If you have been looking it is quite apparent that I have taken quite a posting sabbatical. There are reasons, but I tend to reason way to much. So I'll stop thinking and recapture the flow.
Our new "base camp" as we fondly call our house has a great vibe. We both have studios and its potential is just starting to open up. Eleanor and I have had a lot of resettling to do when it became apparent that we needed this place. Our vagabonding 'experiment' led us here and will continue with this place serving us as a pivot point... a useful point of departure.
Why Richmond? First, we had decided when we departed St. Augustine it would be our next stop after Iberia. It was Chloe's senior year and when she would make dance as well as perform other's work and we wanted to be in the same creative place. It was a remarkable choice for she excelled and we were right there, 12 hours closer than we had been. She will soon be leaving for the West Coast and we will continue with our work, our investigations and new plans yet to unfold.
Richmond, like us, is in a period of growth and creativity. The food is exceptional (a number of fun restaurants in our neighborhood) led by young chefs and entrepreneurs. There are scores of activists pushing to better present the city's southern history in new and more equatable ways. The river is a huge ever-present ecosystem that changes daily. And with VCUs cutting edge contemporary art scene... each year brings new work and expansion.
There are organic growers everywhere. The music scene is dense. The Chesapeake is an hour and a half east, the mountains the same west and DC is a $22 bus ride... round trip. Our neighborhood is progressive and we are making new friends each week. The downside... we miss our old friends. But we look forward to them visiting. I feel it will be well worth the trip.
