A year ago in my interview here on MilSpoFan, I talked about my philosophy of “bloom where you’re planted”, meaning make the most of your location, stage of life or circumstances. This past year has put that philosophy to the test in more ways than one! But even with all the uncertainty, disappointments and changes of this past year, I feel like I’ve been able to bloom. I learned an important lesson about applying something I’ve always known as an artist to my everyday life. In reflecting on this past year, I find hope in these lessons and I pray you do too. 

The city living was not for us, none of my family was happy. We found a small mountain town three hours away from Las Vegas that is just perfect. We are in a small community in the mountains, surrounded by cows, mountains, and springs. I feel like I can breathe here. The only problem is I don't have an art outlet close by. 

“I don’t know where I am going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring” - David Bowie. Well ...I do know, for certain, I will be trading in my palm tree views and poke diet for pasta and gelato as we venture from Oahu to Naples, Italy this Summer.   I don’t know what that means for my business.  

I left you last January, with talk of hopes and dreams, of new art ventures to come and experiences with travel inspirations, that I looked forward to during our stay in South Korea, at Camp Humphreys. Little did I know that right around the corner, was a storm approaching that would change my plans tremendously!

I think it is safe to say that none of us will forget 2020. Before the current unpleasantness hit our shores, I was looking to the new year anticipating a break out year! January was the month that our gallery hosts an exhibit of its new artists from the prior year, of which I was one. We held a Roaring Twenties themed reception, and celebrated joyously.

German poet Christian Morgenstern’s poem “The Seagulls” begins “seagulls look as though their name were Emma.” It makes our world sound so simple, everything in nature is as it is, in place and together. The artist, however, dissects her world, sees patterns, colors, sometimes multiple colors in a single moss-covered rock in the forest. Which leads to the question, are all forests the same? And is nature really that simple?

I had to relearn everything once more on how to navigate a new environment which is hard to do normally and with the pandemic it took a little extra time to reestablish my dance career. I have been taking online dance classes and decided to pursue a more fitness side to my dance teaching.

Since checking in a year ago, I did finish a poetry manuscript before the pandemic hit. Some of the individual poems have been published in journals, some of them quite recently. One of those poems, “Pursuit,” won first place in the military family member category for Line of Advance’s Col. Darron L. Wright Award, and my poem will join all past and current winners in an anthology – Our Best War Stories – that will be published this month. Other than an honorable mention, I’ve never won an award before. To say the least, I was excited.

Crafting this follow-up guest post on MilspoFAN was a stellar way to reflect on my creative journey and share some enthusiasm for a hopeful future. Fate bought me a ticket for a two-year-long rollercoaster ride with the crazy pandemic-loop-de-loop that we’re all on, thrown in for free.

My dancing has taken an interesting turn and I must admit that it was unexpected. I am still training with the New Mexico Ballet Company but was unable to perform in their winter and spring performances. NMBC is a company where many of their dancers work during the day and train/rehearse in the evenings.

Last year, June 2019 was the best month of my life up to that point. I spent the entire month in France teaching two back-to-back painting workshops, with five days in between for some travel time on my own. I had plans to teach in Italy this September (2020), but have postponed this trip until April/May 2021.

As I sit down at my desk, I can’t help but notice a pile of journals, rehearsal schedules, and other papers that wasn’t here at this time last year. In fact, the desk wasn’t here either – in the living room, right next to our big windows that look out into our neighborhood in Madrid. The same neighborhood that for months recently was the most peaceful that it has probably ever been – ever. For more than a dozen weeks we were only interrupted by noon and eight-o-clock musical interludes, some applause and cheering. Momentary unification with unseen, unknown neighbors. 

Since my guest post last year quite a bit has happened, but funny enough, most of that occurred just earlier this year. The rest of 2019 continued pretty much the same (professionally anyways). I continued working for Navy MWR part-time, as well as with the Army at Ft. Eustis as an on-call photographer photographing events and studio portraits.

Every New Year in lieu of resolutions, I choose a word of intention to use as a theme. In 2020 I chose the word vision. I've dreamt for a long time of starting my own art business and quitting my "real job," but the time never seemed right. Frankly, I was also stymied by fear and self-doubt. Not long ago, my best friend told me she refused to live and make decisions based on fear any longer. It was the inspiration I needed to finally truly focus on my vision. So, you could say since my last MilSpoFAN feature, I've become a serious ARTrepreneur.

I am an ARTIST! I DANCE! I CREATE! No more excuses, no more hiding. Anna Librada Teaching & Performing Artist and Producer is going public. I founded and produce the Hudson Valley Flamenco Festival. I perform. I teach workshops. I organize events where we make paella over an open fire and then feast while watching an intimate flamenco performance akin to the oldest flamenco clubs in Spain. I have a BRAND.

I can't believe it's already been a year. it never ceases to amaze me how much can change and what seems like the blink of an eye. Just last month it was no big deal to go to the movies or shopping at the mall or getting to go and teach my kids at school everyday. Now it's so different, and I never thought I would be doing this interview in the midst of some strange times.

“There is something that you are born to do. You can feel it. Maybe you forgot what it was because of where life has taken you, but it’s there…”

Well, a lot has happened since MilspoFAN interviewed me two years ago. I’ve had two new books come out: American Samizdat (Diode, 2019), a collection of poetry about our current political moment, and through smoke (New Rivers Press, 2019), a book-length essay about how I came to fall in love with perfume. I also have another collection of poems, Simple Machines, which won the Richard Wilbur Poetry Award and will be published this year by the University of Evansville Press.

2020 has been a huge kick in the pants for me, and as my husband so calmly assessed, “We were about due.” But, before I get into what a slog the last couple months have been, let me share how awesome 2019 was.

Hello from Camp Humphreys, South Korea!!Last year, at this time, I was planning my "Coastal" art show, from MacDill AFB, in Tampa, Florida. The show took place last March and was a huge success! The paintings were inspired by the tropical beach environment of the gulf coast. It was a wonderful opportunity to gather one last time, to say goodbye to my friends in Florida, before our PCS to Korea, and to share my love of art.I arrived in Korea this past summer with my husband, two teen daughters and our chocolate lab.