that it'll conk out on you in the middle of something. Also range isn't the best, mainly suitable in your studio but not as great in your room if you can even get access on your computer/devices.

Culinary Delights?

As I may have mentioned, the food was mighty lackluster. And if you're a vegetarian be forewarned that the kitchen staff didn't seem to comprehend that there's a vast amount of things you can make for vegetarians outside of salad, quickly fried tofu, and pasta/pizza. A lot of times one of the other residents off-set the vegetarian items with leftovers and store bought items to appeal to the vegetarians who did not get as much protein as necessary.

In addition to that it seems that the variety of food doesn't improve for artists unless guests are present. Which is sad. It seemed that we were an add on and not a focus so the food was often uninspired and not great. The desserts were standard fare once guests came but nothing outstanding. You know I'm a foodie so that is important. But dinner was often better than lunch which I ate twice out of the ten lunches I was provided because I got sick of sandwiches doused in mayonnaise with lettuce and tomato on plain white bread that was heavy and soggy when I received it--often sandwiches were made early in the morning (around 5 or 6am) and left out until delivered to us around noon.

Activity-less

I did not get to go on any activities as by the time this was all sorted I was on my way out. Residents are allowed one activity per two week stay and it was odd that it would not be until the guests arrived that we residents would be allowed to get in on their activities. Which just seemed weird. So by the time guests did come which was the 16th we were waiting to be told every morning of what activities were available and after three days it was just not a good way of communicating/organizing. The director tried her best but it seems there's a real disconnect between staff at the lounge and the artists camp and hopefully this'll be fixed with new leadership.

In Summary:

If I could take Linda, Ragdale chef, and bring her to Brush Creek and add in a bit less tension between staff and the Artists Camp this would've been ideal and on par with Jentel for me. Speaking with other residents who had gone to Jentel and were at Brush Creek with me we agreed, hands down, that Jentel is the best residency experience we've ever had.

Of course you shouldn't always compare things. Every conference, retreat, residency, everything has it's pros and cons. But for the fact that the staff of one director was super attentive and kind, add in the amazing amounts of quiet, the cool people, the atmosphere, the cleanliness (in my room at least), and the lack of bugs it was delightful. I got so much more done at Brush Creek and I enjoyed every moment. Food be damned, though that is a big point for me, I would go back to Brush Creek and definitely recommend it to others to apply to with the caveats above. I think knowing more about your residency location can help you be more productive rather than being surprised. So, as a new residency they did a really great job and I'd encourage others to go if not for the peace and quiet in itself.

Residency Time, Again! Next Stop, Brush Creek (Residency 2 of 2)

So April brought me April showers, in abundance, at Ragdale and hopefully May will be all sun at Brush Creek in Wyoming. I am particularly amped about Brush Creek because it means returning to Wyoming where I had my first and most exuberant and wonderful residency experience. And while the first several days (week) of Ragdale was a bit of a bust in terms of mental capacity and creative flow I am hoping that my time at Brush Creek will entail much, more, much more productivity and not an end of time burst. But we will see.

Brush Creek is a newer residency in Wyoming. It started over a year ago or at least their trial started. I had heard about Brush Creek from those who run Jentel and then later one of the residents I was housed with at Jentel did  trial run for Brush Creek and said she enjoyed it though they were still getting their bearings in terms of structure. So, now that there's been a bit more time in terms of defining Brush Creek I'm eager to see what it can offer and what I can produce.

Day Twelve at @Ragdale

And we enter the last stretch. I will be leaving on Sunday morn and it's getting real! Sad times. So last time I posted I was feeling very blah about productivity. It didn't hit the first day or the second or the third really. And as much as a mofo as inspiration is it hits when it hits doesn't it? Which means Sunday. And even then it wasn't as steady so that come Monday and for the rest of the week I was on fire. I turned on Spotify and it was ON.

Pieces I couldn't wrap my head around the first several days became things I could actually tackle. Say what?!? I know!

One story was still a kick in the butt but it gained some clarity on Saturday. On Sunday my words weren't as lame as I thought and come Monday I was a friggin' genius! I tidied up three stories, not completed them but tidied two of the three up enough that I could show them to others to let me know what is wrong and/or right and the third still being a novella rather than a story but seeing where the direction is going. And then a fourth came out the woodwork and I understood the character a heck of a lot better than I initiated realizing all of the men in my Collection, when I initially wrote them were too damn passive and needed to be active and that is happening! So exciting times.

