Alt Studio | Workspace
I have been visiting The Mastheads artist and writer day residency program in the Berkshires since 2020. Their flexible scheduling is ideal for working parents and creatives who cannot always do overnights or long stays due to other obligations. The program’s architectural studio units are named after historic literary figures who have overlays with the site as well: Longfellow, Thoreau, Melville, Hawthorne, and Holmes.
Recently, during my third Mastheads day residency visit, I spent time in the Thoreau studio and documented woven paper panels, layered into the light-infused volume of the studio interior. I also referenced this quote by Thoreau, in relation to the early autumn hues and vegetation on the grounds and pathways of the site.
I am struck by the simplicity of light in the atmosphere in the autumn, as if the earth absorbed none, and out of this profusion of dazzling light came the autumnal tints.
Henry David Thoreau (1892). “Autumn: From the Journal of Henry D. Thoreau”
A significant part of my studio practice has often incorporated documenting work in spaces beyond a formal art context. I have also sought out residencies in alternative settings – The Jennings Hotel in Joseph, Oregon; The Land/an art site in Mountainair, New Mexico; An Artist Residency in Motherhood (online), to name a few.
As I take studio work on the road, I look forward to identifying workspaces and places that offer a dialogue beyond the scripted – new woven narratives, adaptation to what emerges naturally, allowing the environment and my surroundings to inform certain choices and directions. It often feels more like writing a chapter or telling a story that needs to be told. More on that soon.