Robert, Bailey, Nancy

Last month, I enjoyed a visit to the Blue Ridge Mountains and a residency at the Lillian E. Smith Center for Creative Arts. Nancy and Robert Fichter are the gracious hosts of the Center. They have a way of making you feel like family.

The Lillian E. Smith Center is a place that I have been blessed to return to for many summers. I’ve met so many wonderful and inspiring artists on my visits here, and this year was no exception: Kamla, a writer and poet; Karl, a costume designer; and Christopher, a choreographer and stained glass artist. We enjoyed a wonderful exchange in presenting our work to each other over drinks in the Center’s Common Room.

@Moccasin Creek State Park

It was wonderful to take a respite from the city and breathe in some fresh mountain air; to exchange for a while the city skyline for an endless expanse of mountains; to exchange the sound of sirens for the sound of cicadas; to hear how the hummingbird sings compared to the sound of the hummingbird’s wings; to be enveloped by the sound of moving water rushing over rocks… It was difficult to leave that space, but it’s always nice to return home.