CASP Studio Residency, Palo Alto, California.
December 2018 - March 2019
Three month Artist Residency, Rotating Artist Studio, Cubberley Artist Studio Program (CASP)
The Cubberley Artist Studio Program (CASP) supports the vitality of the arts in the city of Palo Alto by providing City-sponsored, affordable studio spaces for artists, building on creative community and fostering public engagement with the arts and artists.
My proposal was to use this space for the ongoing visual enquiry into the common themes of my work: the abstraction of shape, colour, pattern, light and structure. Exploring the tension between artistic representation and the graphic form, and allowing dedicated time and space to experiment, discover, document, connect and share my process.
The residency happened to coincide with some consuming challenges in my life, and so I found myself using the studio as a form of escape, where I gave myself permission to play creatively as more of a mindful process, rather than aiming for any ‘finished’ work. This consisted of local walks, taking photos and simply playing with paper and composition in the studio. I unofficially called this process ‘Alternative Therapy’ and for the first time I fully acknowledged and utilised the power of creative play as a huge mental benefit.
During this time I exhibited a piece in a group exhibition ‘Public Alchemy III’, hosted by the Cubberley Studios, March 9-16th 2019, and my three month residency culminated in the sharing of my studio work during the annual Cubberley Open Studios, March 31st 2019.
Greenmeadow Sidewalk Lines, 2019
50 x 35” Photography, inkjet print on copy paper
For years I have photographed the lines and marks on the sidewalk and the beauty in their functionality. These particular photos were taken in a residential area near the studio. They have a lovely textural quality; the lines through the concrete prominent in the sunlight, like imprints made in fresh clay. The occasional shadow dissecting the composition, layering line upon line.
Alternative Therapy, 2019
Many of my ideas continued on from my previous work for ‘project #2293’. Much of my time in the studio was spent organically playing with composition and the interaction between colour, shape and shadow.
