From Memory

One way to truly see what’s all around is to go somewhere else.

To visualize the town in which I live, it’s good to drive to another place, probably an hour away. There, the mental picture of where I’m from will feel more vivid, and I can write and sketch it from memory. These are the pictures I need to make when I return. Likewise, the place in which I’m visiting will feel more vivid later, and from memory, I’ll jot down what’s on my mind, giving me pictures to take next time there.

Places change between visits. A Place Called Happy began when I lived in the Texas Panhandle, where I started visiting the town of Happy. My first place study. I then went to Sunray, Barstow, and Navasota, and I even borrowed from Changing New York, naming the Barstow series Changing Barstow. It’s amazing how much a prickly pear cactus will grow in a decade.

A physical place called Happy left me feeling glad. Happy, TX, is really there and within driving distance, and whenever I swap the lofty emotion for the windy Panhandle town, I feel complete. Strangely.