Hello from Taos!

One week ago, on Sunday, January 22, 2023, I set out from my brother's house in Arlington, Virginia, to drive 2,000 miles over the mountains of West Virginia into Kentucky, on through the plains of Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri before reaching the Flint Hills of Kansas, and finally across the vast emptiness of Oklahoma, to the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico. In the last hours of my journey, picking my way across high desert, slowly climbing the snowy mountain terrain into Taos, I felt a great energy shift. The exhaustion of 3 long years of accumulated trauma and 3 long days on the road, just...lifted. All at once, it became exceedingly clear: I am exactly where I need to be right now.

I am here because someone decided to invest in me. It is my honor to be hosted by the Foundation set up by Mrs. Helene Wurlitzer (as in the piano), who believed in giving artists time and space in a magical setting to find inspiration and develop their craft without any expectations of outcome. After years of moving from place to place; traveling for work, for family, for fun; setting up a makeshift studio wherever I happened to be; being ripped open emotionally, and yearning for a pause in the chaos... it has finally come. I have three months fully-funded with all my painting supplies and canvases set out and ready for me.

I also happen to be celebrating my thirty-third birthday this Friday, February 3, 2023. As I sit in my new-found womb of serenity here in the crisp mountain air, under a clear and brilliant sun, enjoying the satisfying crunch of snow beneath my boots while also looking forward to the coming spring, I feel a vast opening and pouring out from within me. I am embodying the motifs of my zodiacal patron, the water-bearer, Aquarius. This year is all about reaffirming my value, stepping into my power, doing the work I was put here to do, and sharing my vision with the world.

Five days into this residency, and I've nearly already finished the first painting in a new series inspired by the vast and varied landscapes I've traversed over the past few years. If you'd like to keep up with my progress, subscribe to this blog, sign up for my email list, or follow me on social media (links in footer).

Until next time,

Annie