Thursday, June 3, 2021

Dear reader,

The air feels thicker and sweeter here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Its greenery greets me as I ease myself in a morning commute driving to the studio from my mother-in-law’s house. The hills are gentle and the Tennessee River in view lets me know that I do not have to hustle -- that my gaze can stay softer.

Yet it whispers to me to listen. 

To go deeper --

And I am not sure where that would take me.

So I asked two friends to join me on that journey, Louise Tate and Danny Gurung.

Louise Tate, a beautiful soul and painter based in Melbourne, and I will share our writings, works, and photos from our gardens respectively and in parallel for four weeks. I want to lean on her when speaking about losing someone precious. I find comfort in Tate’s shades of pastel colors that engulf her figures, her stories, which then travel over the Pacific Ocean to where I am, and my heart that often does not know where to go. I can reside in her sensibilities. 

Danny Gurung, a young artist and spirit, is born and raised in Colorado - the American Frontier. He knows me well as his former teacher and now he is someone whom I write with. This time, I lean on him when writing on the poetry of this American landscape that has hosted and held our stories. 

So welcome. I hope you find our words and images soothing and enlivening. Here, we offer you songs to hum along to what is difficult to annunciate.

- Gyun Hur

ps. our archive will always be free.

here is one from our library: