For several months I have been working with a group of wonderful women to create a structure for an exhibition called "Inside the Dress."
It is a process that will culminate in an exhibition at the McMullen Gallery in 2005, (I told you a little about it in my November 2003 essay). During the past month we have continued to work on several aspects of the project including finalizing a series of required exercises and reviewing proposals and selecting additional participants.

There are now 12 women involved in the process. In her letter of acceptance co-curator Dawn McLean said, "The jury felt it was a privilege to witness the depth of meaning and desire toward personal risk-taking found in the writings of the selected participants. The quality of examples of the quilt artist's work was a joy to see. A project like this has the potential to further one's practice in very meaningful ways." I concur with her statement and add that there is the potential for developing deep and lasting friendships among this group as well as unimagined personal transformations.

With the letter of acceptance Dawn sent the series of exercises that will become a part of the exhibition. The exercises ask participants to engage in a variety of activities including reading, writing, movement, drawing, collage and photography. I will tell you about my experience of them as I complete each one.

I have begun to scout out and assemble materials. I asked Gary for art materials and fabric for Christmas gifts. We shopped together for a wonderful array of "stuff." I feel like I used to feel at the beginning of each school year when I received my new pencils, crayons and Big Chief tablet.

What I intend to do is to follow myself through this process so for the next year I will use this space to report about my experiences. The exercises and the creation of the final work provide a frame. I will note events in my life that support or interrupt the process. It seems like this might make a good story - a woman in her sixtieth year embarking on an artistic quest in the company of good friends (how Tolkein-like). I imagine moments of self-doubt and fear. I suspect I will learn more than I can begin to fathom. I hope there will be some laughs along the way.

And so I begin the journey. I am filled with excitement and anxiety. I know my destination. I even know where to stop along the way, but I do not know where this journey will take me. I have faith that it will be exactly where I need to go.