People and Preparations

Well it has been a busy time around these parts. In fact I can't remember when I've had two weeks in a row that have been so productive.

Last week I had a great conversation with Paul Bromley from Roddickton. He has a couple of cabins out on the islands and brings people back and forth in his longliner. He had all kinds of useful information for me, notably that there are no black bears on the island and there is intermittent cell phone reception up on the higher points of land. He can bring me out and back for $200 each way, which seems like a decent deal. He also said there are a couple of busy times out on the island - early in August he rents out his cabins to vacationers, and later in the fall people go out there to hunt caribou.

I was also talking to Paul's sister, Mary Foley, who is one of the teachers at the all grade school in Conche. Mary was very excited to hear that I was going to be in the area - she wants me to do a workshop with the students before I head out to the islands. I am excited by this idea - it will be good to do something fun at the beginning of the summer, and it will be great that everyone in town will know that I'm out there (for the sake of my safety if nothing else).

Best of all, I had a great dinner last week with my old friends Renee and Duncan. Renee and I used to work together at the Craft Council where we left at the same time (in fact, we shared a going away party if I remember correctly). Well they are an adventurous couple, having sailed all over the world, including a trip last year to Greenland and back via northern Labrador. So they've already had to deal with a lot of the issues I am facing - long stretches with little or no contact with anyone else, the inability to resupply at any given time, and polar bears. They've got a bunch of gear they want to lend me - tent, wilderness first aid kit, shotgun, food dehydrator, etc. They are veritable fountains of knowledge, and great people to bounce ideas off.

I guess the point of all this is to demonstrate the importance of other people in my project. I didn't do anything in the past couple weeks to materially prepare for the project - I didn't collect supplies, or design my kiln, for instance - but I feel immensely more prepared mentally and psychologically. Sometimes I despair that I've undertaken a project that is so solitary and individual, but then I realize it isn't so much after all. And that counts for a lot.