July 2017

Saint Andrews by the Sea, New Brunswick, Canada

I was very pleased to be accepted for a month long residency in KIRA’s inaugural year along with 4 other artist from England, NYC, New Hampshire and Missouri.

An artist residency is an intense period of time filled with excitement, ambition and some degree of trepidation. My time at KIRA this July was a greater gift than I had imagined it would be.

To get settled and start working in the studio took some doing. The new space, the new surroundings, and technical challenges all came into the mix. My daily routine was to wake early, make a cup of coffee and head to the studio usually just after sun rise. I particularly like the potential of early mornings. On a good day, I’ve done my best work before breakfast.

By the third week I was in a serious groove and producing work at a great pace. The intensity of time, the continuous days, the lack of interruption and the focused intent were all having their way with me and it began to show up in my work. The company of the other artist who also put in long hours helped to establish a pretty serious work ethic. We seemed to bring each other along without a conscious intention to do so.

The first week and the last week were filled with distractions, disorientation and wrapping up. The middle weeks were highly productive and I felt truly in the flow. The benefits of uninterrupted time are truly the gift of a residency. I will seek further opportunities for artistic residencies in the future and would one day like to consider returning to KIRA. The greatest gift of the residency is the momentum built within the art practice which comes from day after day after day of work in the studio.

Deep gratitude to Mrs. Lucinda Flemer and all the KIRA and Kingsbrae Garden staff who helped to create the possibility of the residency and the warm welcome that allowed for a tremendously successful month of creative work.

It will take me sometime this fall and winter to edit the work and finish it. I look forward to my winter days being accompanied by the images of my work made at Kingsbrae Garden.