After returning home from my Holden Village artist residency,I’ve been feeling a bit frisky. I wonder if a few braincells were freeze-dried in the fresh mountain air of the north Cascades.

How else do I explain a sudden craving to create outdoor sculpture … on my own nickel??? Without the foggiest idea of what the work will be!!!!

The impulse was to create a self-directed artist residency close to home. Yesterday, I made a pitch to the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute for May and June. The director said yes (absolutely yes).

The mission of this 12+-acre nature center on the outskirts of town is about increasing awareness of environmental issues, offering unique experiential learning and managing a variety of projects to protect and restore natural habitats in the region.

It’s a great space for experimenting with materials and technique, and I’m thrilled with the prospects. My anxiety is the deadline—the annual Moscow Artwalk, just two months away. Nothing like a deadline to muscle up some creative juju.

I’m praying for a general contractor type of muse, who can finesse a bridge between my Big Idea (?) and the logistics involved with making sculpture for people to enjoy along the nature trails.

As I write this, the tune Que Sera, Sera comes to mind. What will be, will be.

Photo credit: Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute