”Shirley Moorhouse Explores New Beginnings Through Poetry and Drawings,” Inuit Art Quarterly Online. Poetry and illustrations, 2022.

I wanted to try something different. I was looking for inspiration. Something new to say. Something new to create. I’d just finished an art commission for the new Winnipeg (WAG)-Qaumajuq. It was one of the highlights of my long artistic career. It was a culmination of years of practice, hard work and perseverance.

One day I came into my workspace and realized I needed new dreams, new expectations, new explorations and thoughts, wherever they may arise. So in 2022, my 66th year, I decided to go back to school. I was accepted as a Master’s of Fine Arts student at Memorial University’s Grenfell campus in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador.

My husband and I could either drive or fly to Newfoundland from mainland Labrador. We opted to make the three-day drive from central to southern Labrador, overnighting, then crossing the ferry to Newfoundland. This is a record of that journey, in poetry and illustrations, embarking as a technologically challenged student.