The people close to me know I relish being a hermit artist. I love time to be alone with myself and my work. That made me very well suited to the expansive solitary time I had at Baldwin, and it was a joy to be there. I stretched in the yoga studio, walked the beautiful grounds and visited the nearby reservoir, ate Chef Felicia’s delicious meals, worked at my painting studio setup on the dining room table, and read outside among the birds, flowers, and trees. Reading is a big part of my creative practice. And while at Baldwin, I was able to sink into my desire to read and listen to audiobooks all day, every day. I painted, sculpted, and embroidered as part of an ongoing project called Feces Will Be Excreted, while listening to A Silent Fury and The Transmigration of Bodies by Yuri Herrera, Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh, Nomenclature by Dionne Brand, and Against Memoir by Michelle Tea. I read Experiments in Imaging Otherwise by Lola Olufemi, Complaint! By Sara Ahmed, and re-read House of Psychotic Women by Kier-la Janisse. Movies also have a big influence on my work, and while at Baldwin I watched: Kill List (2011), White Men Can’t Jump (1992), Argentina, 1985 (2022), Annihilation (2018), The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), and Shame (2011). The time to rest, create, read, watch, think, and daydream at Baldwin has enriched my creative practice, and I know will have a lasting impact on my work."