July Theme:

You’re on vacation. Does your discipline also go on vacation?

I have found that a vacation is a time when I get inspired to write. So, I will jot down a poem if it comes to me. But when I had a deadline, like for teaching with needing lesson plans I would have to work on vacation.  I do give myself a weekly vacation and don’t work on the weekend now. When I was teaching I had to do lesson plans for the week on Sundays.
— Barbara Ehrentreu, Letters

Creativity is my constant companion. Home, abroad, and most especially on vacation in Maine, creativity is with me reminding me to look at that, listen to this, think about this and write about that. I wrote my first children’s story on the front deck of a motel in Kennebunkport when our daughter was a baby. I crafted my favorite poem about nature on the back deck of our rented cottage, also in K’port, while our now adult daughter, her husband, and our beautiful granddaughters rested in theirs. I started a novel while sitting on the expansive porch at The Colony Inn, yet again in our beloved Kennebunkport where we have visited almost every summer for over forty years. Photographs and writing, especially poetry, is my favorite way to capture the moments that are the most meaningful. Holding on to the joy, the laughter, and the love, of this most extraordinary life to be relived over and over again…
— Catherine T. Horn, Letters

Who doesn’t live for a vacation? Going to places and seeing all the scenery and joys I can put onto a palette keeps me alive. It doesn’t matter that I have to ship 50 lbs. of art supplies somewhere. Or become a Sherpa to get to “that view”. It’s worth it. Even if I do a study in 1.5 hours, I come back totally refreshed…Isn’t that what a vacation is meant to do?
— Doris Mady, Art

Vacation jump-starts my imagination and my creativity. Whether in London, Barcelona, Virgin Islands or Berkshires, I keep my eyes, ears and heart open to ideas, stories, images, glimmers of joy, art, statues and patterns — anything that makes me feel. I capture those inspirations in digital form: an idea book for stories and writing, digital photo albums for visual recall and a look-book for design, texture and treasure. Vacation is not the only way I turbocharge creativity. My heart leapt for joy during the Artemis II moon-shot flight in April 2026. I translated that joy into a tangible piece of art work — Space Flight, a deep black ceramic bowl reflecting hours of carving and glazing for stars, comets and celestial imagination.
— Diane Morello, Letters
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August Theme:

You’re on vacation. Does your discipline also go on vacation?

Embrace experimentation and take risks Stepping outside your comfort zone can lead to breakthroughs that transform your work. Be patient with the process. The most rewarding moments often come from persistence 
~ Dana Wiggins Thompsonpinds