And then another story came to light and another and another and another and I read some poetry and wrote some poetry before going to bed and then I was revising flash fiction like a fiend and starting new flash fiction all the while listening to this band Spotify suggested I'd like called The Temper Trap and loving them and then I was revising query letters for my YA book and realizing I was almost done and freaking a bit and I was on Twitter and Facebook too but mainly these last several days I was writing and kicking butt and not socializing so much as staying in to write and eat and get right back to writing which reminded me of the Jentel days when it was work.

Of course it hits others too. Residents who are here for three weeks instead of two are getting into high gear come the end of this week and not wanting to get sucked into oh so wonderful and enlightening convo and then you must CHOOSE! What do I want to do? Get more work in or finish off the expensive (or at least most expensive from the supermarket) wine and talk about our lives and our art and what we worry about and bond or do we want to read and then settle in or what? Should we eat leftovers and the dessert while we're at it or just hydrate, hydrate, hydrate with water? We can't make these decisions!

And yet, that tends to course things go at the end of a residency. The rush period where you enjoy everyone's company and then have to toggle between spending time with people you've grown to care about and respect or do the work and there can be a balance but in the final days everyone is all "The hell!? I gotta get these things done!"

We all have such goals when we do these things and in the end you get done what you get done. As I had learned in Jentel and still didn't realize would afflict me here during a shorter time span is that I cannot force it. And I was and am relieved that I'm surrounded by wonderful artists that I could relate to and talk to when I was just out of it. I'm certain that was part of my process for realizing that I needed to get back in the game.

Oh, and remember the whole noise thing? Well I got moved to the Ragdale House which is much quieter but has it's own sounds, mainly the constant creaking of doors and steps when utilized and the shutters tap, tap, tapping against the structure during the (four day in a row) rainstorm we had this last week. Lame. But the digs are huge!

Each room in the House has it's own bathroom and you can literally split it in half and work on one side and sleep in the other side. Divine. And it has an outdoor sun porch! Though this could not be utilized during all this damn rain but the next occupant may enjoy it boatloads.

Just goes to show people, when you complain, nicely, you can get nicer digs. Not that I didn't enjoy the Yellow Room. It is quaint and homey and the Top of the Stairs Room is very old timey reminding me of Gone with the Wind. 

We had a reading on Monday night and it was great to hear what the other residents were working on. Since there are several writers it was eclectic and there was poetry as well. The visual artists also came and listened so we got to hit the auditory senses for them as they hit our visual. Cool times. Everyone's work inspired and enticed and you feel that much more awesome knowing you're with super talented people.

I have to say beyond re-acclimating to the real world again one concern many of us residents have is how we're going to cook for ourselves once we leave. Linda, the chef, has been phenomenal in meeting so many various needs (gluten free, vegetarian, pescatarian, lactose intolerant) with so many delicious meals that just hit the nail on the head every-single-time we don't know how we'll cope! How am I expected to cook for myself after all this? The daily fee for Ragdale ($35/day) is worth Linda's meals alone. This is quite disconcerting when I think on it, so I will not.

Anywho, next post will be a full Ragdale review. Hopefully I won't be in the doldrums as it'll be three weeks and counting until WY. And who knows what my brain will do then. Hopefully I'll eke out a lot there, but I believe we've confirmed you can't plan these things.

Day Seven at @Ragdale

And we hit the week mark, which means six days left before I officially pack up and a day later leave. How's progress been? you ask. Meh is my response. Why? you further inquire. Well, let's review the past few days.

The Pros

The other residents here are GREAT. They have wonderful energy. Are super supportive, polite, and kind. We all have a genuine interest in one another's work and we've been bonding on our goals, concerns, and insecurities. Even though we've only known each other a few days there's a comfort there that results in you just letting lose and divulging things that you realize others feel too. It's a great comfort and can help ease you into things as you take a moment to consider where you are in your work and what you hope to accomplish, not just during your time here but over the long haul.

Most of us saw what the visual artists were working on on Saturday and it was very rejuvenating and cool to see in general. Learning about their process and what they are trying to say through their art was great.

The food is freaking AMAZING. Linda Mitchell is the chef on grounds during the week and she is like a second mom. She is warm and friendly and actually loves her job. She is considerate of all our food requirements and makes these delicious meals every day and enough to make sure we're well taken care of over the weekend (when she has off). Her personality is enough to brighten your overall day. It's like she radiates it through and through, her blond hair further emphasis of her great personality. Love Linda. She takes good care of us.

