Artist Residencies
A look back to now
Once, completely out of the blue, I came across a IG post for an artist residency. It sounded so dreamy that I felt compelled to make it a reality. I applied, and to my surprise, I was accepted. It was 2019, at a château in Orquevaux, France. I had never been to an artist residency—or to France—and when the application asked what my intended project would be, answering felt like a stretch of my imagination. I don’t remember what I wrote, but it must have been enough to secure my acceptance.
I arrived with wide-open eyes to the possibilities ahead. One person was working in ceramics, another on an ancestry project, someone else was writing a book—and there I was, unsure of what my project even was. I began walking through the village, mesmerized. It felt as though I had stepped into a fairy tale, and I wanted desperately to bottle that moment in time. I started a painting, then another, trying to capture the colors, the feelings, the emotions.
When my two weeks came to an end, I packed up unfinished paintings and stacks of sketches on paper. Years later, looking at the sketchbooks and paintings I’ve since completed I realized what my project had been all along: building a creative habit. Now I fill my sketchbooks and paint regularly. Being surrounded by other creatives taught me that it isn’t always about completing a project. For me, it’s about claiming the title of artist and finding joy in the act of creating—filling sketchbooks, discovering new music, painting intuitively, and appreciating the art of others.
Happy creating!
❤️
Daisy 🌼