ARTISTIC MOTIVATION - SPRING 2019

As the school year winds down, college seniors like our Katelin are looking at seemingly endless possibilities. For the 55+ group, decisions may seem more final – but the same feelings can exist at opposite ends of the timeline. I like the spiritual perspective that opportunities are ever-present if we only welcome them, and decisions are fluid. 

As Angela Duckworth writes in her bestselling book, GRIT, with love for your work and perseverance, a job turns into a career and then into a calling from which you never really retire, with detours and cross pollination along the way. Likewise, a dwelling becomes home, and your home can adapt to specific needs as you progress. At ESSARC we’re in the business of digging deep to understand the hopes and dreams of our clients and adapting their homes to respond to their changing needs, whether expanding, building a second home, down-sizing, aging in place, or needing a simple refresh.

The following advice about career decisions not too many years out of school helped motivate and merge my own dual art and design
“calling.”

The Best Career Advice a Young Architect Could Have

Eight years out of architecture school, I started illustrating my first book. I was excited to tell my favorite and most influential Dartmouth
professor, Ashley Bryan. A renowned author/illustrator, he truly cared about his students and had recommended me for grad school. When I
told him I was loving the project, but couldn’t bear to leave the architecture behind, he said, “You don’t have to decide between them, just do what’s important to your life right now.” What a relief! As I’ve held to that, my goal has been to share an architecture infused with art, and art with structure and purpose.

Architect News

What's Unfolding "Right Now"

Design is in high gear and a year has flown by at our new location in the Wright Tavern. With architect colleagues, room for staff, and state of the art 3D software, the pace is faster than I could have imagined and we’re attracting clients who are drawn to the art of design.

At our REVOLUTIONARY Open House in January, everyone had a blast trying out Virtual Reality, the coolest revolution in design technology.

Howard Clark, Paradigm Properties

Vincent Boutard, Graphisoft, with Amy Pasley, Coldwell Banker

The evening was magical, with the first floor of the Wright Tavern open for a great party. Special thanks to family, Vincent from Graphisoft, and Genevieve, Concord Museum’s event planner, who stayed until the last decoration was taken down.

Sarah Lawson, S+H Construction

Italian architect Antonio Pesce (ESSARC consultant), his wife Caterina, and Shane, Concord Museum historian who shared stories about the Tavern’s pivotal role in the start of the American Revolution.

Art News

As this crazy “you don’t have to decide” life would have it, out of the blue came an invitation for a solo painting show. It was just the incentive I needed for finishing a series with an architecture-landscape theme, working at home during weekends and evenings with the longer, bright daylight.
I’m excited to present this new series:

“SPEAKING VOLUMES: Light and Space in the Maine Vernacular.” 11 Main Street, Concord. April 3 through June 30. Reception May 9, 5:30-7:30.
Concord’s Coldwell Banker team will partner with Julia Miner Studio to donate part of the painting sales to help homeless refugees.


THIS WEEKEND! 4/6-4/7 OPEN STUDIOS at the newly renovated Umbrella Community Arts Center. The group show, “Passages,” features art created by Umbrella artists during this transition period of construction and temporary studios. I’ll be in my studio along with my subletter, Denise Kracz, to welcome you.

I hope to see you either at Open Studios or at the reception for “Speaking Volumes.” In next month’s newsletter, an article about The Story Teller Pavilion for Ashley Bryan, a design project where art and architecture merge.