Douglas Witmer

Saturday, July 30, 2005

residency report

I thought some of you might be curious about the details and logistics of the Glen Arbor Art Association's (GAAA) Artist Residency program. Here's a brief "participant's report." You can follow this link (it's also in the sidebar) for their official information.

Glen Arbor is a small town in northern Michigan on the coast of Lake Michigan. The closest urban center is Traverse City approximately 45 minutes away. Much of the area around Glen Arbor is designated as the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes themselves are about 5 miles south of town in Empire. Additionally, there are many resort communities and luxury vacation spots tucked into the woods all around the area and the many smaller inland lakes. The town of Glen Arbor has become a kind of tourist trap, with luxury SUVs parked out front of the faux "trading post" and somewhat shocking prices in the grocery store. I'm told many of the vacationers come from Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, etc.

Living side-by-side with the vacation set are the year-round population, which is more diverse. That part of northern Michigan seems like it has, over the years, attracted a lot of independently minded folks (a lot of classic ex-hippies). I got the feeling that at one time it was a super cheap place to buy super beautiful land. There also seems to be somewhat of a tradition of artists, writers, and musicians being attracted to the area. The multi-disciplinary arts school Interlochen is not far away. Just outside Glen Arbor, there is a prep school called The Leelenau School that has an extremely beautiful campus right on the Lake Michigan waterfront. In the summer particularly, it seems there's a lot of enthusiasm for concerts and readings.

The GAAA is an art center that holds classes, sponsors concerts and readings, and a few years ago began an artist residency program. It has a fairly new, nicely designed building in a wooded section of town. The ground floor is the GAAA office and a skylit multi-purpose gallery/classroom/event space. The second floor is the apartment for the artist in residence. The apartment has a large living-room/workspace, a nice bedroom, a bathroom, and an extremely small kitchen that is basically the size of a closet. The whole place is skylit as well, with windows looking out into the little woods. Glen Arbor is a one-intersection kind of town. You can walk anywhere from anywhere.

No surprise, the predominant frame of reference for what "art" is, judging from what is being bought and sold in the boutique galleries, from what's hanging in GAAA's gallery, and from the classes they offer, is that genre of pleasant pastoral landscape. Pick your medium and go. And of course, there are the high end craft galleries.

Back to the local community, though. Many have the feel of being ex-pats in their own country. I found them to be a really welcoming community. Several GAAA members were especially friendly and helpful, making sure I knew about events and inviting me to parties at their homes. At the same time, they were completely hands off in terms of my living and working situation. I was simply handed the keys and given some directions to the farm. There were a few guidelines for the apartment posted inside. I told my wife that it was the first time since I lived in Europe (12 years ago) that people responded with enthusiasm and genuine curiosity rather than that typical humor-coated cynicism upon finding out I am an artist. I gave a slide presentation of my work. "Modern art" (as someone called my work) is not common currency there, but people were inquisitive and I could tell their questions came from a sincere desire to learn and experience. Also, people seemed honored to have me there, just as I was honored to be there.

Finally, about the workspace (which is fairly well documented here in previous posts). In 2000-01, the GAAA negotiated an agreement with the National Park Service to renovate and use a historic 19th century farmstead (the Thoreson farm) located within the boundaries of the National Lakeshore and less than a mile inland from the lake itself. The work is proceeding slowly, as much of it is done by volunteers and also under the scrutiny of the state historical commission. So far the existing structures have been stabilized. The tool shed is the only building that is completed. But work is also happening on the large barn and to the farmhouse. And they use the whole farm like a campus.

As I said, upon my arrival I was just given the keys to the farm and told to look for the long red building. It was very informal. The toolshed is basic, but beautiful. It is skylit, has a cement floor, electric and plumbing. They said just to move stuff around and set it up they way I wanted to. When I got there I could tell they used the space for a variety of activities. It was easy to make a little division of the space in order to give myself a sense of privacy. I did have to move some stuff...building materials, etc...to open up the space. Also in one corner of my space were the old kitchen appliances from the house. (not in my photos.) I used about a third of the building. It got rather warm in there during the afternoons, but it was bearable with the fans they have.

I was a bit surprised that there were classes happening at the farm nearly every day. One was a landscape class and they worked outside the majority of the time. Others were held in the space adjacent to me. I worked with headphones on and for the most part no one interrupted me while I was obviously in the middle of something. Most classes were over by 1:00 pm. Save for two guys working on the barn and their two golden retrievers, the place was very quiet. I could work with natural light there until about 9:30. The evenings were sublime...the light was very beautiful and all the birds became active in the meadow around the farm.

