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.
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In my studio. |
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Working on paintings on paper. |
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In front of three of the largest boards, 48" x 36". |
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 an artist. You are surrounded by others who feel the same way, and who understand the appeal of spending a beautiful sunny day inside the studio.