Tag: Residency

Cherise Ward’s Residency – Week 2 Report

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Experiments with Clay

Week 2 of the residency was the beginning of my sculptural explorations. I wanted to explore the idea of building functional sculptures inspired by my illustration concepts, so I spent this week experimenting with clay. Growing up, I was always making things with my hands, and clay was something my mother would buy for me to sculpt with. The last time I sculpted anything with clay was about 3 or 4 years ago and I was very excited to use this time to work with it again, and learn more about ceramics.

During the first week, Annalee introduced me to Juliana Innis, a local Artist. Juliana gave me many tips, sharing information about her own work and firing technique, as well as information about mixing glazes.

Over the weekend I bought some local clay. I spent the first day brainstorming, sketching ideas, and doing research.  In The Colleen Lewis Reading Room, I found two very interesting books on ceramics. One called Japanese Ceramics Today, which had a lot of interesting information and images; and the second book, Handbuilt Ceramics, included techniques such as pinching and coiling.

When I started sculpting, I had an idea of what I wanted to make based on my sketches. I worked through the initial uncertainty, and enjoyed the process and the exploration. As I continued working, the initial idea evolved.

The first finished piece is a vase.

I’ve started a second piece, and I’m excited to see what the finished product will look like.

On Saturday, I went on a family excursion to Chalky Mount, St. Andrew, where we had the opportunity to meet the potter John Springer. John spoke about our local clay, and demonstrated the use of the potter’s wheel. He also showed us his kiln, and explained how it functioned.

Follow Cherise on Tumblr for more updates on her residency & practice.

Cherise Ward’s Residency – Week 1 Report

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“A Journey of the Imagination”

Before starting the residency, I attended a talk at Fresh Milk by three artists who spoke about their residency experiences. After hearing these, I was determined to start the residency (my first) with a clear mind and willingness to embrace new ideas.

Day one of the ‘My Time’ residency started with a talk with Annalee, where we discussed my intentions for how I will spend my time, and emphasised the importance of experimenting and exploring ideas over the necessity of producing finished work. I had a tour of the facilities, and then I took some time to explore the expansive grounds. Fresh Milk has a lot of space to explore: cows, chickens, the sounds of birds, breeze, plants, trees, flowers, and a swing. It was very easy to feel relaxed, and with a clear mind, I was excited to get started.

On that first day, Annalee recommended a few books for me to look through. One of them, The Art of James Christensen: A Journey of the Imagination perfectly summed up my intentions for how I will spend my time during the four weeks at Fresh Milk.

My plans for this residency included developing ideas for a story, and using this as the main inspiration for sculptural explorations. Week one of the residency was spent fleshing out the pages of the story. The idea was inspired by a fairytale I read for a class a number of years ago, called ‘The Doll in the Grass.” In this story, the doll falls into the water, and when she is brought to the surface, she has been transformed into a real girl. My story follows the adventures of this doll. Throughout her adventures, she is deep in thought. She laments about being made of wood, wanting to fall in love, wondering if she can without a real heart that beats, and finally, wishing she was a real girl. She is so caught up in her own thoughts that she does not realize that she is being followed by a real boy.  The story reflects the importance of being present in your life, as there is a lot you can miss out on when you are caught up on what was, or what you wish could be. (This story has a happy ending).

The imagery of the story is very much influenced by Fresh Milk’s surroundings. My work in general is inspired by nature, and there was so much to be inspired by. I decided to make the grounds of Fresh Milk her environment in the story. So this is where much of her journey takes place.

For the illustrations, I used acrylic ink on watercolour paper. This story, and these illustrations, will be the inspiration for the sculptures/puppets/toys I will work on/experiment with/explore in the coming weeks.

Follow Cherise on Tumblr for updates on her residency & practice.

Adrian Green and Sky LARC’s Residency: Final Report

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Adrian Green and Sky LARC share their final residency report on their ongoing film collaboration, which will be screened at Fresh Milk in 2014 upon its completion. Stay tuned for more information on this in the new year.

Thanks to Adrian and LARC for working with Fresh Milk on this project and concluding the local residency programme for 2013.

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It is over but it is not done.  We are in mid labour with the video for the poem H(art)d work, conceived with Fresh Milk.  It will be a bastard child; born after the relationship of LARC, Adrian Green and Fresh Milk has officially ended.  But many so called illegitimate children have risen to dwarf the stature of their peers born and raised in the standardised arrangement.  Jesus comes to mind.

However instead of having one earthly parent, this project has three.

We cannot say for sure that this video child is immaculate.  It has not yet fully emerged from the womb.  We can see the head though, and it looks to be well formed.  As this is the first video adaptation of one of my poems, I feel confident though that I will be able to say, “This is my only begotten video, with whom I am well pleased.”

Till this long tedious labour is complete, all I have is faith.  Faith without works is dead, so to ensure that this baby is not still born, much work still remains.  This project has made a believer out of me.  I have a newer, fresher appreciation for the medium of film and video which is in many ways the polar opposite of my own preferred mode of expression.  One is more communal, the other solitary.  One is tech dependent the other needs only a black lead and paper.

