Being an artist is akin to being a solo entrepreneur. You have to invest in yourself to get the results you want. In order to apply for an artist residency you have to be prepared to pay. The costs could include flights, residency costs and living allowances. Which is why many artists apply for grants to help offset the costs.

In Part Two of my blogposts on artist residencies, I wanted to share some exciting news. Last week I was notified that my grant application with Create NSW has been successful. This is hugely exciting as it supports me to pursue my art about climate change and indicates that when you devise projects you are passionate about, they can resonate with others and get support.

My project, Stone Stories is a geo-narrative project in two artist residencies. The project will include development of new paper based artworks and experimenting with Argyrotype photography processes and textiles to extend my skills in printmaking, and sculptural paper installations.

For these two residencies on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and in East Iceland, I will create artworks which reframe the concept of the inanimate and animate in relation to geological forms such as rocks and stones, especially as story repositories of place and time.

Here’s what I have packed for these two residencies taking place in the northern hemisphere winter/spring.

Clothing:

Boots, good thick socks, thermals (base layers), waterproof over-pants, quick drying travel jeans, padded parker, hat, gloves, scarf and heavy duty zipper coat to fit over my Icelandic jumper which is coming out of mothballs again.

Art supplies:

As I will be travelling to the Outer Hebrides and Iceland with only a backpack, all my art supplies need to to be small, lightweight and portable. I will also pack my new laptop, charger cables, adapters, hydrophone and recorder – for recording sounds I can turn into sonograms.

Here are my essential so I don’t have to hunt down supplies when I arrive in London or Reykjavik.

·      one tube of black acrylic paint

·       a tiny bottle of paint retarder for printmaking

·      a selection of my handmade and flood marked papers

·      gelli plate and small roller for printing

·      black ink in a new unopened small bottle

·      embroidery threads, needles, snips, awl (for hole punching)

·      embroidery hoop

·      small circular silk screens to make paper shapes

·      a bag of pre-dried paper pulps

·      my electric blender stick to reconstitute the paper

·      small mould & deckle

·      pre-cut papers for my daily artworks

·      glue & gluestick

·      Inktense pencils and brush

·      several charcoal sticks

·      watercolour set

·      knife and plastic ruler

·      A5 size cutting mat

·      sketchbook & journal

This might seem like a lot of items to pack, but you do need to be prepared and relatively self-sufficient, especially in isolated places where shops are few and far between.

Everything else can be improvised. The fun is in following your intuition and letting your hands guide you into what they love best to do. I have outlined my ten tips on how to get started when on an artist residency in my blogpost from April 2021 Lessons from a Residency. Now I must continue with my packing….

This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.