Personal update #2

I have really been able to put the time in over the last three or four weeks. Projects like this are really about taking the time to make connections and you really need more time than you expect. Anytime you work on other people’s schedules it requires more.

A few recent examples:
I took off from my consistent multi year one-day-a-week job because I had scheduled around someone’s availability. That person cancelled our meeting, the following day another person had to postpone until another day, then a third person had to bump our meeting back, two weeks before someone had to reschedule with me. The following day I was able to record a few unexpected interviews. But when you talk to people about such traumatic and personal elements of their life, and often subjects concerning multi decade circumstances, the conversations can go for a long time, suddenly the sun was going down and I realized I was late for an additional commitment.

I’m not complaining about these examples. I expected this to be the process and I planned for it. But with each day I come home and tell my partner about how the project went, the progress I made, and unexpected connections between parties, I realize how much I really love doing this. It’s hard to meet people in the midst of their worst week, or day or even if they are having a good day I sometimes see tragic threads, but there is hope and joy too and I love this. I absolutely love getting to know my neighbors and to feel welcomed into their personal lives, to be allowed to see vulnerability in people I often don’t know very well. I get to have in depth technical conversations about my community too, from the people who are thinking and planning logistically for the future. I really love this process.

But the more I experience the process, the more I resent missing out on it. Being served a 60 day notice to vacate essentially stole two months from me and replaced it with sleepless stressful nights. I had budgeted for this time to be culling through material I had made, editing down and preparing for an exhibition. Instead, I’m trying to do that while rushing to capture what’s necessary to complete my obligations.

So many people live the majority of their lives in the uncertainty of housing security. They deserve our respect and admiration. It’s harder than most of us can imagine, don’t blame people for not pulling themselves up. Give people grace and space and offer a hand if you have one to lend.

If you are in Old Town Eureka For Art’s Alive, stop by my studio tomorrow May 6th 510 3rd street Garage C, see some of the progress, and share your own housing thoughts and stories.