In January 2019 I read Sally Mann’s book Hold Still. In it she discussed a project where she outfitted her suburban as a dark room and took it around the south to take 8x10 photos. I had just gotten new tires on my Yukon XL and thought ‘I should do that! Take my easel and my Fuji XT2 and hit the open road!’ Like many great ideas, work overtook the notion. But at the end of the second season of Dynasty, I decided that my life needed a change. I wanted to focus on my art and have it be my first priority. Once I made that decision everything kind of fell into place. My landlord raised my rent exponentially, so I moved all my stuff into storage. I stayed at a friends for two months while I outfitted my car to hit the road! There were lots of mishaps, awe inspiring moments, and silent nights, but I learned so much about myself. How I like to create art, and what environment I feel the most at peace in. I wanted go across the entire country and get a sense of places and people I had never seen. I felt the weight of 2019, a census coming up, and a major election. I wanted a greater understanding of where our country was. I had no idea how bonkers 2020 would be! But this trip did set me up pretty well for it. I learned how to be alone with myself, what kind of headspace I need to be in to create, and how long it takes a 4ft x 6ft piece of paper to dry when a sudden rain storm came in. I learned to go with the environment and the weather rather then fighting it. I learned I can’t control anything, especially other people (and their vehicles!). I learned to live with less and to always be kind to strangers because I experienced nothing but kindness from others. While the adventure isn’t over, this is the first trip around the country. Hopefully this pandemic can flatten out a titch more and I can be out there again!