The prairie is my meditation spot nowadays. I loves it. It's beautiful, though portions were recently burnt to get rid of unsavory critters. But for two days straight I went out there and found various benches and just hung out for a couple of hours, which was a nice distraction and point for me to just silence my mind. Surprisingly, I get very good reception here in Lake Forest so I spoke with my grandmother and buddy out in the prairie on a bench. Good, sunny, bonding-with-nature times.

The Cons

Well...my room is not the best placed for optimum quiet. Again, this is where I was spoiled by Jentel. At Jentel your living space and work space were separated by yards and silence. The staff worked in a house a decent distance away from us and very much understood our need for privacy and separation to work. The creator of Jentel, Neltje, understood that as an artist.

Ragdale is an Illinois landmark. So while certain areas have been reconstructed, like the visual artist's studio The Meadow, the main areas like the Ragdale Barn (where I reside) has not. Ragdale has been renovated but not so much restructured for things like noise limitations. And so, we (residents) share our work/living space with the staff during much of the week, starting as early as 8am going through 5pm. And I must point out that Ragdale has a super friendly and kind staff.

So this has impeded on me getting the entirety of silence and calm I had expected. However the weekend has been dead and very pleasant.

Now, I cannot blame all my inactivity on the lack of quiet. I am somewhat blocked people. Yes! I know! How inopportune is that. Especially for a residency I'm paying for.

I dunno if I'd say I'm blocked exactly but it is a form of being blocked in that anything I write for the most part I am not satisfied with. I came here hoping to completely draft three stories I had yet to finish for my Collection. But instead I was blank when it came to how these scenes would continue. I kept editing what I had and editing that until I closed one document and opened another. I removed notes I inserted for myself and just tried to focus but was just not getting in the zone.

So I resigned myself to the fact that I may just have to edit stuff for the remainder of my time here unless something hits me that I'd actually be able to just scribe anew.

If you've read my interview with WOW's The Muffin when I write I get in a 'zone.' This is something that hit me consistently, yet not everyday, at Jentel. I would sit, open a document and for hours I simply wrote. And when I looked back at it was thinking "Ah, not so bad!"

But now, for three stories in particular I am just...argh.

Saturday proved to be a productive day and a story, the first in the collection, I've been struggling with worked itself out but by page 10 I was all out of mojo and so brought up another story to edit. I've been cutting like crazy but haven't been able to sit down and streamline. We'll see how the next few days go.

What else have I been up to? Since I finished the latest draft of the YA book I have been drafting and redrafting query letters for that. I wrote a new flash fiction piece on Saturday (I spent 6+ solid hours writing/editing that day!) and have read a lot of Tiny Beautiful Things and talked often with the other residents.

Saturday evening some of us residents also went and saw Joan of Arc, which is a band one of the most recently departing residents leads at Lake Forest College. We also learned that in small towns things close early even on a Saturday.

On Sunday I met up with two peeps from the Glen West Workshop, Thomas and Deborah and we hit up The Bagel in Skokie, IL. Fun times, great service, good food.

So that about sums up the past few days. Wish me luck that I break into some kind of creative sprint during my remaining time here and if not we'll see what Brush Creek brings.

Day Three at @Ragdale

Hello, hello from Lake Forest, Ill! As mentioned I am at my first residency for 2013 at Ragdale and so far so good.

It's an adjustment. And I mean that in terms of comparison. Speaking with several other residents who have done other residencies and will be going on to others in the next few weeks/months like myself we have been doing a bit of compare and contrast. But thus far the reviews on Ragdale are quite positive.

Let me give you a quick breakdown though:

The History

Ragdale's history stems back to the 1800s. This is sacred land, y'all. It was the vacation home to big time architect Howard Van Doren Shaw and his family. It served not only as a place to live but as a place to work, his wife Frances being a poet, writer, and traveler and his daughters being artists as well who inherited the land. It would be Alice Judgson Ryerson Hayes, granddaughter to Howard Shaw, who would create the Ragdale Foundation and be it's director for many years before making the City of Lake Forest and the Open Lands Association guardians of the conservation and property.

The Layout

Ragdale is smack dab in Lake Forest about a mile or two away from the town of Lake Forest and a 20 minute drive from Chicago, specifically O'Hare International Airport and even farther from downtown Chicago.

