.art residency.

At the end of 2021, I applied for an art residency. It was at a time when a transition was happening in my fiber work. I was longing for space and time to breathe into a practice. I made an artist's CV and applied. I anxiously checked my email, waiting for a response. Finally, a few weeks later, I received an email from the acting director that due to Covid and leadership changes. They paused the program but would keep applications for when they started up in spring 2022. I was disappointed by not being surprised by the ever changes of COVID, so I went on with things. 

Since then, I switched jobs, moved to a new town, and started many new fiber projects. I assumed that the opportunity had faded away. Then out of the blue, on my lunch, I checked my email to see that I was invited to interview for the residency. I couldn't believe it. I said I could interview a few days later! As I prepared for the interview, I was worried that I couldn't connect to what I had submitted, but I looked over my application and reflected on the past year. I realized how much I had been preparing for this, that somehow in a bunch of small ways, I had been watering this seed I had planted. I realized I was ready for this opportunity, more than I ever would've been a year ago. I interviewed and a week later invited to the Spring I residency. 

It honestly feels like a dream. Three weeks in the woods making art. People ask me what it is or what it means, and I find it hard to describe it concisely. It's a gift of time and space to expand. To explore an idea with my needs met and limited distractions that wouldn't happen in daily life at home. 

During my time, I'm exploring the idea of art-making as a spiritual practice. Which to me means the process of making art allows you to transcend yourself. When you inhabit creative space, you leave the beta brain and open into alpha waves. A frequency that makes us feel calm, increases creativity, and enhances our ability to absorb new information. 

The framework I'll be using is a morning practice called 4 15. It's 15-minute increments of four different activities, breathing practice, reading (philosophical and design), and journaling. Then I'll go to the studio to stitch. Every day I'll free-stitch an 8x13-inch piece of fabric. In the end, I'll have 21 pieces. I'm excited to see the experience unfold.