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.

Like many of us, Army spouse and painter Melissa Hedges is finding her new normal in a time with closed galleries. She not letting the restricted access to showings stop her from creating, though. Melissa is setting goals and keeping positive.

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.

This month, we meet artist and Air Force Spouse Angela Hunter. Get ready to be inspired by Angela's love of learning new things. As mil spouses, we are frequently thrust into new experiences and new locations. Why not use that change to try new kinds of art techniques or discover classes or workshops our new towns/cities offer?

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.

Army spouse Lindsay Amato Myers takes the stage in February's MilspoFAN interview. Lindsay shares how staying connected to the theatre has helped her build friendships and community with each PCS.

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.

I recall about 20 years ago I was working in retail, and I would make little bracelets or anklets and get approached to sell them. I really didn’t think much of pursing it at the time. It wasn’t until we PCS’d to Okinawa in 2012 as a new Mom with a lot of extra time on my hands. We would spend many hours at the beach,and I was enamored by the colorful shells and pottery shards I would find.

Happy 2020 to all of you MilspoFAN artists! I hope you had a chance to step back and relax a little over the holidays (as I had to make the conscious decision to do). Now that it’s back to the mid-January grind, it’s also that time to reflect on the past year and plans for the year to come. Personally, I found myself thinking a lot about one of the major decisions I made at almost exactly this same time last year: my decision to rent an art studio outside of the home. For anyone thinking of taking a similar leap this year, I hope these musings on the pros, cons, and expectations versus realities might give you a little added perspective in your own decision-making process.

I just got back from a month-long residency at Jentel Arts Foundation in Banner, Wyoming in November. Artist residencies are kind of like art camp for adults. Usually you get paid (a little), they put you up, give you studio space to create and sometimes even feed you.

Painting has been a lifelong passion. I first remember painting around age 5. My brother has some pieces of mine from that age on his wall and my mother has a piece of mine from around high school. Sometimes people ask me “How long did it take to you do this painting” and the short answer might be 3 hours or 5 hours, but the real answer is life long. It took whole life to gather the experiences and perfect the techniques to paint this way.

Navy spouse Kellie Walsh inspires us with positivity in this month's MilspoFAN interview. Kellie shares how innovative, positive thinking helped her find new ways to continue dancing after a cross-country PCS. Many of us struggle to find our niche in a new location, but things usually end up okay (maybe a little changed from before) with some work and some adaptations.