Lake Forest is a nice and small town and those who own homes also own land. Ragdale has many acres to itself as well as a path that runs into a prairie. The visual artist studios are outside away from the main Ragdale House which holds several residents and the Ragdale Barn which also holds about six residents along with the Ragdale office and main area where we dine for dinner Monday through Friday.

There is a Friend's Studio which houses two residents, one of which is usually a composer and is a live-in studio space. Between all this is lots of ground to cover which at the moment is a bit tattered looking with the oncoming spring. The prairie is muddy due to patches of still melting snow but you can navigate around the prairie path and see the Skokie River which runs through the prairie and many landmarks/benches dedicated to those who have been dear friends and dedicated conservationists.

The writers' space is within their rooms rather than being a separate studio. Meaning we have a nice desk and swivel chair as well as a reading chair. I am in the Yellow Room in the Ragdale Barn, which is that because it is yellow. There is also the very spacious Play Room which has a doorway that leads to a cupola upstairs. Jealous? Indeed I am.

There are other rooms such as the Beach, Hayloft (which used to be an actual hayloft since this building used to be a barn), and the Sewing Room which I assume was an actual sewing room. So for the most part the Barn seems conducive to writers while the Chandelier studio is more so for a visual artist. The same layout may be said for the Ragdale House though I have yet to explore it.

The Artists

During my time here I'm surrounded by many writers and a couple of visual artists. I've spoken with poets, nonfiction writers, and fiction writers alike about our work and our progress. Since the sessions break up some people will be leaving while I'm here and I'll be leaving before others arrive. But so far the vibes are very good and the fact that we have dinner together during the week is aiding in bonding and necessary breaktime from writing. I've spoken to many artists from the Chicago area and a few who have come to Ragdale not once or twice but as many as twenty times. Yes, Ragdale has no limit on how many times you may stay upon acceptance. This may be because it's a paid residency and relies on residents payment and donations and the city funds to stay afloat.

Productivity

How productive have I been since I arrived? Well, the first day is always a wash. With traveling, which wasn't even that intense since I had one direct flight at 10 in the morning and the time shift is just an hour behind. But the simple act of going to an airport and coming from can be so intense that one does not want to deal with anything else. So day one was about settling in, walking around, absorbing how cold it is here, and meeting others. We had orientation, a delicious fish dinner from the great and sweet chef Linda and wine and talked with director Regin Igloria.

One of my priorities was also gaining access to the wifi which I did in minutes. Victory!

Day two I edited my entire YA manuscript, all 79k words of it and cut, cut, cut. I spent most of the morning, afternoon, and some of the evening doing so taking breaks to talk to other residents and eat and take a few pictures. But my mind was on the entirety of finishing the young adult book so I could send a refined part 1 to my critique partners and I can dedicate the rest of my time here to my story collection and an essay I want to initiate.

Day three was me needing vitamin D, namely sun. After spending the whole day prior writing and editing and looking at my laptop screen I needed to get out. At breakfast I spent over an hour talking to residents, one of whom was a new arrival. And then went out to walk for almost 2 hours in the prairie. At some point I saw prints in the mud and had a mini freakout over whether these were deer prints (since we've been told repeatedly that deer are all around us) or if it was something more dangerous. I was told that big dogs tend to also roam these parts, but I dunno. I saw the Skokie River, took many pictures, and in the midst of many benches tucked away along the prairie found one that made me so comfortable I quieted my mind and just listened and watched and absorbed nature, and sun. It was necessary. After hiking a bit more I took an alternate path  along the route and then panicked again that I may have been going the wrong way. But I had had many assurances since I arrived that you cannot get lost on the path, it will always lead you back and upon seeing the familiar Meadow studio for one of the visual artist's I was relieved that I was home free.

After that I read for three hours. In concluding my Cheryl Strayed trifecta I am almost done with Tiny Beautiful Things, which will definitely be on my 2013 fave reads list.

So that leads me to a new day where I hope to get a good bunch done but won't beat myself up if I do not. Speaking with many of the residents here many are taking this time seriously as work time. As well we should. But as I learned from Jentel you have to do what you need for yourself. And if that means sleeping for 12 hours to refresh your mind or taking a day with nature and not even looking at a computer screen or notebook. If that means reading all day or just hanging with friends then you have earned that right to do it here. Your work is important but if you aren't intact your work will falter.

Let's hope I can also keep this in mind.