(Above, at home with a completed painting and my views before and after the 10 days of snow)

Well, I made it back (barely!) It was an adventurous final few days. I was so impressed with the way they handled the snow in Laugarvatn for the first week. Each day they kept up with the plowing – the roads and paths were clear. And then it just hit a breaking point – I couldn’t walk as far or find places that were easy to navigate. Then, all the roads in the area were closed. And emergency personnel asked that no one leave the village.

So my final days were not what I expected. A trip to Reykjavik was cancelled and I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it back for my flight. At a certain point, when you’re prepared and ready to leave, you just want to get out. And (if you can) you begin throwing money at the problem. The cab I took to the airport was a solo two-hour ride (yikes!) I had planned to take a bus from Reykjavik (I’d even already paid for the ticket!) The roads were bad for the first hour until I got a little further south and then it was more rain than snow and the roads were easily navigated. I made it. Had a row to myself and was happy to arrive home.

I found out that the next day’s flights were all cancelled – I was lucky my window of opportunity worked! And, I will be filing a claim with my travel insurance because I lost a hotel room, the bus ticket, etc. We’ll see how that goes.

But the last days of travel were not the point of the trip. In terms of the residency itself, I finished 2 large paintings and three small (long) paintings and nearly finished 2 other large ones. I still have to finish those and will work on them this week.

I did spend a great deal of time alone but I hope I didn’t give the impression that I was lonely. It was wonderful! My schedule was entirely my own and I worked diligently in the studio and took walks and explored the very small town. And I was in my own cabin which was brilliantly heated via geo-thermal energy and totally toasty! No guilt when the heat was on!

I came to the residency at Gullkistan Center for Creativity without many preconceptions and I think that helped me be open to whatever the experience would bring. I’d recommend it but you might want to think about what season you’re planning on going.

I’ve already made prints of the painting above (see below and contact me if you’re interested) and my next steps are to finish those paintings that aren’t done and spend some time framing for upcoming shows.

Finally, I’m excited to say that I have another residency scheduled for October. Again, I plan to blog daily and look forward to a very different experience in France at La Porte Peinte in Noyers-sur-Serein. Until then!