It is guaranteed that things change on Hurricane island. The granite itself wears with time and tides, organisms migrate, move, grow and die, and people come and go, taking their memories with them and leaving parts of their heart behind. This year one of my favorite changes was the addition of our Middle School Adventure Art program, bringing eight vibrant young women to our shores and into the fabric of the Island’s life. The program was led by local artist and educator Laura Freeman, who helped us all see the island, its environments, and its inhabitants with new eyes and through new mediums. While the students had a variety of ‘traditional’ island experiences, they also forged new paths through print making, natural sculpture, scientific illustration, painting, and even turned their ‘art debris’ into high fashion. Their connection to this place was rooted in seeing and experiencing the island more deeply than any other group of middle school students has done before through the sheer amount of time they had to just immerse themselves in the place and notice/focus on details that most pass on by. This may make it sound like the group was reserved and demure… but of course that wouldn’t do justice to the goofy and energetic fun they brought to the island. I have never had a more surreal experience on the island than when the girls helped me find my ‘true laugh’ (if you haven’t experienced it, just google it…. doubt it… try it… and then spend the rest of your time trying to figure out a better name for it and wanting to know the science behind it - or maybe that is just my reaction!). I feel so fortunate that I got to work with these girls last week and I loved the conversations with them about what course they are coming back and doing in the future. I’m just glad Laura and I have a year to save up our energy before we do it again! Even when they come back or when we run this program again, there will be plenty of changes based on who is part of the program, adaptations we make based on feedback from the week, the shifting and deepening passions of the people involved in instructing, and of course the changes in the island itself. Despite those things, looking back on our time together there is nothing I would change for the world except getting more time with such a wonderful cohort.
