We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us, and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have this choice.– Pema Chodron
Essays
“Where Are We Going After This?,” Barely South Review, [Forthcoming Spring 2019]
When the nurse asked to weigh her, Mom handed me her leopard print tote-bag.
69.8 pounds.
“A Writing Manifesto,” Bite My Manifesto, 31 Dec. 2012
I started writing to grasp the chaos which is human nature. I kept writing to identify myself within said chaos.
“What It’s Like Living Here,” Numero Cinq Magazine, February 2011
You relocated last summer and for the first time in seventeen years you feel at home. Let’s clarify.
7 Deadly Sins of the Writing Life
Essay series at Hunger Mountain, Fall 2012
Introduction
Sin. Such a little word.
Envy by co-author Suzanne Farrell Smith
Sloth
Sloth, real Sloth, is easy to recognize. Greasy hair, potato chip crumbles down the shirt, dirty dishes stacked at the sink and on the coffee table.
Lust by co-author Suzanne Farrell Smith
Gluttony
While studying poetry as an undergraduate in UNC Wilmington’s Creative Writing program, I became obsessed with line breaks.
Greed by co-author Suzanne Farrell Smith
Wrath by co-author Suzanne Farrell Smith
Pride
I needed to be heard. I was in the fifth grade in 1984, when missing children–almost always dead children–stared at me from the milk carton as I ate my breakfast.
Articles
“Studio In A Suitcase,” Vermont College of Fine Arts Newsletter, Winter 2012
“Simplicity comes from traveling,” says MFA-VA alumna Denise Karabinus Telang.
“Modern and Made by Hand,” Architects + Artisans, 20 Dec. 2010
Once craftsman Evan Lightner had built his first piece of furniture, he began to focus solely on custom woodworking.
“Painting to Create a Community,” Architects + Artisans, 10 Dec. 2010
When artist Alia El-Bermani moved to North Carolina from California, painting helped her find a sense of place.
“Ali Cavenaugh and the Female Form,” Architects + Artisans, 22 Nov. 2010
An expressionist with a streak of formalism, Ali Cavenaugh offers insights into the unexpected and recognizable aspects of life with playful and thought-provoking figurative paintings.
“A Vanishing Oasis at City’s Edge,” w. J. Michael Welton, Architects + Artisans, 15 Nov. 2010
An 11-acre, Taliesin-like landmark in Raleigh, NC is about to be transformed into low-income housing.
“Carolina’s Vanishing Tobacco Barns,” w. J. Michael Welton, Architects + Artisans, 01 Nov. 2010
North Carolina’s flue-cured tobacco barns are all but forgotten vernacular gems today, bygone symbols of a region’s history, culture and economy.
“A Life in Landscape Architecture,” w. J. Michael Welton, Architects + Artisans, 26 Oct. 2010
New Yorkers may claim Frederick Law Olmstead as their own, and Virginians might cling to the gardens that Charles Gillette once molded and shaped, but North Carolinians today can embrace their own living icon of the landscape architect profession.
“Ligon Flynn, FAIA, 1931-2010,” Architects + Artisans, 25 Oct. 2010
From the beginning of his career, architect Ligon Flynn sought to incorporate a site’s natural elements into his designs. By the end, he wanted inside and outside to merge and interact seamlessly.
“Art as Life Journey,” Architects + Artisans, 20 Oct. 2010
Heather Allen-Swarttouw’s art is about a journey.
“In Asheville, Sketching in 3-D,” Architects + Artisans, 19 Oct. 2010
Building tree houses and wooden boats wasn’t just a childhood past-time for Doug Lapham of Shooting Star Forge.
