My
residency at Mother’s Milk was after months of living majorly on
the road. The first phase involved an installation on the barn
studio. The winds were extreme. I installed a tally mark drawing of a
week of local newspapers sewn together. I made an animation of the
wind undoing my installation as I worked.
During
the second phase, I worked on a series of anatomical drawings over
circle drawings in the barn studio and researched neurology and
sensory perception at the farm house. Between barn and house, I
filtered a partial structure with red organza and visited the space
on my walks to and from studio.
Shared
meals and time around the fire pit prepared me to return to the road
restored. The work I completed is the Twentieth Anniversary of my
Circle Drawings, connecting work I started in 2002 with a new layer
of marks in 2022.
“In 2022, I got a little burned out from working in marketing and spent a lot of the year learning how to engage with my writing practice. I stayed at Mother’s Milk for two scorching weeks in July, and it was an amazing place to be still and catch up with myself. Gerry and Nelson are immaculate hosts who have created a calm and delightful haven. They were always available and kind and generous if we needed anything, eager to get to know us while still giving us room to explore and work on our own. The house and the barn are perfect spots to read and write and think and walk outside among the bugs and deer and birds — I’d be thrilled to return.”
"My
residency at Mother's Milk was the perfect opportunity
for me to focus more in depth on my drawing practice. Earlier in the
year I curated a large group exhibition at Charlotte Street
Foundation in Kansas City, MO, and I needed the time to rededicate to
my own making process. The spacious studio space afforded me the
chance to draw at a much larger scale and the quiet of the residency
was the ideal setting."
“Mother's Milk AIR for me was a place where it seemed anything could be possible - not in the corny way like you might see on an inspirational banner posted on your aunt's facebook feed - but in a Gerry and Nelson want to help you make things happen kinda way. They took an interest in my project in a way that made me feel as though my work actually mattered. Being at a place that is built with creativity at its center was freeing, enlivening, and reassuring; the studio building seemed as much an integral part of the landscape as the fields of wheat that surround the farm. A lot of my practice in recent years has revolved around a large-scale, multi-installation work - I was able to dedicate my mind to this pursuit and complete a site-specific, semi-permanent sculpture during my time in residence. I am so grateful to have had the experience and I definitely hope to return soon.”
"Mother’s Milk is a beautiful balance of quiet, space, hospitality, freedom, and support. During my time at the residency, I focused my attention on creating a body of paintings for a pre-scheduled exhibit. I was encouraged to spread out, share ideas, collaborate, and grow. As a result, I was able to exceed my plans and produce five large-scale paintings that I have exhibited and am still learning from. I am constantly recommending Mother’s Milk to artist’s in my community."
In my latest series, “Cathedral,” I am repurposing an ancient triptych frame to replace depictions of religious myths with environmentally inspired landscapes. Spending two concentrated weeks on the Mother's Milk heavily wooded property was a welcome respite from ordinary studio life and allowed me to quickly absorb my surroundings and respond immediately. Our hosts, Gerry and Nelson, were generous and warm and have created a peaceful setting and pristine studio space. As artists themselves, they were exquisitely sensitive to allowing us the freedom to pursue our work undisturbed while also making themselves readily available when we needed them. I am grateful for my time there.
“I loved this residency and it helped me to rediscover the intricacies and heart of my creative practice. The entire compound was inspiring; the salon library and porch where I spent many of my mornings reading and gazing out onto the wide-open prairie skies, the short walk to the studio through the gardens and woods which I discovered many little rusty bits and bobs that I used to create my cyanotype photograms, and the studio space where I spent the bulk of my time creating using the light of the sun for both seeing and exposing the photograms. I went to Mother’s Milk assuming I’d be working on my proposal (although as with any experimental process I messed up the process and used up all of my finite material within the first few days), because of this, I ended up working on cyanotype photogram weavings. I was able to use the flora in the gardens to create new photograms and spend time learning how to create depth and movement in a static image. In my two weeks at Mother’s Milk I found a really nice balance of solitude and community. I had the space to really listen to my hands. Through the conversation with my hands and with Gerry I left with the realization that fiber art and craft are at the core of my practice. I left Mother’s Milk with a tangible start to a new body of work and many ideas for future work.”
