The Forth and Final Week of My Artist Residency in Iceland
Day 22: I decided the ice and fire thing is nice, but really, Iceland is all about the rocks and the weather. It’s been much colder and windier that I had anticipated for the time of year. I found that I had to take advantage of nice weather by travelling, and write when it was dreary and there was not much else to do anyway.
I joined the local gym and pool. There is a hot tub with the pool which is a popular place to hang out and where I made a number of acquaintances. The pool is warm and is open year round, despite being outside. The hot tub is outside as well, and a cold tub to go with it. You’re supposed to take a dunk in the cold tub (its mighty cold!) and then hop in the hot tub after. It makes your skin go all tingly. This is not an activity for the faint of heart. I only managed to dunk myself up to my waist but chickened out on getting the rest of me into the ice cold water. I did get some mild tingles anyway. You can find public pools like this in every town in Iceland, and folks attend them often.
Day 23: I haven’t spoken much about the residency itself. There were about twelve people participating, some writers, some artists of various types, and they came from all over the place and were also a variety of different ages. Some had been there for a month already when I arrived, others even longer. The studio, where I can work if I like, is a big warehouse with a large glass door on each side. It’s on old industrial space, and as is typical for such spaces, it’s furnished with old and semi-broken furniture, so I often felt physically uncomfortable working there. I preferred the library with its comfortable desks and office chairs, clean bathrooms and a sofa for when I need a short nap.
My accommodations are bedroom in a large house with 5 other people. There is a second apartment downstairs with four other rooms but they have their own kitchen and living spaces. I hadn’t considered beforehand that I might not be a good candidate for communal living, but I managed to adjust. It’s like living in a dorm, only everyone is an adult, but they are so absorbed in their own projects that they don’t notice the house getting messy and dirty or that the dishwasher needs emptying. I adapted by showering at the gym or swimming pool, since I loved to go there anyway, and keeping my cooking simple. And often looking the other way. I think as someone who has looked after a home and chased after family members to keep it clean, I have a low tolerance for other people leaving their messes.
The artists are such a mixed bunch. Everyone came with a project in mind which they had applied to NES with. My undergraduate degree is in visual arts, so I can say that I have a well developed visual aesthetic, despite the fact that I work with words, but I see that other writers also have some of the same. At the end of the month there will be an open house where everyone will show their work to the public of the town. I planned a short slide show discussing how I used my time at NES and the progression of my work. I will also read a short piece. I paid close attention to my creative process as much as to writing a bunch of stories. I found that the scenery and the textures of the land were attractive to me and I found places for this imagery in my writing. I don’t think this would have had this happen if I had stayed at home to do this project.
Day 24: Another day in Skagastrond. It’s very quiet here. I think as a city girl this environment would be too much for me to handle year round. I enjoy a measured portion of nature and quiet, but I think I’m not cut out for small town life. That’s not to say that it isn’t nice here, and the people are very friendly, but if I had come from such a place, I think I would be the type who would want to leave for somewhere busier.
Day 25: I wrote another story. I am having fun with these. I’m finding the folklore focus has allowed me to be playful at times and give structure to the story. The first one I made into a classic story but this one I decided to tell as if an adult was telling it to children.
Day 26: I’m all ready for my public reading. I made up a slide show of some of my favourite photos and I plan to talk about how the landscape impressed me and worked its way into my stories. I’m going to read the first story I wrote because its about the town, and because it’s short enough to read the whole thing.
Day 27: Today is my last day in town. The open house at the studio is happening and will take up a fair amount of my energy. I had some last minute technical issues, which is totally to be expected, but we sorted everything out. Attendance was good and my story well received. A good ending to my stay here.
Day 28: I’m heading out for a couple of days to the Westfjords, a more remote and supposedly spectacular spot. As you can see from the map below, it’s full of peninsulas and the road is incredibly windy, following the coastline. I think it will take the whole day to get to my hotel, but it promises to be very scenic.
Day 29: Today I took a drive to a nearby town called Flateyri. I found a really old bookstore there. The young woman running the place told me her grandfather started in the early 1900s. I bought a book. Other than chocolate, it’s my one souvenir. It’s a book of Icelandic fairy stories. After that, I drove to the nearby falls and enjoyed a quiet hour wandering up the hill to get a better look. The falls were set up in stages, the largest looking like a tiered wedding cake at the top. Further down were several other shorter falls. I caught a little rainbow in the sunshine near a lower one. Looking away from the falls was a lot of water and mountains. Something about this area in particular is so desolate. I feel as if I’ve reached the end of the earth.
Day 30: Today I head to Reykjavik to spend my last night. It’s a very long drive, so I didn’t want to do it the same day as when my flight leaves. I expect the drive to be similar to my last trip, because I am reversing my drive from the other day. There’s a shorter route, but I think it will take much longer because much of it is dirt road, and I really don’t want to drive for hours on unpaved roads. I can’t complain anyway because it was so spectacular the other way, I get to see it all again! I hope to stop briefly to try to spot some Puffins and possibly to enjoy a natural hot water pool. I didn’t go to any of the larger hot pools such as the Blue Lagoon, so this would be my one chance to try this experience. There are many places like this, and we spotted a bunch during our ramblings, but sometimes it felt too cold at the time to trot out onto the plain in a bathing suit, not to mention getting out all wet in the chilly wind.
Day 31: The flight is today and I must drive to Keflavik where the airport is, return the car and probably wait for at least three hours until my flight boards. Then I get to sit on a plane for another six hours and probably spend several hours going through customs in Toronto and collecting my luggage. I hear it’s a big mess these days at Pearson.
I’ve been driving a standard transmission small car. I’ve gone a lot of distance with it over this past month. My friends are currently complaining that gas costs over $2 per litre, but in Iceland it’s actually over $3 per litre. I’ve been paying about $100 per fill up for a small car, so Canadians really are lucky.
When I dropped off my car, the rental place wanted me to pay for an extra day because my contract said 02:00 which apparently means 2 am, not 2 pm. I’m not sure how the reservation ended up that way, but it’s a lesson in checking your contracts for discrepancies before you go. As predicted, it was a mess in Toronto on my arrival, taking two hours between customs and baggage.
While I had a rich experience during this month away, I was intensely glad to be back home and sleeping in my own bed. Warm hugs were received upon arrival, so I know I was missed. I’m not sure if I will do another Artist Residency, but if I do, I know what I like and what works for me now.
