Sometimes it is easy to feel like an artist. Other times, it is easy to feel inadequate. Last week I wrote about deadlines and my changing schedule due to the arrival of summer. The seasonal change affects me beyond simply when I have time to bead. My usual artist connections disappear over the summer for the most part and I can find myself immersed in the day-to-day routine of laundry, meals, and driving. My "self" that is an artist is as starved for support at times as my garden was starved for water in last week's heat wave. At such times I can allow myself to fall into self doubt and question my abilities. Those are the times when I most need the support and encouragement of my small couterie of fellow artists, most of whom are women, too. Those peer networks are vitally important in keeping me engaged in myself as artist. Since it is not possible to maintain my usual arrangements (or I'd keep doing it), I look for substitutes. One way to feed my support is seeking out podcasts to listen to while I'm beading, or even while I'm simply putting away groceries. Every summer my family spends a week at Cape Cod, and I have found a wonderful podcast from the Cape's public radio station that I listen to in chunks. It is broadcast as a weekly 5 minute (or so) segment, but I will skip it most of the year and then listen to a handful all in one sitting. Robert Finch, the naturalist who reads his own short essays, has a tone and style that lift the spirit of the artist in me. His words transport me to the ponds and shorelines of the Cape of my memory, loaded with family connections and treasured moments, simultaneously awakening the sense of creativity within, grounding me. Just as I switch from winter shoes to sandals, I substitute one method of support with another as my routine changes. Because my support network is as necessary as footwear!