Heading in Different Directions!

(photo by Jill Greene)

The residents are gearing up to move on. And the thunder and rain has come to shoo us on our way today!

Our time here at Arrowmont has been jam packed with new experiences, new friends, and a family we have gained as a result of accepting the opportunity to join Arrowmont for a year of our lives. It has been unforgettable and life changing in so many ways.

The work study and studio assistants have been arriving over the past couple of days, and we know the new residents will be here soon and experience a whirlwind of a summer into the fall, with classes taking place, and new friends being made. We're excited for them!

All of us will be starting a new journey, in a new place, with the exception of TJ. Well, he'll get the new journey, but he is staying right here at Arrowmont! TJ applied along with many, many others in hopes of becoming Program Coordinator here at the school. TJ started work on Thursday, and we haven't seen much of him since! We're excited for him, and know that he will be an asset to everyone he will work with and for. He is such an extremely talented artist and person.

Martina will be heading to North. She will be teaching ceramics at a small, private college in Marlboro, Vermont- Marlboro College. They are lucky to have her with the diversity of knowledge that she has about production work, the art and craft of the field of ceramics, and her unique decorating skills. The students are going to love her!

Kent will be fulfilling his Windgate scholarship, amongst many other ventures! He and his dad are building a woodworking studio on their property in Virginia. As part of his Windgate plan, he will head to Japan, as well as Martha's Vineyard (and more) to learn the traditional ways that wooden yacht's and sailboats are made. His skills will take him far and already have... there is a constant knock at his door with new opportunities.

I will be heading to Flagstaff, AZ, where I earned my BFA in metals. I will be teaching metalsmithing courses at Northern Arizona University. I'm excited to be heading west again, and have so much I want to share with the students involving technique in the field and professional development; and I am excited to travel with them to the Yuma Symposium and SNAG Conferences.

We will all continue to squeeze in as much art making as possible. New developments will be exciting. We have certainly been spoiled by so much time for art making here at Arrowmont, but we are better people for it! I wish everyone could have the Arrowmont experience. It has been a lot of fun sharing our time here with you all- our readers, and we hope you will stick around to see what's happening for the next crew! Keep up with us on our own blogs, our links are to the right!

Goodbye!

Open Studio Ya'll!

As our days at Arrowmont are coming closer to ending, the residents had a final open studio. We lit up the grill, and cleaned up the messes in our studios to make way for visitors from the staff, community, the Arrowmont Board, and our friends...

Had to get that fire pit going...

Family portrait!

It was a great day- thanks for coming everybody!

2010 Artist in Residence Exhibition

here are some shots of the gallery with glimpses at each of our installations. It has been exciting to work alongside each other while the work has been made, but to also see how well it displays together.

In the works...

Two days down, two to go! The gallery is a blank slate awaiting the arrival of fresh art made in Gatlinburg. The show opens Friday... there is so much left to do! Stay tuned for more of our progress as we fill Arrowmont's Sandra J. Blain Gallery with woodwork, sculptural and functional ceramics and metalwork.

Visiting Artists

Tj, Kent and myself took the trip to Middle Tennessee State University on Wednesday to give artist lectures. We had a great time and enjoyed connecting with the students and faculty at MTSU.

We were able to share our life experience with the arts, our work, our influences, and our time at Arrowmont. The residents were invited by Erin Anfinson, faculty member at MTSU as well as visiting faculty here at Arrowmont. She is a painter and studio artist living in Murfreesboro- please do check out her work! We thank her very much for the invitation and for providing us with this experience.

This is the Todd Building at MTSU: home to the art department. Centrally located on campus, they have beautiful facilities. We were impressed with the space; and the quality of each studio. Our trip to Murfreesboro was timed perfectly to coincide with all the student artwork hanging from a recent critique.

When our lectures were finished, we were able to have one on one studio visits with students. This was a great experience. Having the chance to connect further and discuss concept, approach, construction, professionalism and taking the next steps to remain in the arts after school.

This was the first time we had all been back on a college campus since completing our degrees in the spring. It was great to see the student life and remember the environment that we have so recently come from. Time has been passing quickly since we have been at Arrowmont, seeing the students bustling around was a reminder of how quickly it will continue to go!

Thank you Erin, and MTSU for hosting us this week!