do i deserve this? part 2

news from the studio of hope amico 1.24.24

Jan 24, 2024

the exciting conclusion to last week’s essay about my artist residency at sou’wester arts. missed it? go back and catch up.

or skip ahead for the exciting news about a pay-what-you can collage class that starts 1/31!

my little camper space at my residency at sou’wester in seaside, wa

I spent six weeks at the Sou’wester Artist Residency and all I have to show for it is some organized files on my computer.

Did I deserve a residency for that? Do I need to account for my hours? Shall I tell you how many times I walked to the beach? Do I have to justify the dinner I ate at a bar overlooking the ocean or the night I went to bed early? Did I need to drive 120 miles to download writing software and organize some scraps of a future book?

I write an essay nearly every week and this residency was a chance to step back, to step away from the weekly deadline and look at the body of work I had created. Sometimes a residency is for reaching a million word goal1 or to edit a draft or focus on a particular body of work. I think often it is about time.

How stupid that we constantly have to prove our worth…

Every morning I woke, stretched, and made tea. I walked, sometimes to the beach sometimes around town. It rained A LOT. I loved it. I enjoyed the sauna and napped and walked to the coffee kiosk to refuel my cup. I saw the moon once. I ate clams and mussels and rockfish. I wrote and wrote and walked and edited. At night, I made collage in a tiny sketchbook. On my last day, the sun broke out and I drove along the peninsula and arrived at a nature reserve. I walked alone along a wide sunny beach, facing the mainland of Washington State I watched birds lift and flutter down in groups. The sun made diamonds in the sand. I hiked to a lighthouse before finally leaving the peninsula, destined to drive home in the dark.

So let me say, unequivocally: yes, you deserve this.

Do I deserve this? This time to work, to do whatever I need that is part of the process?2 I came home rested. How stupid that we constantly have to prove our worth, not just as artists or writers, but as parents, friends, children, teachers, people. So let me say, unequivocally: yes, you deserve this. If you are near enough to head to the Washington coast, apply for a residency at Sou’wester. Go for arts, week, teach a class, or go alone. If you need time and space to work, make time and space. Apply and get rejected and apply again. Make your own residency anywhere you can. You don’t have to prove your worth. I know that we have to balance our creative time with our jobs and families, but keep making. They are intimidated by our brilliance.

PS I did not work on blackout poems while on the residency. However I did receive a new rejection letter. Sou’wester had rejected a class proposal for the spring. I’ll apply again.

resources for writers

and other creatives too! my favorites gathered here.

sou’wester lodge offers artist residencies in vintage campers on the washington coast, plus teaching residencies if your class is accepted.
sit & write remains my favorite round up of opportunities and a saturday morning group write
tin house offers residency for parents in september
rockland woods has a springtime residency for queer bipoc, applications close soon
priscillia thomas has many opportunities to encourage you to write more!
I finally used an exercise from joshua james amberson’s book—a simple exercise that destroyed my current draft because it needed it

did someone say februllage?

Yes, it is that time of year. A month of daily prompts shared by the Edinburg Collage Collective and the Scandinavian Collage Museum. It is free, dauting and can be a lot of fun. My favorite part of februllage is working on my collages with friends.

introducing Studio Collage: februllage edition

a pay-what-you-can class

that is part studio time, part meet-up, all fun.

the full price for the 5 classes is $150, but you can opt to pay any amount, really ANY AMOUNT and join us.

30% of class fees will be donated to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

classes will meet online on Mondays in February 4-6 pm PST.

a special first meet up will be Wednesday January 31 4-6 pm PST and will the only class that is recorded.

Join for one class, or all, pop in and say hi, or stay and work the whole time. Expect lots of work time with opportunities to troubleshoot, brainstorm, share and converse. Expect an online meet up with guidance from an experienced collage teacher (that’s me!). Whether you like to work quietly or have lots of questions, this is a chance for you to strengthen your studio practice and hang with others who love a challenge.

Expect to have fun. Bring a friend!

registration is open NOW and will remain open for all of february.