I spent two weeks in Amherst, Virginia at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. I didn’t have to cook or clean or worry about anyone else’s needs the whole time. All I did was catch up on some much needed rest, did a lot of reading, started writing short stories (which I’m so excited about), spent time in nature, and connected with writers from all over the country.
Every few days, a batch of people would leave and more would arrive, so you’re constantly introducing yourself. Initial questions asked: what’s your name, where you from, what’s your art, and is this your first time here. Most fellows at this particular residency had been there at least twice. One had been coming since 1985, over 30 times she said! To my knowledge, I was the only one who was there on my very first residency—not just there but anywhere. So I gotta lotta heads up about how VCCA differs from other residencies but also how reintegrating once your time is up can be kind of difficult.
I wouldn’t call mine difficult, but it was exhausting. I slept the entire flight home and the entire next day. I’ve been home for a week now and I’m just able to start writing again. That’s kind of a good thing though. It’s like I walked out of a dream and back to reality. So often while I was at VCCA, I wondered if it was possible to create a reality like this. The only time I stressed was the day before I agreed to share something I wrote, and another day when I was running late for yoga class. That’s it.
A true wanderer, the 412 acres of VCCA still wasn’t enough for me. My first field trip was Sweet Briar College. The students were out for spring break, but I wanted to check out the cabin they had onsite that once belonged to the enslaved people who lived and worked there. The burial ground was another stop, and it included both black and indigenous people who worked, lived, and died on the land. I also visited the Monacan Museum.
Whenever I spend time in a place, I research who it first belonged to. Amherst belonged to the Monacan Nation. They still have their old schoolhouse on site, the present-day church, and a museum. What makes them and that land particularly special is because when the government forced most native people off their land and onto reservations in the west, the Monacan people went up into their mountains instead. They’re one of a very few tribes who still live on their original land. I think that has something to do with how healing it was for me.
Spending time in the woods was my second favorite part. Zora Neale Hurston said it best: “Don’t be surprised to hear that I have suddenly taken to the woods. I hate routine.” They have several trails in the woods on the property. The blue trail was the shortest, and you follow it by noticing the swipe of blue paint on trees. Being out there is always so grounding for me. I hear from God most clear when I’m away from people and technology.
My FAVORITE part of the residency was the people. In your welcome packet, they give you a sheet of names of people whose time there will intersect with yours at some point. I asked a few people if they researched folk while still there or if they waited until they got home. Most waited but a few wanted to know who they were surrounded by. For the most part, I waited, but I looked a couple people up.
We spent evenings together drinking wine, playing games, swapping stories, doing yoga, watching movies, and shooting the breeze. One night, after yoga, we were walking back to the artist studio and caught a freaking aurora borealis. Needless to say, I think we’re locked for life. That was my last night there too and I was already feeling a heavy energy, maybe from the full moon that night or maybe from the fact that I was experiencing a lot of transitions in my life and leaving VCCA felt like a tangible representation of all those closed doors. Or maybe it was both. Who knows? But that night, I felt seen and I felt special. That’s the best way to describe it.
I hope to be able to do a residency at least a year. I think it’s critical for the artist’s spirit. Get away from home, from your regular degular, into a new environment surrounded by other artists and carve out time to reconnect with your spirit and your craft. That’s it.
Learn more about VCCA here and if you have specific questions about it, ask me.
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