September 2022, Monthlong Art Residency

I visited Escalante, Utah for the first time in 2014. My visit happened to coincide with the annual art festival, and I remember seeing the work of that years’ artist in residence, and dreaming about one day returning as an artist myself. Eight years later that dream came true, thanks to the Bureau of Land Management & Escalante Canyons Art Festival.

Below is a handful of photos from my residency. I hope that they might be a little window into moments of creativity, joy, observation, and immersion in that incredible landscape. Every residency is unique, and this experience was characterized by the unbelieveable scenery and the interaction with the community. Over the course of my month in Escalante, I taught two art workshops for adults, prepared for a show of my work at the festival, led a writing workshop for the local high school students, and taught an art class for a very small elementary school. And, following the trend of my previous residencies this year, I got to experience more unusual weather, with higher than normal temperatures for two weeks (some days, it was over 104 degrees F while painting on the slickrock), and then a spectacularly rainy monsoon season that brought its own challenges to painting outdoors. I got to see the desert come alive with the rain, from unusual flowers to lichen the color of turquoise.

With special thanks to everyone at the Bureau of Land Management, the Escalante Canyons Art Festival team, and Howard and Ruthanne.