A POST-RESIDENCY INTERVIEW WITH ERIN

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What brought you to Bubbawood at this point in time?

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I had never been to the Columbia River Gorge and wanted to see the property and its legendary surroundings. As long-time friends of Scott and Kay, I also wanted to support their new ideas and help them make the most of them. Coming to Bubbawood was a great opportunity to cast-off my normal daily trappings and spend time in community and in nature while fanning the flames of this very exciting program!

 

Can you tell us a little bit about your experience while you were here? Maybe any moments that stand out?

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I stayed in the cabin, surrounded by oaks. It was cold at night and I loved hunkering under the covers to watch the daylight fade into night. Without many distractions, I felt myself slow down and become attuned to the sounds and movements of the oak forest. I watched birds for extended moments and experienced the gentle arc of stars moving across the sky. Some of my favorite moments involved hanging out with Wren and his drumset.

 

Is there anything you would you want future Bubbawood residents to know before they arrive?

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You will love the outdoor shower. In fact, you may never want to shower indoors again. Be prepared for this kind of ruination because the life at Bubbawood is likely to spoil your previously held notions of comfort, beauty, and the possibilities of daily life. Be prepared to have your daily rhythms altered by lack of electricity, by a tired body, by a more porous experience of temperature and weather. Living outdoors for a period of time changes you. Revel in it!

 

 

You have a long background studying communal ventures and land-based projects - are there any words of wisdom you would give us going forward?

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I believe that there is a wisdom inherent in communalism and in land, so your attraction to these will reveal the lessons you need to learn. The ethos of Bubbawood is nothing new, but it's new to you and it's creative and this program (and the space where it lives) is your art. Listen to it, the way you would a music chord. Shape it, the way you would a sculpture. Like a room that you build, inhabit this project with your personal expression. Live in it, respond to it and share it. Allow it to have its own life and for it to change. This will not be what you expect, but it will surprise you in some wonderful ways. And when the time is ready, let it go. These projects do not need to last forever. They exist in a time and space for the people who need to learn from the wisdom that arises, and then... they end. You've only just begun but I urge you to lean in to its fleeting nature because it will remind you of its preciousness. And of the things that come later. In the meantime, revel in this project and this place in all of these moments that it exists.