It’s been a while, I know but I am still here.  This week, we screened Who Does She Think She Is? at the University of Utah.  I had the wonderful opportunity to visit some of the Art Departments’ Graduate Students’ Studios.

I am always in awe of people who have the courage to persevere as artists in Grad school–most of the students are already parents, and in some cases, working a paying job.  They will leave Grad school with upwards of $20,000 of student loans and no firm possibility of making a living at their craft–yet, there they are making gorgeous, intriguing and thought provoking work.

My sister, Chris is with me again. I am so grateful to have her with me on these expeditions around the country. She’s great company, meets everybody with grace and DRIVES! Love that!

Before the screening, we met with an old friend from High School back in Parkersburg, West Virginia–Fred Gottlieb.Fred is a Doctor affiliated with the University of Utah, now.  He also has spent, most of his adult life traveling the world, doctoring to people in small villages in Uganda, Nepal, Indonesia (during the tsunami), and many other places.  What an amazing life and he’s still at it!  I recall talking to Fred, back in High School about all the places we planned to travel to and explore when we left Parkersburg.  I would say Fred has done this and more.

Speaking of West Virginia, my sister Chris just woke up and told me that, “yes, she did meet Morgan Spurlock, last night.” She had gone to the Sundance Opening Night Party while I went back to the Condo with a headache!!

Morgan Spurlock is another West Virginian who has done some amazing work–he is a filmmaker–Super Size Me and more recently, he’s finished a film on The Simpson’s Twenty Year Anniversary.

I love meeting up with people from my home state who are out in the world, doing great work.  Of course, I also always love overturning  assumptions about people and places.  So West Virginia think: Hillbillies, rafting the New River, Coal mining and poverty.  So, Fred Gottlieb out doctoring to the world;  Morgan Spurlock making great movies; my old friend Pam Lotshaw also out here in Salt Lake City, as an ob-gyn nurse; Amy Whitlatch who is a renowned portrait painter in Virginia.  The list could go on and on….and not a hillbilly among them!

So, Sundance just started and I am grateful forever to my ANGEL, Geralyn White Dreyfous. She has arranged all kinds of tickets to films for me and my family this week.  Geralyn and I are also Co-Producing another film–this one by Tiffany Shlain about how everything is intertwined called, CONNECTED: A Declaration of Interdepence.  More on Sundance as the week progresses!