So much has happened since last year, and I’m very proud of how far I’ve come. One of the pieces pictured in last year’s interview won “Best in Show” at the ODU 2022 Student Juried Exhibition; the award granted me a solo show at the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio in Norfolk, VA. I was also awarded a Windgate University Fellowship at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN. The Fellowship provided room, board, and tuition for a summer workshop. I chose to take a mechanical sculpture class. It seems the more technology advances, the more magical simple machines become.

In military family life, it's been a lifetime with lots of life changes. Summer of 2022 we moved back to the states. Among family and friends, it was no secret how much I was dreading leaving Europe. It was my personal playground for artistic inspiration.

Spring is the time of new beginnings, and so it is fitting that our spring interview introduces you to Sculptor/Photographer/Multi-Media artist Sarah Thompson. When you find yourself lost in a creative desert, take an adventure to learn something new. It might just turn out to be your passion.

Mil-spouse photographer/artist Narissa Alford has turned her frequent PCSes into opportunities. She meets change by embracing new cultures and translating them into visual works of art.

Since my interview in June 2017 I have unfortunately traveled a lot less. It's so much harder and more expensive in and from the US than Europe, but I try to do local or regional events as they come up, and get out of town if even for a local "stay-cation" for a day or two. I did that this weekend in Colonial Williamsburg, actually.

This month I had the opportunity to get to know Amanda Shields, Adventure and Travel photographer, and what drives Amanda’s creative work. Amanda’s stories of travel shine through both her writing and her photographs. Just take a look at her answer when I asked about her favorite places and you will get a taste for the long list of stunning experiences she has achieved.