A Residency Recap of Another 6 months on the Road
Time Flies, 6 months gone in a flash!
It’s been awhile my friends, and I’m long remiss with missives from the Field! I always have good intentions of blogging while on the road, but I prefer to be present in my experiences without constantly documenting them. Not the best social media strategy I know!
So below is a brief recap of my residencies from Oct 2022 - April 2023, for those who are interested in such things. It was another epic experience of creative adventure in all it’s highs and, yes, sometimes lows.
I plan to do a series of posts that will go into more depth about each place, so stay tuned!
BIGCI International Artist Residency: Bilpin, Australia - Going to the edge in the Blue Mountains. October - December 2022.
Finishing up my installation for the Open Day exhibit and artist talk at BigCi. Painting, drawing, found objects, maps. November 2022 ©Amy Guion Clay
I had been scheduled to go to this residency back in 2020, but the pandemic cut that off at the knees, especially because Oz was very strict about any comings and goings. I finally arrived for my 2 month residency in mid-October of 2022 with 5 other international artists.
Located just northwest of Sydney on the edge of Wollemi National Park and surrounded by bush, I was fully engaged in this wild and unique environment. Our hosts, Rae and Yuri, inspired and challenged me both physically (long vertiginous bush walks) and creatively (going beyond 2D painting into installation and 3D work). At times uncomfortable, and ultimately life changing.
The Art Shed at BigCi - large studio spaces with 4 separate rooms and shared kitchen, bathrooms.
Climbing into a ravine in the Blue Mountains - pushing my limits to the very edge!
CASA TAGUMERCHE - Canary Islands - a view to the west overlooking the Atlantic. January 2023
The veranda at Casa-Tagumerche looking west to the Atlantic Ocean. ©Amy Guion Clay 2023
Perched on the side of a volcanic mountain on La Gomera in the Canary Islands, this place was all about the spectacular view from the lovely veranda. It really felt more like a guest house, with separate rooms and shared bathrooms, kitchen and common room.
But there were no real studios for visual artists, which I found challenging. I was there for just 2 weeks, and I spent my time mostly doing a lot of writing, walking and sharing ideas with the other residents. If you are a visual artist needing a large painting studio, you might look elsewhere, but if your discipline doesn’t require much space, this was a quiet and tranquil place for thinking and dreaming.
ARTEVENTURA Artist Residency, Aracena, Spain February 2023 - PART 2
View from my veranda at Arteventura, overlooking the Sierras de Aracena National Park. ©Amy Guion Clay 2023
This was my second time at Arteventura, and it lived up to the wonderful memories of my previous residency just the year before. The hosts Hilde and Peter have created a magical rural environment for artists of all kinds to drop out of time and into another world. Perched on the edge of a national park, the sounds of nature are never far away.
There are 2 small self contained private “apartments” for 1 artist each overlooking the “finca” (the estate), and a shared apartment connected to a huge shared studio. There were 4 artists this time - 2 visual artists, a filmmaker and a painter/musician. The nearby villages were all within walking distance (albeit a long but lovely walk) but easily accessible.
Painters, writers, musicians, installation artists - all are welcome.
A view of my “apartment”, looking across the studio onto the balcony.
One of my paintings on paper I did at the residency. ©Amy Guion Clay
ST. IVES, CORNWALL, ENGLAND - Annabel Wilkes Printing Studio. March 2023
I’ve been coming to St. Ives in Cornwall for 12 years, in love with the sea air, the coastal walks and the charming village (best to go off season!). I first stayed for a week at Annabel’s Airbnb cottage for some R and R back in 2019. We became fast friends, and I learned that she was a printmaker working at the nearby Porthmeor Print Studio.
I have since returned several times, and in the meantime Annabel set up a lovely studio in the village of Newmill, not far from St. Ives. She invites people into her studio to learn new techniques through her one-to-one tutorials, and in my case, she assisted in developing my new ideas and projects. It was pure luxury to have an experienced printmaker be my guide and helper.
I explored collagraphs on cardboard and monotypes with natural objects which I planned to expand on further at my upcoming residency at the Glasgow Print Studio. It was the perfect gateway to my next stage of experimental printmaking in Scotland.
The stunning coastal walking path from St. Ives to Zennor, Cornwall. ©Amy Guion Clay 2023
WHITBY, Yorkshire, England March 2023 An inspiration gathering side trip.
This was not a residency per se but a purely personal and inspirational trip that contributed greatly to the work that was to follow.
Some years ago I spent time on the northeast coast of Yorkshire and had longed to return. As I was already on my way from southwest Cornwall to Glasgow via train, it seemed a perfect diversion to visit Whitby - a lovely fishing village on the Yorkshire coast, northeast of the main city of York. My intention was to do more coastal walking and find further inspiration for my printmaking residency at the Glasgow Print Studio.
I was mostly struck by a stunning barrier wall of large sage-y green boulders along Whitby Beach, which inspired some palettes for future use. I love creating color stories based on my photographs, and never know when they will inspire a new body of work. My only disappointment was that I didn’t have more time there.
Barrier wall along Whitby Beach at high tide. Whitby, Yorkshire ©Amy Guion Clay 2023
GLASGOW PRINT STUDIO, Glasgow Print Studio, Scotland March 2023
A few of the prints in process - a combo of collograph, photopolymer etching and monotype. ©Amy Guion Clay 2023
Hanging with the Glasgow Print Studio directors and some of the members. March 2023
My time printmaking the previous year at Glasgow Print Studio only increased my obsession with this process, so I was delighted to be welcomed back to GPS for another 2 weeks this year. The staff and some of the other regular member artists felt like old friends and were incredibly helpful in every way.
I worked mostly in collagraph, monotype and photopolmer etching, expanding on some of the works I started earlier that month in Cornwall. I loved having some prints already in process that I could build upon and combine with other techniques.
2 weeks is never enough time, especially with printmaking, but I feel like I have a print studio home in Glasgow to return to as time and resources allow.
THE ADMIRAL’S HOUSE, Isle of Skye, Scotland April 2023 - Part 2 on the edge of a bluff.
Again, this is one of the residencies I longed to return to since being here last year. The 6+ hour bus ride from Glasgow to Portree through the Highlands and Islands of Scotland is worth the price of admission alone.
Then, upon arrival at the Admiral’s House, the view overlooking Raasay Sound is an ever changing window onto the wild marine world of the north Atlantic. My studio - aka Lady Joan Macdonald - is the only one of the three studios that has this exquisite view, so if you are planning on applying, I would suggest requesting that studio.
This area is remote and deeply quiet but for the ever present baa’s of the local sheep. The weather is, well, what one would expect from coastal Scotland, but for those of us who like their weather dark and dank, dive right in!
CONCLUSION:
There is so much more to these experiences than I could synopsize in this post, so look out for future posts that will dig deeper into these places and the work that arose from each of these residencies.
And if you want to know more about residencies in general, check out my online course which covers all the ins and outs of how to apply and attend your residency! Click the button below.
I also coach individuals who are looking for support to find and craft the right proposal to be accepted into the residency of their choice. Click below for more information.