Lost & Found

When I was in Jamaica last month treating myself to a much needed holiday, I purchased a pretty ankle bracelet from an artist on the beach. For the past month I've been wearing that bracelet as a touchstone for reminding myself of how I felt so lost and confused and then made the decision to move back to San Francisco.

The first morning of the Americans for the Arts Convention here in Philadelphia - Thursday - I noticed that the anklet fell off. Here and there I missed it but wasn't really bothered, It felt like a metaphor for being lost, finding myself and then letting when I re-connected with my fantastic arts network here at the Convention.

This morning I thought that I should at least ask at the Convention registration desk if they have a lost and found. Sure enough, there was my anklet sitting in a glass bowl set off to the site of the registration tables. Putting it back on was so wonderful - a reminder of being lost and found.

Being here with my fantastic network of arts and culture managers has reinforced how supportive I feel in returning home to San Francisco. People not only remembered me but had heard that I was returning, had been reading the blog and were so excited to reconnect when I finally land back in SF on June 28.

Truly lost and found.

Americans for the Arts in Philly

Tomorrow I'm heading out to Philadelphia for the annual Americans for the Arts Convention. This will be my fourth convention: Austin 2005, Milwaukee 2006, Vegas 2007 and Philly 2008. Actually, the conventions are stopping points in my life adventures since leaving San Francisco in 2005.

Stephen and I attended the Austin convention on our way to finding a house in Houston. I attended the Milwaukee one while living in Houston. Vegas was when I was in London and now Philly is at the tail end of my DC/Virginia respite on my way back to San Francisco.

I'll be blogging on the Americans for the Arts' Art Blog.

Tomorrow I'm presenting a workshop called Personal Evolution: Peer Coaching Circle in partnership with Daniel "Dewey" Schott. Saturday I'm hosting a roundtable discussion called Leading from the Middle of an Organization.

Sunday I'll be supporting my friend Brechin Flournoy as she facilitates her panel discussion called A Foot in Both Worlds about finding career balance between non-profit and corporate interests. One of the panelists is my long lost friend from San Francisco Nancy Hytone Leb now in LA.

Stay tuned for posts from Philly!