Amelia Furman

For everyone in my family, transitions from one thing to the next are hard. With school starting this week and me beginning full-time work at the museum, we’ve been in the midst of much change, which is equally exciting and difficult. Case in point: the exhibit team I’m on is working on installing the flooring and foundation for an exhibit I’ve been designing that is going to look like an aspen grove. Ben needed my help placing all the support pieces of the floor grid so he could start...

Watch the Week One Vlog here It’s been a week since I arrived in PA for my self-made residency. I’ve logged five days of creative practice: plein air painting, color studies, sketching, block carving, printing, and stitching. As I sit on my parent’s side porch, listening to the birds and wind rustle through the trees, I can look back on the week and share some things I’ve noticed. The funny thing about paying attention is that the things you notice rarely arrive in a neat order. They show up...

I'm the kind of person who worries about not having the one thing that would be most helpful on a trip, so I tend to overpack. Preparing for this residency was no different. Between books, art supplies, clothing, and miscellaneous "just in case" items, I quickly realized I had enough to fill far more than my allotted space. Eventually, I had to make some choices. This residency isn't just about what I'm bringing with me. It's also about what I'm intentionally leaving behind. Useful Things I’m...