Having lived in the South, which I use in relative terms, there is a different harmonic here, a different perspective to the movements of everyday life.  There is time to stop, see and communicate. Though, that may just be a result of the spring weather, the pre-Easter holiday, and my residency at HFA.  It is my hope to envelope myself in this attitude, this way of being, letting it define the work I will do with the community around THEARC.

Saturday began by baptism.  With Chere Karkowsky having spent the week sharing tea and cookies, a form of engagement had been set in place and it was now my turn to see how I fit in.  The energy and eagerness of those that came was over powering.  “What is this?” “Can I use that?” “Do you have anything else?” provided a constant pitch to the days efforts.  I was overpowered and needed to find a way for myself to fit in.  I quickly realized it wasn’t about the public coming me. It was about me becoming a part of the people that saw our site as an everyday part of their own experience.

This was realized yesterday.  As a part of building on the conversation of “What inspires you?” I wanted to think more specifically about the knowledge that resides in the neighborhood.  This began with the question – What is important about DC?  Which provided a resounding number of answers.  Monday, I changed the questions to – What is unique about Anacostia?  With this I drew a map, with vague boundaries, defining the geographic space of the area.  With the constant din of movement around the children’s clinic, a father took a moment to stand outside and look at how I had defined the space.  He asked, “Is this a map of Anacostia.” My reply was, “Yes, it is.”  He responded by telling me that there were a few things missing from my map. This led to a long conversation about roads that I had missed. We then set about adding them to the map.

This one conversation, a singular encounter, is how I want all of my art practice to be.  It is not about making a statement or defining an imperative, but about opening a space for ideas and experiences to be shared.  Much like my arrival in Washington, I want to open up a space with a little bit different of a rhythm.  One that makes possibilities available when people meet and begin to converse.

One of the unique qualities about Habitat for Artists is that it opens a space where these concerns move to the background. The habitat is not only a place for artists to work, but for inviting the community in to collaborate with the artist in creating culture.  It is a meeting place for anyone. Where art galleries and studios can be imposing, the habitats are open and inviting. They are firmly placed in the public with a huge sign on them that says, “Come. Be a part of something.  Tell me what you have to say!” It is this openness and the willingness to listen that I value about the project.

With only weeks before our adventure beings, I’m excited and hopeful about the work we will be doing at THEARC.  This arises not out of a desire to see what we accomplish, but an interest in hearing what the people of the community have to tell us.  I am looking forward to hearing the stories of Anacostia and the people that live there.  Hearing about their every day lives. Finding what is unique about the community.   I enjoy begin a listener in these situations; hearing and learning from those around us. I want to soak in all that is around me.

In the end, I’m hoping that we can create something which the community can see as it’s own. May that be an image, a poster, a poem, or a dinner. I’d like to see those that I work with have an opportunity to do something that they may have never tried.  My hope is that art can be a meeting place for exchange and shared understanding.

Eliza Delaney is a student at The University of Vermont. She spent two days working on her collage art in the Morrisville studio. "I juxtapose multiple images collected from art magazines that I find interesting and beautiful in a way that creates new meaning for the works. At the same time I am creating work of my own while learning about the work of another artist."

Chip Irvine, a multimedia artist spent time painting in the Morrisville studio.  After talking with Chip I learned that he recently moved to Vermont from Baltimore. Quite a change of scenery. I am now wondering how the new air and change of scenery might influence his work.

Sam Thurston of Lowell, Vermont

Alisha Laramee was a 2010-2011 Vermont Arts Council Creation Grant recipient. Her idea was to create ten essays exploring the ideas of movement, migration, place, identity and travel.

Work by Renee Russo  

This project was made possible by grants from the following organizations: Vermont Arts Council, NEA, Vermont Community Foundation, and the Oakland Foundation. A big thank you to all the participating artists and volunteers as well!

Meet Brian Zeigler. He's been spending many Tuesdays in Stowe's studio. He began by making a collage on the exterior of the studio, the one that faces the public as they begin their walk/run/bike ride on Stowe's recreation path. He incorporated Joshua Sevits's spray paint, the HFA sign, and then was added to by Meg McDevitt's UVM sculpture class and Marisa Diapola's painting - oh, and a hub cap.

Brian's been creating "cartoons" with empty bubbles for both the inside and the outside of the studio, hoping to engage both the artist residents and the public to complete this work. I think he's found it slightly challenging. As an artist in this project, he's really tried to engage people in the process, whether it's with a sign outside that asks you to write what makes you think of home or the empty thought bubbles.

Thank you, Brian!

Meet Julia Shipley: Our Writer in Residence!

above: a postcard designed by Julia for her HFA residency

Read about her experience online!!!!

Julia will be writing an article for Stowetoday.com every week throughout the course of her Ten Sabbaths in Residence at the Stowe habitat.

The title of her latest article, What is Art? tells of her interaction with a curious passerby.

"...No sooner had I settled in when a woman with coppery hair and a visor reading "The Dunes" stopped by and abruptly asked, "So what is art?" My eyes widened...."

Click on the link below to get the whole scoop.

http://www.stowetoday.com/this_week/arts/article_cb48f816-c37d-11e0-90f9-001cc4c03286.html

Photos by Liz Crawford

Last week Meg Mcdevitt who is an artist and professor at The University of Vermont brought her summer sculpture class to the Stowe habitat! While in residence for the week her students worked on their sculpture projects in and outside of the studio.

Mandi here...Good afternoon from Vermont! Allow me to introduce myself. An intern at Helen Day Art Center and an art student at The University of Vermont, I hail from a large peninsula called Florida. I moved because I didn't want to wear a bikini year round to keep cool.

Along with my fellow intern Eliza I will be posting little bits and bobs from our experience thus far working on the Habitat for Artists project. There is a great line up of artists and writers in residence at the Stowe and Morrisville studios, so keep up with our updates and feel free to comment or ask questions!!

Building Workshop Day 2 with Simon (& Aiden too!):  Eliza and I first learned how to create the studios so that we could assemble them two weeks later on our own. What better way to learn than to have hands on experience. No textbooks here, such joy! Recently I took a class titled: Wood Frame Construction. Unfortunately, the class lacked any physical constructing so I really appreciated having this opportunity to learn by actually doing.

After a great day of work and fun, Eliza and I had become more comfortable working with tools and were pretty confident in our ability to re-create the habitats when the time came.

Some might say Simon and Prince have a striking resemblance. Any comments?

Curated by Rachel Moore.

The Morrisville Habitat!

With an early morning start the studio was built and finished with enough time to watch the sun go down.

The brochure for our summer teen art lab: