show going up, trip winding down...

It's Tuesday, June 25, 10:00 am.  As the end of my month-long residency here at Baer draws near, our group of five artists are preparing to hang a show of our work in the gallery area of the studio building.  This Open House show takes place tomorrow night from 8-10pm., and Steinunn has listed the event in a local publication, and posted announcements in the area.  Each Baer residency group shows their work in this fashion, and these events have caught on quite well, so we are all looking forward to meeting more neighbors, friends and visitors in the area.

With the show looming, I am on a final push to finish a larger-scale drawing in time to hang my work.  I'll work on it through today, and cross my fingers that I can get it to a resolved state by tomorrow morning.  This may be the one time where the midnight sun, and the sleepless nights it facilitates for me, may work to my advantage.  It won't be the first time I've stumbled into my studio at 3am to draw, paint...or just stare at my work.

I cannot begin to describe this experience...so I'm reluctant to even make an attempt.  This is the first artist residency I've ever done...but after this, I'm hooked.  I want more.  I've been warned by the other four resident artists- all veterans of residency grants- that this particular one has set the bar quite high...it's been one of the best each has ever experienced.  They've cautioned me to not expect them all to be like this!  But, I don't care.  The time and space to work, in a unique environment- away from the familiar...that's what I've loved the most.  Posh, rustic, large, small...bring them on.  I've loved how this experience has changed the way I see, and think...and that can happen when you can focus, uninterrupted with no distractions, on your work.  I crave more.  My work demands it, I think.  Where to next...?

Our final group excursion: We spent Sunday morning on a boat, touring the local coastline.  A beautiful day.  We were able to see the Art Center and this entire now-familiar-to-us area from a different perspective. The epic nature of the space, and the islands just off the coast, came into clearer view from this vantage point.  And, basalt rock formations abound.

We spent some time circling the small, isolated islands off the coast...including Drangey Island, a favorite for birds in the area.  So much so that one side (the northern side) is bleached with white- specks of white as well as large swaths of whitewashed rock. The specks are birds...the whitewash: bird poo.

Upon our return swing back to the Harbor in Hofsos, we encountered what we had hoped to see, but can be fleeting to the eye: whales.  In the distance at first, then alongside our boat for a brief moment.  

I was even able to grab a few seconds of video during our whale encounters:

A truly wonderous experience.

But enough of this.  I have a drawing to attack...