Moving to Asheville
Bridgit Kreutzer
It’s hard to believe it’s been five plus years that I've been away. So many places and experiences and creative fun. I'm now back in Asheville after having been in Rhode Island, then Vancouver BC Canada, and finally Portland. I was working on different stop motion films and other animation stuff and painting in my loft apartment high up in a building in Portland when the pandemic hit. It was a strange feeling to be in a city where it was hard to social distance, and going for my daily walks became more and more uncomfortable because of masks, not to mention the constant oppressive cloud cover of the Pacific Northwest. I became isolated in my apartment and somewhat claustrophobic in the hallways and elevators, many times taking the many flights of stairs to avoid people. While, prior to the pandemic, living in big cities with high rise after high rise felt exhilarating at times, I came to just plain old miss trees and lawns and nature in my everyday surroundings. I knew I'd eventually be done with it there, but it happened sooner that I expected.
When I got back to Asheville last summer, I was blown away with the blues of the clear skies, and the bright sunshine. I'd forgotten what blue skies looked like. There were days I couldn't stop just staring at the sky and figuring out how I would mix that particular blue. Cerulean, Ultramarine, Cobalt. Often it was more than one. Walking daily past the horse farm near my new house, the quiet expansiveness of sun and sky, I felt like I could breath again.
I was lucky enough to find a wonderful studio in the Riverview Station, and have been enjoying all the changes in the River Arts District since living here those years back. This summer I will be diving more into book arts (at Penland), and later in the year I will be working intensively on more stop motion animation adventures. Stay tuned. Somewhere in between I will be offering classes in painting and book arts, and children's art lessons. Please check Events tab periodically for updates.
It’s good to be Home.