Hi all! I know it’s been a year since you last heard from me. A lot has changed for my family and I since I last updated you all. So, here it all goes. Last year I around this time of the year I decided to start focusing on myself. I realized that I had …
Not long after the interview last year, my husband made the decision to retire from the Air Force with twenty-six and one-half years of service. Being the spouse of a service member provides so many blessings, but I am also very excited to establish myself locally for longer than one assignment lasts. Online presence …
Leigh Cortez is an art student-turned-artillery-soldier-turned-milspouse-and-tattoo-artist-turned-MFA-student-turned-artist. Her bold and compelling work is layered with autobiographical meaning. With her paintings, Leigh invites a dialogue both within the military community and with “outsiders” exploring modern military life, tradition, trauma, unpredictability, and belonging. Leigh’s thoughtful descriptions of her work and process, as well as her candid story about …
It has been two years since my first Military Spouse Fine Art Network interview. I continue to paint every day and constantly stretch the boundaries of my abilities. I belong to a group of four mentor/friends that travel together and show our art at different venues. We have been to Waterworks Art Museum in …
Since my October 2017 MilspoFAN interview, I (miraculously) didn’t PCS. Previously, we had never made it to the three-year mark, but we found out in March that we’ll be stationed in North Carolina for at least another two years. No switching doctors, school, vet, etc. No finding another surf instructor for my daughter, someone who …
Kirsten Carlson is a scientist-artist who’s work inspires wonder, awe, and appreciation of the natural world. Her work ranges in form from detailed scientific illustration to whimsical children’s stories and illustrations to sketching and painting. Kirsten’s work examines and highlights the extraordinary beauty all around us in the natural world. She reminds us to look, …
A lot changes in two years. Two years ago, when MilspoFan was launched, my first novel, Mrs. Houdini, had just been published by Atria Books. My first poetry collection, When the Men Go Off to War, had just been published by the Naval Institute Press. I was a Navy wife married to a fighter pilot with …
The past year since my interview has been full of changes and excitement. We moved to North Carolina and it took me a while to find a studio to begin dancing again. I was fortunate to find the Carolina Performing Arts Studio that just opened near my house. I met the studio owner and ballet …
This month, MilspoFAN is proud to introduce you to Adelia Wilson. Adelia is a painter and a third-generation Air Force spouse. As Adelia tells her story, I find myself drawn in by her palpable enthusiasm for life. Her dreamy artwork, rooted in her spirituality and a desire to honor the military that she cherishes, is …
Over the past year since my last guest blog, I’ve had so many wonderful things come about. I’m excited to share these as I look back on our military life journey of over twenty-six years. We’ve been “retired” from the Navy for eleven years now. Our current home we’ve been in for ten years – …