For one afternoon, I walked along wide paths flanked by a cathedral of trees and dappled sunlight showering its light through their rustling leaves into studio spaces where artists, writers, visual artists and composers, create. A sanctuary of silence for deep work tucked away in the small town of Peterborough, New Hampshire, The MacDowell Colony, “nurtures the arts to creative individuals by offering an inspiring environment in which to produce enduring works of the imagination.” Medal Day is an annual event that presents “The Edward MacDowell” medal to an artist who has made an outstanding contribution to our culture. Some of the recipients include Toni Morrison, Edward Albee, James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Louise Nevelson, Thornton Wilder. It is the one day the public can experience and gain access to the “colony” of residents and learn about their process, and the brave new works they are producing.
My Friend Craig Kennedy 
A cathedral of trees flank the wide paths to each individual studio 
Behind the James Baldwin Library, this delightful grove of trees and wild grasses; it felt surreal to walk through 
MacDowell Main House where artists dine and exchange ideas 
My favorite space of solitude, the backdrop majestic White Mountains
As an educator and writer, I was so inspired and felt a deep kinship to the artists I met. Poet Joan Larkin who also played a role in a film for Film/Video artists Dani and Sheilah Restack, gave out poems to her visitors. I chose her 2014 poem “Blue Hanuman,” for the verse “His blueblack tail flicks upward, its dark tip a paintbrush loaded blue.” Writer Eileen Myles shared personal stories about her rent-controlled apartment in the East Village and how she ran for President in 1996. A young and enthusiastic Theatre Artist, Sylvan Oswald gave us insight into the ways he creates narrative centered on themes of mental illness, queer art and opioid addiction through a process of connecting words and symbols. He stacks index cards, one atop the other with one or two words, or marking, like dashes he either pins up on a wall or arranges on a table next to a stack of books by Couteau. (He was so engaging!) Each artist encounter deepened my resolve to cultivate in my daily life, a space and time to produce and put out into the world, my brave new works.
Learn more about the MacDowell Colony at their website https://www.macdowellcolony.org/