The trip became an artistic journey in and of itself because
my time was spent preparing for a project I have begun with the great actress/writer
Sarah Dacey Charles. When I arrived at
Penn Station, I was prepared … and I could feel my joyful anticipation of
working on the project combine with the pulse of the city.
In any artistic endeavor, it is a marvelous experience to be
in the same room with an artist you respect and admire because there is an
almost palpable excitement in gathering talent and ideas together to create
something meaningful. Faith is at work
because an understanding already exists before the meeting—the understanding that
something magical may happen.
Faith is present too when there is recognition of the
extraordinary gifts of each other and what we each can contribute. And … in this case … how could we ‘go wrong’
when respect for each other was/is present and the poems and letters of the
extraordinary and enigmatic genius of Emily Dickinson were/are our source
material?
The hours flew by, and through our work, next steps became
clear: We meet this week via Skype; we visit
‘The Homestead’ (Emily Dickinson’s home in Massachusetts) later this month, and
Sarah attends the Emily Dickinson International Society conference in D.C. to
hear lectures about Dickinson. The gathering
of knowledge about Emily Dickinson fuels our creative process. And so, our artistic journey begins together.
Experience has taught me that whenever next steps are identified,
a new work can emerge. Next steps empower
the artist and make a project real because they reveal parts of an undiscovered
path.
They allow the artist to dwell in the possibilities.
