A day of rest...........

Arriving at Joe and Melinda's was such a great relief! The travelling was long.... very long, but we all did it. Sleep, sleep, I am now ready to take on Utah! Oh my goodness the Americans know how to do breakfast. Their hospitality is over whelming, eggy bread, strawberries, cream and maple syrup yum yum.

Anxiety, what anxiety, it has vanished into the distance, all I need to do is to take everything in my stride. Take advantage of the views that I see before me, mingle and meet new friends. In the afternoon we were taken to Maple Canyon for a walk, some what I cannot help but feel this is a mini taster to what is ahead of us in Yellow Stone. The Canyon has small entwined paths, filled with overgrown foliage on either side, which kinda makes you aware what surrounding I am walking in and that it is possible for a bear to be lurking aboutt.

Bernie McHugh WMC

Sunday morning and we are up early with jet lag. It's a day for us to take stock and get to know our hosts for. Joe and Melinda Ostraff will be taking care of us at their own home before we head to Yellowstone on Monday morning. Joe is the painting professor at BYU and the reason we are doing this project. His family are so welcoming and generous that our nerves about all the small stuff like where we sleep and what and when will we eat are taken care of for us.

Joe has a few plans for us today, so we won't be lolling around in the recovery position. After an excellent French toast  breakfast cooked by Joe and Melinda we had a stroll around Fairview and took a gentle hike up Maple Canyon. Later on the half the group had their first experience of smores toasted on an open fire in the garden while the other half were fast asleep!

Michelle Rowley WMC

What could there be that should make any of us anxious?   After all we have only travelled 6000 miles as a close knit group of students and staff to take part in an art collaboration with a group of students and staff from Brigham Young University, most of whom are complete strangers to us.

We were met at the airport by Joe Ostraff and his wife Melinda, and whisked back to their home for the first of two nights. The warmth of their hospitality was extraordinary and very quickly we started to feel at home, helped enormously by a huge breakfast of French toast ( no less than 36 eggs ! ) , maple syrup and fresh strawberries .

So now we were feeling comfortable it was time for some of us to face our next fear! A short trek in Maple Canyon and a sign “You are in Bear Country” and another “ There may be rattle snakes present”, did little to improve Rachel’s anxiety. However an hour later after a walk revealing stunning rock formations, not one furry animal or slithery creature had been seen.

So what then is left to make us anxious? Only what we are here for - to soak up inspiration and create artwork. If what we have seen so far is anything to go by, if we cannot do it here it cannot be done anywhere.

Bill Fletcher