“Mother’s Milk offered me much-needed time and spaciousness at just the right moment. I focused on oral history work during my time at the residency, mapping interviews I had conducted earlier in the year, and the quiet setting was so conducive to being present and doing some deep listening. Gerry and Nelson are warm and supportive hosts, and the studio facilities are beautiful. Don’t miss the all-you-can eat pie buffet during your time there!”
"My time at Mother's Milk Residency was highlighted by play, close attention to the objects and materials around me, and a re-calibration of my relationship to technology. It was thrilling to find rusty tools and objects around the property made weird by time and their interactions with nature. I made a toy from barbed wire to honor that feeling of play with the materials close at hand. I polished specific surfaces of both a plow and thresher, paying attention to their contours and geometry--and giving them both a new quality of reflectivity. I came into the residency thinking I would use power tools for most of my work, but I found I could only get the control I wanted from using my hands directly. This was especially the case when I started drawing on rusty surfaces. I'd scratch them using a piece of wire then blend the dust with a cotton swab creating yellowy-orange chalk-like fields and shapes. It's a mode of working I find so much comfort in, and wouldn't have found had I not taken a full month to slow down and play."
“Mother’s Milk feels a little refuge outside of time. Between the living quarters and the barn is a patch of woods and a garden, and when I walked outside to pause from my work, I picked arugula and sweet tomatoes. The sunflowers are always nodding yes. This residency has a special place in my heart because I finished a draft of my manuscript there, pacing beneath the trees and watching the sun turn their bark bronze. To celebrate me finishing, Gerry and Nelson made a perfect cocktail called The Last Word. I left the residency feeling rejuvenated and restored.”
"At Mother's Milk I had the opportunity to further explore the cyanotype process with unusual substrate surfaces and treatments before exposure. The results have pushed my work into new territory but also solidified a connective thread between multiple bodies of work that appear disparate on the surface. Being in a space outside of my regular routine and environment fostered artistic growth while making connections with a wonderful group of people, Mother's Milk was incredibly supportive and encouraging throughout the process, allowing me to push myself creatively. The atmosphere was relaxed and I never felt pressured to produce finished pieces. It was a rewarding experience and I'm grateful for the time and opportunity I had to work here."
“My time at Mother’s Milk enabled me to write the best versions of the projects I worked on while there. Even more lastingly, art world advice from Geraldine and Nelson have positively shaped my career trajectory in the months since my residency. I had fun too :) The residency spaces are a historic-artistic-renovated joy to be in, as were the conversations with Geraldine, Nelson, and the other residents.”
“Mother's Milk was a godsend during the Pandemic. When all residencies had closed down or were on hold, Mother's Milk was taking applications! Leah and I needed to work side by side for our collaborative photo project since we reside in different states. The residency allowed us time together to work on our project. We loved our stay there, working in the barn and picking cherry tomatoes and arugula from the garden plot, going for runs beside the quiet cornfields, and the sweetness of the whole place. The stage of our project meant we had to be on our computers a lot, so it was a lovely setting to counter that - quiet, remote, beautiful, sunny and warm, with lovely architectural design in the main house and space to spread out in the studios. Gerry and Nelson could not have been more welcoming, helpful and generous. We made leaps and bounds and are forever grateful.”
“I spent four weeks at Mother’s Milk exploring the Kansas landscape while finding materials at hand to develop images inspired by the area. Originally, I collected stones and soil samples from my environment to prepare pigments. My plan to use these for mokuhanga woodblock printing got even more exciting, when I realized that there are many felled tree trunks on the property. Nelson generously offered his help and cut some slices from the trunks. These became the substance to carve images of the landscape. Mother’s Milk is on the land of a former dairy farm at the edge of a special Kansas settler’s town, Newton. I was amazed by the town’s history and the local businesses, which still move the town forward. Gerry and Nelson created a beautiful environment for the residents by artfully renovating the farmhouse. It was a pleasure to sit in the parlor and peruse their inspiring collection of art books. Our hosts brought artists together by organizing welcome dinners, which not only provided good food and conversation, but also eased the newcomer residents into the ways of the house.”