Day Eleven at @BrushCreekArts

Yes, it's quite sad. I am nearing the end of another two week residency. Time flies much too fast for my taste and I've bonded with these amazingly talented and kind artists. It's weird being here for only two weeks while the others will stay on for another 10 days and other residents will fill in the space left by me and one of the composers/performers when we depart on May 20th. * sigh * Well, as I mentioned before I had nine things (9 points) I wanted to get done while here. And progress has been good. I have focused on one item a day for the most part, a couple extending to two days. My mornings have been more about sleeping late, going to the fitness center with one of the other residents, and/or hanging out. Initially I got work done in the mornings but that has transcended more to the afternoons mostly.

What I find funny is that I can get enough of what I need done in a few hours here with no other disruptions. But at home I have to set aside a whole day for myself to write. No hanging out or freelance work or anything else can interrupt that time at home. But here I can accomplish a good amount in 3-4 hours. Crazy.

It's funny the divide here. At Jentel everyone was so focused everyday it was like we went to work from 9a-5p and that was our routine. At Ragdale many tried the same thing but for some of us we got wrapped up in convo for hours during breakfast and/or lunch and after dinner. Here there are several of us who get work done on our own clock and that can be late at night or early in the morning or in the afternoon. I find that in the evening I am spent and may just talk to other artists over a drink or camp fire.

So how's it been here at Brush Creek? The weather has been chilly and warm. This past week was more warm than anything but changed on a dime once hump day came along.

Much like Jentel Presents Brush Creek also has a reading/presentation with the visiting artists. This happened on Tuesday night at the Saratoga Community Center and was super cool. Those that visited were very attentive and kind and turns out that Saratoga/Laramie has a booming artist community. They were sweet and kind and spoke with us at length about what they're working on being excited to meet other artists outside of WY. I was invited to one of the local writing groups that meet every other week and sadly had to decline since I'm leaving soon. The whole presentation enforces the idea of artists helping other artists and really encourages them to pursue it. An older man had told me that while criticism could hurt it was helpful and I couldn't agree more.

What else can I say? The food is mighty lackluster here. We get fed by the chefs at the Brush Creek Lodge and it has been lots of carbo loading thus far. The desserts we got, which seemed an after thought, were not that great as well. And y'alls know I am picky. I have baked two desserts for the residents which was much appreciated and the elevation didn't alter them, which is why I specifically chose to make snickerdoodles and dulce de leche chocolate bread pudding since I knew I wouldn't have to worry about whether they rose or not. I may make one last item before I go. And it's super nice to bake for people who appreciate it so I'm glad to do so for the residents, especially since the rest of the food we've been getting "lacks love" as one of the residents mentioned.

However, as soon as I started baking (and guests arrived at Brush Creek Lodge) don't you know we got a several layer chocolate cake (super light in texture but super rich in taste) red velvet cake (with buttercream icing not cream cheese), and a rhubarb/strawberry tart (with a heavy dough crust that needed more butter). The treats were fine but if you've had some of the highest class desserts in the world they just don't compare. Yet, it was a nice treat to get.

The new director of Brush Creek Arts Foundation, Sara, is awesome. She's vibrant, friendly, efficient, and just plain cool. Love her to death and am glad I got to meet her before I left. She seems like she's really going to re-establish good relationships here at Brush Creek and make it a bigger part of the Lodge and get better food!

Outside of working and chatting it up not much else to report really. Two of the visual artists and myself have become addicted to the game room and playing Horse, Hoop Fever, NFL 2-Minute Drills, Ping Pong, and Buck Hunt. The games are free in the game room so you can play as much as you want and there's complimentary Gatorade/bottled water. Awesome.

Needless to say, I'm going to miss it when I'm gone for sure and am looking forward to keeping in touch with these artists and learning more about what they do and where their projects go.

So, with that I'll end with lots of pictures!

Day Five at @BrushCreekArts

Did you hear that? No? EXACTLY! It is friggin' quiet here in Saratoga, WY. I loves it. I've gotten so much sleep it's ridiculous. I arrived at Brush Creek on May 6th and after two days of orienting myself with the area, getting treated to some ice cream, bonding with  the other residents, and attempting to catch my breath in high altitudes I have to say I am making progress so far. And am happy to be back in the place I had my first residency.

You know what's funny? A couple people here at Brush Creek, including the interim director Beth, has been at Jentel and loved it. So high five on Wyoming residencies. What else is funny? Practically every resident here was at a residency before this one or is going to another one soon after Brush Creek. We're multiple residency peeps!

So, as per my routine, let me break it down for ya.

The Digs

We reside in a cabin, a lengthy place that holds eight rooms (each with their own private bathroom!). A few feet away to the left is the artists lounge (where the kitchen is for dining), library (for lounging), and visual artists' studios (for working, obviously). Though one composer is in one of the visual artist studios. To the right of the cabins is the Schoolhouse.  A huge studio for composers with a stage and grand piano. Lovely.

