little freeze cat

Dearest All,

I'm back home. Glad to be home, too. I was sad to leave, certainly- Iceland is a beautiful place with many delightful people. The sadness of departure was overridden by the gratefulness that it happened at all.

When I got here, the green was overwhelming, especially in conjunction with the thrum of bugs and birds and frogs that i can hear through my open window.  I guess I didn't realize the austerity of Iceland until returning home. Ohio feels like a jungle.

It gets dark here in Ohio, which is strange. I had gotten used to a midnight sunset. It is a bit warmer too, but you might have expected that.

When I originally applied to the residency, I figured that going to Iceland was a good idea, because it would probably be pretty different than Ohio. This is not true. Iceland and Ohio are very similar, just exchange cornfields for the sea, and soy fields for mountains, and trees for mossy lava rocks, and perhaps change most of the wildlife for some geothermal activity... small differences really.

My last two weeks of Iceland were great fun, especially because Jean was able to come! We did fun things like watch movies, swim in creeks, shop for wool, fight, go to art openings, eat hot dogs and cook pasta.

This is my last post, so I think I ought to thank Arnar and his son for immense help shipping work home,

Áslaug and Ingunn for being generous and helpful with their kilns, as well as wonderfully supportive along the way. Kristjana, for making the residency run so smoothly and driving me all over creation. Jean for coming to Iceland, and whoever her mysterious backer for the trip was- you have a special place in my heart as well. And, to all of my new friends, many of whom have returned home to their respective countries; thanks so much for making these last three months the best sort of months.

It's been grand.

With warmest regards,

Eric