Vacation and Residency
Hiiiiiiiiiii! Have you missed me?! I’ve missed you!
I don’t have it in me to write a nicely crafted email narrative for you all - so instead you’ll get some first thoughts and updates because I fear someone might send out the search party for me if I skipped three newsletters in a row! So here’s the scoop - I was working furiously to prepare remarks which I was going to send out to you all (still may happen, we’ll see) for the fantastic Rural Futures Summit held in Fergus Falls June 12-14. On the 13th I finished packing and then headed to the Summit after dealing with some heavy family stuff, delivered my remarks, took in some workshops and then Vaimo picked me up and whisked me to the Fargo airport where we set off for a 22-hour voyage by plane to Helsinki, Finland.
Tervetuloa greeted me upon landing and I recognized the warm welcome from my countless hours of Duolingo preparation I undertook for just this occasion. When we crossed into Sweden a few days later I realized my mistake in focusing only on Finnish! I should have been doing Swedish too! Alas, hindsight as they say. Anyways, Vaimo, Vaimo’s sister, and I set off for a packed 2 week sojourn to try to make sense of the religion in which Vaimo grew up. Part historical tour, part reclaiming pieces of her soul, I basked in delight of being tasked with finding our nightly accommodations across Finland, Sweden, and Norway on this epic road trip journey and the tastes of cardamom buns, Finnish mustard and Swedish bulk licorice.
And I took a vacation. I did some oil pastel sketching in a tiny sketchbook I brought along. (All of them will eventually be posted for my KCF Cafecitxs - my monthly membership crew. I was traveling lightly with only a backpack, and tried for the first time ever the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 rule of packing. What’s that you ask? Well, let me tell you, it’s one hat, two shoes, three bottoms, four tops, five socks and six undies. I ended up (me being me) packing two light cover ups in addition and my swimsuit for sauna time and a dress because what category does that go into? And, it was great, and I probably could have done with less. Now I know!
Finland was magic, as were many parts of rural Sweden. And the best part of it was getting out of the US pace of life. These countries were chill, quiet, friendly places where the energy was respectful of others’ space accompanied by a spirit of collectivity. It was only after two weeks elsewhere that we were we struck with the wild, loud, and frantic US style of things on the Delta flight howe. Banging and yelling flight attendants rushing though service as if there would be a medal for the team who hit the back of the cabin first. Quite jarring, to say the least. What was up with all the loudness? Why was everything so fast? Bottles were flying, elbows knocked by rushing carts, and for what Vaimo and I wondered to each other in shock.
So fast forward to the June 30th newsletter time and again I tried to get you my remarks and I truly did, but jet lag had me in its thralls. I didn’t want to be like the US-based flight crew barreling toward the end of the cabin. No longer sated by the thrill of a nightly sauna, I could barely get myself upright for days. But, I made it through somehow which was good because I picked up a dear one from the airport on Friday July 5th to host at the ChicFinn for a shared two-week DIY artist residency.
I am learning a lot about hosting another artist and attempting to also do my own creative work at the same time. I’m navigating a lot of dynamics that inevitably come up at residency and truly trying to honor my own creative process alongside another artist/writer at the same time. I’ve never had a kind of residency where someone else cooks for the residents and I’m noting that this is something I would like to be intentional if there’s another round of practice DIY residency in our future. I’m learning that for me, residency can be one of the most difficult times in a creative practice because the point is to create. For me, meeting that moment comes with resistance because I cannot use my typical excuses for as to why I’m not creating, and heightened sensitivities to one’s needs for the creative conditions to just so to meet it.
I know some artists will use residency time as an opportunity to rest, and that’s wonderful. But to mistake it as a vacation devalues the work and worth of the artists who need time, and space (among other things) to create. I’m learning that I am the steward of my energy and if I’m giving it all away to other endeavors or people I can’t meet my painting practice. Residency is an opportunity to direct as much energy as possible toward the creative practice through clearing other things off one’s plate. Now, the question is can I do it at home? Do I want to moving forward? Can I hold space for another artist to create with the magic of the ChicFinn Cottage and do my own dance with the creative muses? I suppose we shall see with the aforementioned hindsight.
This time around at residency (my first DIY and my third residency experience total) I’m reflecting on what does it truly take to make art? What social supports are in place that truly value the creative process? Why is art as contribution to the world seen as such a recreational activity? Why does our US hustle culture devalue creative work so much, even as it might be the vehicle to more worldchaning than any other career pursuit? The other current Artist in Residence and I were joking the other day after her sister tells her one more time to “have fun on residency” how she will say the next time she can, “have fun performing surgery!” I’m not saying that art is only labor either, there’s this whole spiritual realm for me as an artist I’m engaging with each and every time I meet the canvas. No wonder my body is a wreck and I’m weary and pained when I’m in the work deeply. What do I need and how can I support my body, mind, and spirit for this work, knowing what I know about what it takes for me to do this work? Anyways, just some thoughts as I work through three more full days of a two week residency at the ChicFinn in mid-July. Thanks for reading my ramble if you’ve made it this far.
You know what else supports artists besides hosting residencies, feeding them, tending to them by buying their work, and loving them for creating magic in the world? Guaranteed Income! Check out this awesome video of a talk I gave in mid-May about my In Rural We Tend to the Herd Billboard Project.
Apologies for no podcast but see the energy has gone into a painting this time around, and you’ll just have to trust that it needed it, and that this was the right thing to do with my precious reserve.
From the Archive:
Four years ago July 15, 2020 Ritual Question
Three years ago July 15, 2021 Special Dispatch from Matfield Green, KS
Two years ago July 15, 2022 Pain in the Art
One year ago July 15, 2023 The Art of the Crop
Questions to ponder
What does it take to create?
How are you stewarding your energy?
What dances are you engaging with the creative muses?
How are you actively valuing or unconsciously devaluing art in your life?
Thanks for journeying with me. I hope, as always, that you take what you need and leave the rest for someone else, or for another time.
-KCF