Stephanie's Studio

Everybody has a spirit home, where your soul feels it lives. Mine is on the East Coast, still in New Jersey, where I grew up. I have lived on the West Coast and am now centered in the Midwest. I have written about this before. Gradually, I am accepting that I am living in the Midwest. I must even say that I’m from here, from time to time but I feel in my heart as though I am from New Jersey; South Jersey to be specific. The East Coast has a hold over me. I love the Atlantic, and yes, Atlantic City and the Jersey Shore as well. In high school I sang in various school choirs and had the opportunity to travel the coast to sing. The East Coast is where I spent my childhood and those places flood my head with memories, coloring my art and writing. For us, there is a profound difference between north and south Jersey, just as there is here between southern Illinois and northern Illinois, home to Chicago. Southern Illinois has a strong agricultural base and is largely rural. Northern Ill...