It may be hot at the Jersey Shore right now but it will be very cool- in many ways- as an Asbury Park resident heads to the Arctic Circle in September.
Laura Petrovich-Cheney, an art teacher in the Lakewood school district, said her trip is part of a residency program that she researched and in which she decided to participate.
Twenty-five artists, scientists, musicians, and writers are heading to the Arctic Circle to seek new material and explore ideas for their body of work, be it video, poetry, fiction or art.
“I, personally, am going to document my experiences in videos and through photography. It is part of a work-in-progress environmental protest about what is happening to the Earth, particularly in the Arctic, and I will bring back information about what is happening to our planet to my students,” she said.
Petrovich-Cheney, who lives on Locust Drive, said Lakewood had granted her a sabbatical, “which is enormous and quite and honor.”
“And going to the Arctic is so remote but it will certainly give me a personal aspect about it. It will allow me to show my students what’s happening and the impact it has on them. Hopefully, it will engage people to make change,” she said.
Petrovich-Cheney said she was encouraged in graduate school to do a research residency and her research brought her to the Arctic experience.
“And it goes along with my philosophy about environmental concerns,” she said.
So Petrovich-Cheney is getting ready and looking at her traveling situation.
“I am beginning to seriously organize for this trip but thinking about wool in this summer heat is not easy,” she said.
She leaves from Newark International Airport Sat., Sept. 21, and will arrive in Oslo, Norway the next day. On Mon., Sept. 22, she sets sail for the Arctic Circle aboard barkentine “The Antigua.”
Built in 1957 as a fishing boat, The Antigua has been refurbished as a three-masted cruise ship that boasts 750 square meters of sail and cabin accommodations for 32.
“The ship will take us as far north as the ice allows. Once I am on board the ship, I will be completely disconnected from the Internet. When I return to land, I will update everyone with magical stories and images of the North. I just get chills thinking about the trip,” she said.
Check out her blog and Facebook for updates.
