As the theme for our artist residency this month, Laura McKellar and I chose the word Becoming.

And aren’t we all?

And isn’t that a wondrous, endless gift?

Even when we’re smack in the middle of those upper years and think we know exactly who we are, the fact is that we change not only yearly, not only daily, but every single moment. We constantly evolve.

Life isn’t stagnant for any of us, nor is it set out neatly, nor is its progression a given. And aren’t you glad? Well no, many times I’m not glad at all for the changes that arrive unbidden, but I do know that all change brings growth — and sometimes we need that push.

When I registered for this residency, I knew it would be a step out for me and it certainly has been — in all the best of ways.

There’s a poem I discovered during my early feminist stages that has always stuck in my head. The opening line by Jayne Brown, which is repeated multiple times, reads: I’m becoming the woman I’ve wanted. It’s a process and not always easy, but I’m so very grateful to the many women and men who have stood beside me along the path.

One of the best of those is Olive Stack (whom we often call Wonder Woman, and rightfully so).

And so as we ready our selves and our words and our comfort zones and our joy, I’m incredibly thankful once again for this opportunity to share and grow and become the woman I want to be — the woman who opens her soul and scatters bits of it across the skies, the waters, the friendships, the todays and the tomorrows, all of which are so much richer now — due not only to this residency, but to the many, many friends and teachers I’ve gathered along the way.

Thank you, Olive Stack Residency, for the thousand-fold ways in which you’ve invited and allowed me to grow.

And to those nearby (or those who whimsically decide to fly on over), we’d love to have you join us for our exhibition:

Becoming, Friday, April 28, 5:00 – 7:00 PM at Olive Stack Gallery, Listowel, Ireland.

See you there!

Pam