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Thirty-Year Field Trip Kim Cardoso Waking in the one room cabin, I am reminded of the only time I lived alone. It was in an old house in north Baltimore. My bottom oor unit had a screen door that opened to the garden. The woman who lived upstairs had changed her name to a color, and I had a studio in the carriage house out back. My workbench was sturdy and had everything exactly where I needed it because my grandfather built it from my design. I collected loose cobblestones, railroad nails, tobacco pallets, and beach glass. I had a place for everything and time in my life to listen to their direction. I was a 23-year-old metalsmith embedded in a thriving art scene and considering an M.F.A. in sculpture, when I instead heeded the calling to become a midwife. After a cross-country move and two decades of living, in 2013, I got reacquainted with myself at a weekend encaustic workshop with Sue Stover. Today, I live with three people and six animals and paint when I’m not seeing patients as a midwife and nurse practitioner at a community health clinic. It is possible to create art one paint stroke at a time, chopping onions, or calling a patient with a diagnosis in between yellow and blue, but it requires determination. Needing time to focus, I applied for a 2021 Project Grant from International Encaustic Artists. My goals were to be alone and paint big. I knew the support would remove a barrier and, more importantly, keep me accountable.
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