The Next Step

Welcome to the new layout of my blog... ooooh, aaahhh... applause, applause.. yes, and thank you.

One of the fabulous new features includes a "Labels" section where I get to tag all my posts. Indulging the obsessive compulsive side of my personality, I went through all my old posts from the last year and labelled them in ways I felt were relevent. (see: "New Orleans", "the grant", "friends", "drunken post", etc. etc.) So you - yes, you, my dear reader - can click on any of the labels and read all relevant posts. Try it, it's neat-o.

The Point Being.... going through all my old posts really reminded me how much work I've put into this New Orleans project: how many forms it's taken, how it's evolved, where it's gone, and all the effort we've put into getting it off the ground and making it a reality...

This project is way bigger in scope than just receiving funding through Women's Studio Workshop. Just because we didn't get the grant doesn't mean it's over.

Ultimately I'm really very pleased we were not awarded the grant. This opens new doors to expand the idea of the project beyond the structure of a book. It gives us more room to experiment using alternative forms of artistic expression. It also gives the project more time and room to grow and evolve.

I still think of this just as the beginning.

Many of you know I've been struggling with the question of where to move next. After a year of transience, I'm ready to move into my own, more permanent apartment (til I move on, again, of course.)

Not getting the grant is motivating me to return to New Orleans to continue work on this project and to see it through to the end... I don't know how long it will take... (months? years?) I don't know how many times I will have to walk away from it and return, but I know I certainly haven't given up.

In the past there have been projects I pursued that I let go. I knew they weren't going anywhere. This project is not one of them. The situation in New Orleans continues to fascinate me artistically, politically and historically. I feel driven to pursue it.

So, for now, I plan on moving to New Orleans after Burning Man, but of course I can't promise anything. all this is subject to change...