Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005 WHAT A YEAR. I don't quite know what I'm feeling, except I have to keep reminding myself how much it's been, and I am grateful to be sitting here writing. But as one of your artists in residence, I need to say how grateful I am to have this space to experiment with visually, and to explore conveying sensory data other than ideas, in the way of pictures. In many respects, I'm extremely practical; I like language to be clear and strong, but not to convey beauty for its own sake. I work in a different space in photographs, and have learned to appreciate self-expression that is simply appealing for its beauty, as I see beauty. And I recognize my own bravery in doing so -- overcoming the fear of judgment, of not doing it well enough, of changing, or whatever. On the other side, it's been a true refuge for me. Photography has taught me to see the world, and people, unabashedly like a kid. I would speculate that it's not quite a coincidence that I devoted myself to this journey right around when things got an extra shade of weird, around the presidential inauguration back in January. Over the next few months, I gradually evolved into holding visual and emotional appreciation of existence as a way of life. I offer my deepest gratitude to the many people, almost all of them women, who have modeled for me, and have allowed me into the sensitive space of how they feel about themselves. Then, many have allowed me to reveal this to you. I can't quite tell you what I've learned in the process, but I can say I feel better for having begun appreciating the mystery of Woman in fewer words and ideas, and more impressions, gestures and intuitive movements. --- If you're traveling tonight, please have a safe and sane New Year's holiday. Can you believe it? As of today, we're halfway through the first decade of the 21st century. Remember, there is no time to hate. There's no time to wait. Yours & truly, ERIC FRANCIS Paris, France