I recently returned from a month long residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts . This place nurtures artists, writers, musicians and composers with a pastoral environment in the foothills of the Blue Ride mountains. I had uninterrupted time in the studio and I met fellow artists whose work inspired me. Residencies can be compared to both summer camp and the Gulag. It is not a vacation. You have to face your work day after day with little to distract you. In my studio. Working on paintings on paper. In front of three of the largest boards, 48" x 36". Tim DeChristopher, stone sculptor, with his installation made from cardboard boxes. Sculptor Jackie Branson and writer Deirdra McAfee in Jackie's studio. Maggie Dubris , Jackie, Deirdra, and me. Why drive 12 hours from home to do your work? Because you want to get away from your daily chores and distractions to focus on a particular goal, or to reconnect with why you became
in the studio and beyond