I’m just past halfway through a 10-day artist residency at Monson Arts in Monson, Maine. It’s shoulder season up here in northern Maine which means cold winds, snowy rainstorms, muddy dirt roads during the days, when the sun shines long enough to soften up cold ground, and quiet streets. I do not mind this weather whatsoever, being the northern creature that I am but also grateful for any reason to stay holed up in my studio. Attending a residency during a pandemic — or what we hope is the tail end of the pandemic — means even more solitary time than what’s typically afforded. We pick up (while wearing masks) our truly delicious meals in take-out containers and bring them back to our individual studios and homes to eat on our own. Two weeks is not a huge amount of time — and 10 days even less — so I’m focusing on my work rather than on the potential social aspect, despite the fact that the four other artists and writers in attendance are such interesting people.

While here, I have started a new body of work that I’ll display at my solo show in July at Northern Daughters gallery. I’m working with collage, gouache, and Flashe paint, as is my want, to create a series of pictures of people interacting in various interior and exterior spaces. I’m using the fragmented nature of collage to create multi-layered narratives taking place in domestic and public environments. Here’s the starting point of one of the pieces with the base layer collage in ready for painting:

I am so grateful to have this time and space and feel like I won the art residency lottery. I imagine that spending a month here (one of the residency options which I unfortunately couldn’t do) would be that much more rewarding. If you’re an artist reading this and are looking for a truly supportive, quiet, and productive residency, consider applying to Monson Arts!