spent a long time in the school today speaking with my new friend Anna Kristín and my friend Úlfar. i met Úlfar three years ago when i first visited. it was god to reconnect. BTW Úlfar has some awesome music you can listen to here.

by the time i left the school i headed in the direction to see if any other artists were there, seeing none i walked behind the gallery and suddenly i heard it. the waves of the ocean. i headed towards them and trudging through the snow i stopped several times as they got louder and louder. the sound of them was beautiful. the sun was shinning and as i got closer and closer i noticed the black sand beach. i simply stood there for a while enjoying the sound. i will try and record them soon. i could not get to the black sand from where i was, but i have plenty of time to find a way to get myself there somehow, but i know i will come back tomorrow for more.

on my way back i crossed paths with Alice, the director of the artist residency program and she invited me to dinner along with two other artists – Fernanda and Ryan. i had a blast sharing stories with Ziggy, Alice’s husband. he is a sailor on a ship that delivers supplied to oil rigs in the north sea. quite a job. the fish Ziggy cooked was excellent and the company wonderful. Alice and Ziggy live just upstairs from me, or rather i live in the lower part of their house ;).

on another topic, i decided to pursue a local project today. there is a great tradition of Icelandic poetry, there is even a Poetry Museum. my intention is to photograph, in my own portrait style, local Icelandic poets, and record them as well during a reading. i would like to create a website, or add to the existing poetry center website so that people can see a portrait and short bio of the poet a long with hearing  a recording of them reading poetry in Icelandic.

the sky was beautifully clear tonight. no northern lights that i could observe but beyond that the stars area clear here. hearing the sea and seeing the stars, what a wonderful place this is.

today was a great day to explore. most people think that because Ólafsfjörður is such a small town, that there is nothing here. that nothing is going on. well, they would be mistaken. is the pace different, than say new york city, los angeles, san francisco? certainly, you stand a very low chance of being stuck in any kind of traffic for an hour and half, and you certainly would not consider it normal. you are unlikely to find homeless on the street corner with sign asking for money. you are unlikely to be turned away at your favorite restaurant because they’re full. you are also unlikely find stray dogs, or for that matter stray people. all those things however, do not mean that nothing is going on. there is plenty.

at any time of day you can find people hard at work many of them in very creative endeavors. there are people here who maintain museums, who create folk art with lava rocks, who paint, who teach, who practice as part of the local rescue team, who are eager to show you the area. many of them may have more than one task during the day itself such as the volunteer rescue team. people are now coming from all over the world to share their creative spirit, to introspect, and to create. that is the wonder of this little town, that in such a far away place there are so many people so ready and willing to take the leap into creativity.

today i met a young man who plays the accordion. his grandfather taught him to play and he plays on the weekends at the home where his grandfather lives. he plays with his grandfather and as i saw a video of them playing together i could see the admiration in this young man’s eyes for this old man who had taught him so much. he had never heard northern mexican accordion music, so i introduced him to ‘Flaco Jiménez’. he loved it! about an hour later i saw him again and he was still listening to Flaco Jiménez, and smiling wonderfully.

which reminds me, i decided not to take pictures of people today. i wanted simply to introduce myself in the school, to be seen. to find my place. i wandered a lot, and i will likely be doing that more these days, but i also decided on a course to pursue for a photo/poetry project when i am here. we will see tomorrow if things can take better shape.

Had a wonderful dinner with Lára and then a quick walk around the block. it is cold, and the wind feels harsh against the skin, but it what i came for after all. the opportunity to introspect, and if you look closely, all that wind and freezing rain, makes lovely images on the surrounding mountains.

tomorrow i will visit the school to connect with a few people, enjoy some coffee, and see what the next few days hold.

on march 4th there will be a small presentation of the artists in residence this month…now to try and explain what i do…

good night

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Finally arrived at Olafsfrjordur. getting acquainted with what will be my residence for the coming months. i need to get out and buy groceries and basic necessities. the front door is blocked by snow, so i need to get in through the back door at this point.

i am glad i brought the extra luggage with everything i thought i would need, and i am very happy i brought my wool jacket 🙂 the temperature reading may not be that bad, but there is plenty of wind.

need a quick tour of the town and arrange all my stuff.