Last summer, I disappeared into the desert for a week.

I’d been on sabbatical: a stretch of months I gave myself to slow down, deepen my relationship to my creative practice, and sit with some questions about what I actually want from this life. Sedona was one of the gifts of that season.

I spent the week with The School of Architecture — TSOA, formerly the Taliesin Fellowship, the school Frank Lloyd Wright founded on a simple principle: you learn by doing. Our instructor was the remarkable architect and dean Stephanie Lin — her practice, Present Forms, is worth your perusing.

If you were at Coachella last year, you might recognize her work:

There was a lot of footage and a hodgepodge of photos I needed to sort through and I felt the pain of not planning or storyboarding anything. But the vlog is finally here! It’s not a highlights reel — it’s more of a casual documentation. The week was filled with lots of hand-on making, studio sessions, and fun field trips.

It was a meaningful and transformative experience for me:

I start an exciting new job next week and the 9-5 career path continues.

So, I’m so grateful for the past sabbatical months and experiences like the TSOA immersion. I was able to conceptualize and articulate an identity outside of jobs I hold.

If you’re a fan of architecture and want to get away, I encourage you to check out their upcoming immersion programs. I may actually go again in the near future when time permits again.

Enjoy!