#370: SPOTLIGHT: Eric Hopkins

Question for Eric: 

Does one person first come to mind:  In your very very first “adult” job -- when you were perhaps first out of college or over the age of 21 let’s say – is there someone that pops to mind who brings a smile to your face not because of anything in your specific relationship but just because of who they were or how they moved through the world?

Eric's Response:

Fran Merritt, the founding director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine is the first person to jump right out of my memory bank to answer this question. Fran exuded a welcoming warmth and caring to those he met. He gave them an artistic license to explore and express themselves. He planted seeds of possibilities, watered them, and watched them blossom and develop seeds of their own. He was a true mentor. 

Amanda’s thought…

Eric, funnily enough, the end of the question that Pip and I posed here actually made me think of you and who YOU are as a person - your artwork, your voice, and your handwritten words have always touched me.  I admire how evident it is that you focus so much on the goodness in the world and in others. I think your incredible artistic abilities and your poetic words capture that brightness. Perhaps it's because you are an artist but I think your writing has this wonderful way of painting a picture when I read it. I'll also never forget the Flight Writings piece you wrote about your brother. Thank you for taking the time to hand write this note about a true mentor in your life. 

- AP