What does it mean to be an artist in Vermont?:

What does it mean to be an artist in Vermont?

For the four winners of the Vermont Arts Council’s Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts — all from Windham County — art is connected to place.

Four artists — all from Windham County — received the 2012 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, a prize issued annually by the Vermont Arts Council. All were honored on Dec. 10 at a gala ceremony at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro. We caught up with three of the four winners in mid-January.

Karen Hesse

Hesse, of Brattleboro, has written more than 20 novels, primarily for young readers. Her latest novel, Safekeeping , was published in October.

What are you working on this week?

I’ve been using either photographs or words as springboards and writing poetry that arcs away from the original inspiration to find its own trajectory, and yet connects back to the original inspiration in order to create a shape that is deeper, wider, richer. I’m also mentoring young writers and new writers, reading their fledgling manuscripts.

How has Vermont influenced your life, work, and creative expression?

Growing up in Baltimore, I absorbed a totally different ethic, one where the self triumphed over the general need of the population.

That ethic never felt like a good fit for me. In Vermont, the inclination toward the common good has provided the fertile soil in which I have grown as a person and as an artist.

What do you suggest to people contemplating making a creative living in Southern Vermont?

Be prepared to struggle. The path will not be easy. But you will be surrounded by others who are also in a creative mindset, and you will find inspiration and support from them.

I’m not saying that everyone is selfless here, nor are they selflessly inclined selfless all the time, but it seems to me the pervading spirit is one of nurture rather than toxicity. This cannot be said of all communities rich with artists. I’m certain there is jealousy, but it is not the prevailing spirit.

What can you do here that you can’t do anywhere else on earth?

I can help a friend after a flood when my past has been lost to it, and then stop helping because the grief is too great to return to the devastation and be understood and accepted for both of those behaviors.

Archer Mayor

A Newfane resident, Mayor is the author of the 23-book, Vermont-based Joe Gunther detective series. Mayor also works as a death investigator for the state medical examiner’s office, as a sheriff’s department deputy, and as a firefighter/EMT.

What are you working on this week?

Editing Three Can Keep a Secret, which is this fall’s entry, number 24 in the series, as well as managing a variety of Gunther-related projects, and keeping my ear sharp for when the pager might notify me of a medical examiner call.

How has Vermont influenced your life, work, and creative expression?

It is crucial to what I do, giving my entire body of work a geographical and cultural base, but it also feeds my inner artist (if I can be so la-di-da) by supplying the sort of supportive and nurturing environment that I was searching for when I first came here 33 years ago.

What do you suggest to people contemplating making a creative living in Southern Vermont?

The cliché about not quitting your day job holds true, sadly. My claim of having three distinct job descriptions (law enforcement, medical examiner, and writer) merely places me among the majority of Vermonters I know. Everyone around here instinctively understands how to make ends meet, and they aren’t shy about working hard to get there. Thus, if your ambition is to make it in the arts in Vermont (or anywhere, for that matter), have at it! The surroundings for it here could not be more custom-made. But understand that your income may have to arrive from other avenues.

What can you do here that you can’t do anywhere else on earth?

Be happy and fulfilled.

Sharon Robinson

A cellist and teacher, Robinson has performed with numerous symphony orchestras. In 1976, Robinson, who lives in Guilford, joined colleagues Jaime Laredo (her husband) and Joseph Kalichstein to create the acclaimed Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio.

What are you working on this week?

I am working on polishing the piece I will perform in Montpelier at the State House with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra for Farmers’ Night [the weekly performance that has taken place at the Statehouse since 1923]. It is a very melodic and mournful work for cello and string orchestra, Andante Cantabile by Tchaikovsky. Audiences love it! I am also working on some repertoire for February, March, and April. I enjoy working on music far in advance of the performance so that I can dig deeply and find the true emotion and message that the composer is going for.

How has Vermont influenced your life, work, and creative expression?

Living in Vermont, with its natural beauty, has given my music-making an expansiveness. The slower pace here seeps into everything I do and lets me be more patient with my musical quests.

What do you suggest to people contemplating making a creative living in Southern Vermont?

I encourage many creative souls to consider Southern Vermont as their home, for the great creative energy and natural beauty, for its proximity to New York, Boston, the Marlboro Music Festival, Tanglewood, and, of course, for the offerings of the Brattleboro Music Center, the Brattleboro Literary Festival, the Brattleboro School of Dance, the New England Youth Theatre, World Learning, Marlboro College, and on and on!