Past the artists lounge & artists studios further down near the road leading up towards the mountains, river, and yurts are the writers' studios (Peryam-mine, and Rancher's Daughter-the other writer). Between the lounge/studios and writers' studios is a small shack that the interim director uses as her studio for writing. Behind that along a road that leads to cabins for guests further up the mountain is Armstrong, the second studio for a composer.

The Artists Camp is set apart from Brush Creek Ranch which is a spa and resort. Pricey per day and has nice activities like shooting, horseback riding, biking, yoga, and in the winter months snowboarding and skiing.

The Routine

So, like Ragdale you get meals made for you for dinner. But you get a bag lunch from the main Brush Creek Ranch staff and have materials available for you to make your own breakfast. There are also leftovers for you to munch on. So far the lunch options have been a bit lax. Egg salad, tuna, and the latest PB&J sandwiches. While the dinners are more diverse with options if you are vegetarian. We've had stir fry, tacos, pasta with meatballs, pasta with veggies and so on. Not as extravagant or filled with love as from the lovely Linda at Ragdale or at MacDowell as I've heard but it's good and filling and the carbs  keep you warm.

First day is orientation and the director gives you a tour around these parts which is expansive and gorgeous. Beth took us into town for the second day and we got ice cream! Beth is awesome, we'll miss her terribly when she goes. If you've been to Jentel don't expect a weekly trip per se. Beth was nice to give us one and since Brush Creek Arts doesn't yet have it's own car and must borrow from the larger ranch it may not always be weekly. But this may become something steadier with the new director,Sara, coming in end of May.

For the most part we seem to get together and talk but everyone can be on their own schedule. Dinner is a nice time for us to all sit and talk for a bit and bond, which has been great. And yes, wine has been available every evening.

The Artists

There are three composers, though one just came from a residency in which he focused on his visual art and he also does videos. There are three visual artists, and two writers. We all get along and the personalities are great. Every is generally interested in each others work and we have a good rapport which I've been extremely lucky to have with residents at each of the residencies I have been to so far as well as at conferences. So in general I have a deep love for artists and for the ones I'm housed with for the next week plus.

We had a jam session in the Armstrong studio on Wednesday and it was so much fun! Way better than karaoke. One of the composers is creating an opera and is friends with another composer. It turns out they applied to work together. So one played the cello, the other rocked the guitar, bongos (which I brought from my studio), and piano. Another used his guitar and another visual artist brought his guitar and we looked up chords for songs along with lyrics and sang everything from Johnny Cash to Adele to Garbage to Oasis to the Beatles and Queen. It was awesome.

Next night one of the visual artists made a fire and we just hung out while smoke blew in our faces and we attained a hickory flavor on our clothes and bodies. We didn't make s'mores though we have the goods for them and instead just talked and tried to evade the smoke from blinding us.

We have a presentation coming up next week on a Tuesday which follows the Jentel model of having the residents present our work to  those interested in the community so that should be fun. I plan on reading some short sections from my Collection and we'll see how that goes.

My Plan

So far it's been hanging with the residents. Whether by the fire or on Friday going hiking with the other writer and just hanging and having her kindly hold my hand while going over a disturbing swing bridge. It's been to do work but also get to know people. One of the other artists said it best: He's essentially here to learn from others and he can and will work at any time of the day but it's important to also form these relationships and get a better sense of you and what others do to inspire your work. Well said, Jim!

However, as for my work, I laid out a plan. As you know the first part of Ragdale was not as productive as I'd hope. I think if I do get into another residency I'll opt for 3 weeks or more if I can swing off the time from work. Two weeks proves to go very fast and so when a few days pass by you already feel behind.

I had had a plan at Ragdale of sorts and at Jentel I just let everything flow on a day-to-day basis. But here I made a 9-point plan. Basically 9 things I wanted to get done while I'm here and not necessarily do everything to perfection but to get it done as something I can revisit so that I at least have content to work with down the line. So my plan is to draft several things and edit several things. And in this way it works because I can work on one thing a day and it may take a few hours out of my day but not the entirety of it per se. And since the first two days were a wash with travel and orientation and my last day will be more travel it means in reality I have 11 days to work and not 14. Having 9 items to focus on leaves me the opening of missing a day or even doubling up. But, the plan has been to only work on one project a day.

Being on day 5 (going into day 6 by the time this posts) I'll have gotten 4 things done of the 9 and at anytime can go back and try to solidify. Even in the drafting phase I am not entirely happy with the product but I am at least not feeling like I got nothing done and have options should I feel blocked on one project and go on to something else.

At Ragdale I just flipped a coin and worked on whatever won the toss. I think this is a better method for me. So hopefully when I return home I'll be able to devote time to what I've done here and can move forward. We'll see. Wish me luck!