INSPIRED BY: Reawakening the artist within

When Lily Williams and Kendall Quirk of the Arlington Museum of Art invited me to join them for INSPIRED BY, a weekly interview series featuring artists and members of creative communities, I was just beginning to re-enter the world after an illness that may or may not have been COVID-19.

The hosts provided me excellent questions in advance so that I might develop succinct, brilliant responses. In spite of their efforts, I babbled on well beyond my allotted time. They graciously allowed it, but not without asking me the million dollar question. How had the COVID-19 crisis impacted my artistic process and work?

At the time of this interview, I was really struggling with that. Neither my camera nor my laptop seemed like the right conduits for creative expression. Technology had become an unwelcome middleman (much like Zoom, perhaps). Only a day or two before, I had tenuously begun writing in longhand and started to doodle simple illustrations.

When I hinted to Lily and Kendall about this new process, it was like unlocking a door to my creativity. This conversation helped sort out that while I am a photographer and a writer, first and foremost I’m an artist who can (and should) choose whatever medium best channels the story. Shortly after this interview, my friend Katie offered a suggestion and the door swung open wide. Maybe someday, if Katie doesn't mind, I'll share what first tumbled out.

But for now, this.