So much frustration, so much back and forth, so many different personalities: I am not used to this.  In fact I actively avoid it.  Thank you LARC and Fresh Milk for forcing me to grow.

On to the next scene…

– Adrian Green

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Damali Abrams’ Residency: Week 4 Report

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Damali Abrams. Photograph by Mark King.

This residency has brought me to a new level of possibility in my work. I am extremely grateful that I’ve had this opportunity. Every single moment has been a chance to learn and grow and be inspired. In Barbados and Grenada I absorbed more natural beauty than I ever thought possible. I have also seen the value of being part of new (to me) conversations in new (to me) places. I have learned a lot about myself and my limits and my strengths. I am filled with an incredible amount of inspiration and I am excited to see how it all manifests in my work.

Fresh Performance: Contemporary Performance Art in NYC & the Caribbean, the documentary that I came to this residency to complete, came out very differently from what I expected (but I expected that as well). During the last two weeks of the residency, the video took a huge turn. Its form completely transformed. When I was in Grenada, I found myself editing out huge chunks of the film. Things that just weren’t moving me in the same way that they had before. It became clear to me that if I was no longer finding it interesting, there was no way I could expect an audience to care. I began to leave in only the portions of the interviews that clearly explained the importance of performance to these particular artists. I wound up cutting about two-thirds of the piece. It went from about 90 minutes to roughly 30 minutes. Then I had to rearrange the clips so that the words of all of the artists I interviewed flowed together. It wasn’t until I got back to New York that I realized that the project had taken shape based on the conversations and experiences I had during the residency (which I think must be the entire point of a residency anyway).

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Damali during the screening of her documentary. Photograph by Mark King.

The final presentation far exceeded my expectations. People in the audience were excited and inspired and said that they learned a lot about performance art from the documentary. I had been feeling pretty wrung out trying to get it done on time, and felt good that my intentions had come across clearly to the audience even though I view it as a work in progress. The audio was not as smooth as I would have liked but the next day I sent it to someone to have it cleaned up, because I have an opportunity to show Fresh Performance again very soon.

The documentary will be part of an exhibition called Face Time: New Portraiture Now opening on Friday November 8, 2013 at Ground Floor Gallery in Brooklyn. I am excited to see how it is received in a gallery setting where people are just seeing bits and pieces of it versus the sit-down screening that we had at Fresh Milk. Also, how will the New York art audience’s response compare to the Barbadian art audience? The questions that led to this project about art in the Caribbean and in New York are even more intriguing to me after this experience. I want to continue to find ways to keep that conversation going. Especially since many of us in New York are either born in the Caribbean or are part of the Caribbean diaspora, it seems like a natural discussion to continue having.

I cannot thank Fresh Milk and Groundation Grenada enough for allowing me this opportunity to travel through art and connect with so many artists and creatives. I felt completely supported and because they were willing to believe in my work and invest in me, I feel more confident in my work as well. And thank you to the twelve amazing artists who were willing to share their time and their processes with me. I would also like to thank the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown for funding this residency.

– Damali Abrams

Versia Harris’ Residency at the IBB – Final Update

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Barbadian artist Versia Harris blogs about her residency at the Instituto Buena Bista (IBB) in Curacao, where she recently completed her stint in their International Project Space programme for the month of October, 2013.

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The End…

Friday marked the end of my five week residency at the IBB in Curacao. A truly wonderful experience filled with ups and downs. I am flying away from this island but I will hold it in my little heart pocket with all other things that I am fond of.

The two weeks of workshop with the students were the most challenging part of the residency, but it was also one of the highlights of my stay. It was physically draining and it delayed my other work. It challenged my patience but it also opened my eyes to what teaching entails. It’s more than just passing knowledge and advice, it’s also caring enough to push the students, especially when they don’t want to or feel like they can’t do something. At times I felt like I am still too selfish to pour this amount of time and energy into mentoring someone.  And yet watching them produce their own animations and then seeing the finished products made me happy and proud to have been able to teach someone something new.

The last two weeks were the most productive. Before coming to Curacao, I had just finished my second animation and was now searching for a direction or at least a starting point for my next video. When I started to work I was drawn to the same kinds of images that I had created for my previous animations, i.e. the open landscape and the small room, devoid of almost all furniture. So I decided to place a version of myself in the images to see what could be revealed to me. The scenes became not just environments, but more about my attitude towards dealing with fantasy.  And in creating these images, I thought about the construction of fantasy and how reality and fantasy constantly inform each other – and so the video became an experiment about the layering of fantasy and reality. Two projectors were placed facing each other with a screen in the middle. A different video played on each one, but because they were projected onto the same surface it was viewed as one video. In preparing for this I was forced to use new computer programs and to learn new ways of producing video.

The exhibition at the end was a culmination of my digital prints and video, and the students animations. They also opened their studios for the viewers to walk through and observe their other works.

I fell in love with the Curacao landscape and no amount of pictures or videos is enough for me to have when I leave. The IBB is a great place with great people managing it and also passing through it. I immensely appreciate the challenges I faced here, and I am inspired by the things I loved.

Thank You IBB!

To view footage of Versia’s final exhibition and presentation at the IBB, click here.

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