Creating My Own Creative Residency

Today’s gallery is a collection of film images.  I went through a phase where I, not only wanted to have a darkroom again, but build one.  But I have to say that the romance of it that I created in my mind wasn’t what I remembered.  It became so cost prohibitive to process images in the darkroom to say nothing about he hours it took to process just one image.  

But, I do enjoy the process of developing and scanning the film.  Then working on the in the digital realm.  These are a  few of those.  Please feel free to share, comment, critique and offer constructive criticism.  

I took a class yesterday called “Creating Your Own Art Residency”.  And I came to realize that in my own way I already do this.  When I go away, I plan my trips with places to stop along the way that I want to photograph.  I also take time at the end of each day to cull, that days images and maybe share a few on social media.

In 2018 I bought a Ram Promaster 1500 truck.  I took about six months and built a camper into it.  I have a bed, desk, cabinet seat, heater, and even installed a gas line for a stove thinking that I would cook on the road.  But it’s been six years since and I still haven’t used it even once.

Back to my class.  There were, without a doubt, several things that I’m going to add to my upcoming photography trip. 

I’m going away for two weeks in March to visit a couple of friends in Tennessee.  En route, I’m going to stop in Baltimore for a day or two.  Shoot some of the old neighborhoods, the inner harbor, and see what else I can find.  Then in addition to this stop I’m going to visit Trap Pond in Delaware.  It’s one of the northernmost cypress groves in the USA. 

Here is a list of some things that I’m planning to schedule into my days on this trip.

• Study, each of the landscapes and places before and after I visit. This is an effort to learn more about each environment, ecosystem, historic location or anything else I might come across. 
• Collect small natural items that I might be interested in, able to incorporate into my art, things that I might be able to make marks with. All while being considerate of the locations and natural environment, I’m in. 
• Take time and find a spot to sit and immerse myself in the environment other than taking photographs. Take time and listen to the natural world, contemplate my surroundings, and perhaps take ten minutes to meditate.
• I’ve ordered a sketch book to take with me and no matter how primitive they are, I’m going to sketch rough images of the location.
• I’m also going to take watercolors and perhaps acrylic paints with me.  The project here isn’t to paint landscapes or pretty pictures.  I’m going to take a section of what’s in front of me and try to make a color palette to match what I see.  That will give me something to work with when I’m home and looking to work with some of my images in mixed media, or any other projects I come up with.

I’ll continue to plan my trip and creative residency.  I’m hoping to share the select images daily that I spoke about above.  Then when I’m home again and work through all the images and create galleries, I’ll be looking forward to sharing them with you here; I hope you’ll be looking for them as well.  This is where I am going on my creative path and how I’m hoping to push my imaginative limits and expand my inspirational muscles.