Old Central School: Artist in Residence

Old Central School Art Residency: Finding My Voice

A Bit About Myself

I am a fiber artist and farmer. I have raised fiber animals for use in my custom hats and other fiber art since 2015. I am also a ceramicist and created knitting bowls and other tools as an accessory to my knitting business. I previously owned and operated the Local Motion/ Sweet Deviation store in Texas where I held regular art events and invited local artisans to participate in our farm day craft fairs. 

Since moving to Bigfork, I have participated in a number of craft shows and fairs including the Sheperd’s Harvest and Minnesota Fiber Festival. My work has been well received at these events, which propelled me to focus on advancing my skills. 

I design knit patterns and spin, weave, and felt the fiber I harvest from my herd. I also use ceramics to create accessories and tools used in the felting process. My work has focused mainly on wearable or utilitarian pieces.  My hats are sculptural in nature and can be found in my gallery  These are among my most popular works. 

Mediums: Clay, Fiber, and Watercolor

I am currently an artist in residence at the Old Central School in Grand Rapids.  I propose to incorporate these three mediums (Clay, Fiber, and Watercolor) to present a new perspective symbolic of our reliance on these resources.  I will present each element, clay from the earth, the fiber from the animals it feeds, and the water that sustains us all in the form of watercolor to express subjects including my perspective as a woman and an artist. 

It is an amazing privilege to have access to the studio space as a resident artist.  My goal is to use this space intentionally and to its full potential.  There is a gap between my vision and my experience/skills, so I aim to stretch creatively to explore this vision.  

We are more alike than not

The connections between our customs are fascinating to me. I would like to research more about the similarities in our customs and heritage.  I resonate with many of the people that I have met since moving here and I am more interested now in our shared experiences through the lens of our similarities.  One example of this would be the generous gift of an accordion that my neighbor gave me when I first arrived.  I was thrilled to hear that familiar sound, despite two very distinct histories.  The notes of our life songs are the same, in many cases. 

The Hopeful Result

The art community in Itasca County is a gold mine and I look forward to making connections and exploring new depths and a larger scope of my voice with feedback from my peers and community. My greatest hope would be to bring me closer to a full exhibit in a gallery.  This is the first step to that end.  I am fortunate that I have the time to devote to this endeavor.  By the time of completion, I would like to have a series of completed works and a cohesive collection of clay and fiber sculptures professionally displayed.

Additionally, I look forward to creating experiential works for the use of the artist walks every first Friday of each month.  The goal is to bring the community into the discussion and allow for a working collaborative project that would be completed by the visitors during the art walks.  This finished project would be donated or displayed as appropriate.

Defining Success

Success can be rather subjective and there is no checkbox that I can make today, but the creative sensibility that moves me to make this request and take this risk is the same sensibility that I rely on to determine if I am moving forward in the artistic space that I am in.  Beyond having a collection, I want to leave this experience with even more hunger to learn and create. If I find myself at the end of June with an insatiable urge to create and make and do and share then I know that my goals have been accomplished. 

If people respond to the work I create in a way that makes them stay awhile and share their stories and challenges and hopes, I would consider this experience a great success. 

Care to Join me?

The residency is a 6-month commitment. I will work each month to have a new installation for every First Friday Art Walk event.  I invite you to follow along here and join me and the other artists in residence on the 3rd Floor of the Historic Central School building every first Friday of the month.

What you can expect

The first week of the month will explore subjects and sketch ideas/storyboards. Week 2-3 will be focused on the work itself. The final week of the month will include editing and finalizing the work. I will note feedback from the community/visitors and make notes and adjustments accordingly. 

You can find the record of my experiences here on this blog. I will journal my work and share snapshots of my progress throughout the residency.  I also look forward to collaborating with guests of the studio and enjoying the broad circle of creative influences in Itasca County. 

By the end of June, I will have a cohesive body of work.