JULY = barbeques (my fav), summer trips, tank tops and short shorts, bathing suits 24/7, pure essence of summer. for me this year it means a total shift in my BusinessLady pursuits and work at Creative Time and a jump into the New York State Summer School for the Arts counselor position — accountable for ten amazing 16 and 17 year olds having an incredible month and have a great space to live and expand and make great art. I’m here for the month as a counselor/ RA for 80 high schoolers selected to be part of a state-run summer art school. My friend Juliet from Elsewhere has been involved for 5 summers so far, and it was pretty easy to get me excited about it as well.
WELCOME TO FREDONIA. the land of walmart, tops food store, the upper crust bakery, and the big dipper soft serve shop.
June 29 I rode the magical Staten Island Ferry across the bay, saw some Creative Time art as a send-off along the way, and was greeted by the JRNYR filled with friends old and new. Juliet, Narooz, Rylee, and Jordan were my traveling companions, all having traveled from wherever our normal lives were to jump into the NYSSSA summer. Juliet and Rylee have been working at NYSSSA for so many summers before, Narooz worked there last year, and it was the first summer for Jordan and I. Together on our road-trip across the state of New York we formed THE VANIMALS!!!
And after a day of driving through New York and Pennsylvania without hitting tolls, making one pit-stop at the legendary Wegmans for dinner and snacks, we arrived in Fredonia 12 hours later. I moved into a dorm! It smelled just like the dorms at Hampshire. It was the same eerie feeling of moving into an empty room before everyone moves in. It was the same dorm furniture and showers and dining hall food. Same group excitement — door tags, checking keys, making a million signs for the hallways, having endless meetings.
I am working with an incredible crew of lovely people. We’ve only been together a week and it of course seems like a month already.
I love being here. I love being back in this environment, having daily meetings, being in a committed close team working tirelessly on a zillion projects and programs. I’m excited to get to know and empower my students to challenge themselves and create amazing artwork. It’s been a shift from being an RA for college students… but it’s great. So grateful and excited that I could pause my New York City life and take off for the country…!
