Surviving the deep freeze

I've been trying to survive the deep freeze here in Minnesota. It's hard to find the desire to leave your warm, cozy home when you wake up to temps well below zero (-16 degrees Thursday morning). While I've enjoyed some days within the shelter of our home, settling in our new place, I've also been brave and ventured out. 

Thursday I had my first meeting with my WARM mentor, Brenna. I got to show her my new working space and share with her more of my artwork and my life story behind the work. 

The past few days have included more WARM-related activities...Friday I met with my small group that includes two other protegees that are working with Brenna. The three of us (still trying to come up with a name for our group) will be meeting on a regular basis, offering each other feedback and support. 

And then today I attended the Protegee Tea for all the protegees participating in this two-year cycle. There are 19 of us. Some of us have met at different events leading up to this kickoff to the program, but this was our first formal event as a group. It was nice to meet and get to know a little better the artists that I will share this whole experience with.

This week the weather is supposed to warm up a bit. After this past week, temps in the 20's will feel like a heatwave! It's funny how we psyche ourselves into believing it's "not that bad". We even try to convince ourselves that with January coming to a close, winter is almost over. Ha! There's still a good few months of cold and snow...but it's at least the half-way point, right?

   

pictures taken following our December blizzard