This residency exceeded my expectations in terms of accomodations and workspace. My schedule only permitted me a week there, but they grant residencies for up to a month at a time. The only downside for me was that it was rather expensive in terms of food. The kitchen in the apartment is a real challenge. But had I been there for a longer period of time, I would have made more of a point to cook, and this would have reduced the average cost. Another potential challenge for people is transportation. You need a car to get between the apartment and the studio. The actual distance is bikable (3-4 miles), but it's a winding hilly dirt road from the main road to the farm. I drove to Glen Arbor, but you can fly into Traverse City. I'm not sure how you get to Glen Arbor from there, though. Also, I took all of my supplies with me. But there is a decent art supply store in Traverse City. Last but not least, I'm happy to report that Glen Arbor has a fine espresso bar and it's located a few hundred yards from the apartment. Leelenau Coffee Roasters...they do it right and they have internet access, just not the greatest pastry selection.

11 Comments:

So would you say your work was influenced by the same sources that influence those "pleasant pastoral landscape" painters?
As with any small resort town, food is always a bit more..but hardly "shocking". Andersons has quite a good selection great stuff for such a small town.

By Anonymous, at 8/01/2005

Hello Anonymous,
You're back...so did we meet? I think I saw you at Art's.

And to answer your question, yes...to an extent.

(By the way, a 1/2 pound of Genoa salami at Anderson's was nearly double what I paid this week at the grocery store here. Yes they do have good stuff.)

So where can we see your work, etc?

By Douglas Witmer, at 8/01/2005

I think I would be much more interested in you answering the first question I posed to you.
Would you say that your work at this residency was influenced by the same source that influenced those "pleasant pastoral landscape" painters you seem to chide?
Or can we call you Mr. Tuttle?

By Anonymous, at 8/01/2005

Perhaps it's the effect of written communication that made it seem that I was chiding pleasant pastoral landscape painters, just as it seems the tone of most of your comments is intended to chide me.

I'm sorry, but I respectfully decline to converse with an anonymous entity.

If you really want to be in conversation, you have a choice. Please see:
http://www.douglaswitmer.com/blog/2005/06/good-
housekeeping.html

Thanks.

By Douglas Witmer, at 8/01/2005

Oh come on..your being silly. My name is Bob. Should I go through the trouble of filling out some fake email address and make up a name like everyone else. Would that make me any more real.
I am a real person, passionate about art. Lets talk art. You take the time and money to set up this entire web world and claim you yearn for dialoge and the first interesting question given to you is avoided by some silly rule maze.

I guess I was chiding you a bit. I'm sorry. It just seems a wee bit odd to me. Your site that is. Is this a web site for the commercial aspect of selling your art? Is it simply a pure place of asethetic discussion? Or a place where you can show off just how creative in so many ways DGLs is? I mean it all does seem a bit ego building doen't it? Are you happy just showing examples of work in progress and have those other two people that write here go "oooo" and "ahhhh". That doesn't really do much does it?

I thought it was kind of telling in that interview you did where your questions where almost as long as her answers. Whose point did you want to get across?
anyway this is all kind of pointless isn't it because it seems your going to deleat this all. Let me know if you want to really have a discussion about art and your residency.
I would be very interested in your idea about how your influences are that much different than those pastoral landscape artists. I think it is kind of key. Any way,Your choice.
I promise I won't be chide or snide . I'm a staight up kind of guy.

By Bob, at 8/02/2005

Bob said:
--Oh come on..your being silly

I don't think I'm being silly at all. We wouldn't be in either of the positions we are if, after the very first time you commented on my blog I could have contacted you directly outside of this discussion and we could have gotten on the same page. I think we'd both see each other differently. We might be having the conversation we both say we want.

Remember my aforementioned request if you choose to comment in the future. Otherwise, this is the last time I'll engage you.

Bob said:
--I would be very interested in your idea about how your influences are that much different than those pastoral landscape artists...I promise I won't be chide or snide . I'm a staight up kind of guy.

I sincerely would like to believe that...to give you the benefit of the doubt. And actually the question is interesting to me. I think about it anyway all the time. But...

Bob said:
--Is [DGLS] simply a pure place of asethetic discussion? Or a place where you can show off just how creative in so many ways DGLs is? I mean it all does seem a bit ego building doen't it?
--I thought it was kind of telling in that interview you did where your questions where almost as long as her answers. Whose point did you want to get across?

Your consistent tendency to make these kind of backhanded insults doesn't make me trust your intentions at all, doesn't make me think that discussing art is your desire, or objective, or passion, and makes me think you're not "straight up."

Bob said:
--Oh come on..your being silly

You might think so. I assume we've both been in situations like this before. I only have so much time and energy. I'm not going to spend it talking about things that matter to me with people who I don't feel I can trust. And to be clear I do not equate "trust" with "agreeing on aesthetic issues."

Bob said:
--Are you happy just showing examples of work in progress and have those other two people that write here go "oooo" and "ahhhh". That doesn't really do much does it?

I don't need to be patted on the back. I deal with criticism and rejection all the time. If you're gonna put yourself out there it's gonna come your way. The fact that a few of my friends post encouragement frequently here speaks mostly to the fact that this is a young weblog project. But you know what, I AM proud of and I stand by what I work very hard to achieve. Again I ask, where can we find out about your work, what you do, etc.?

Bob said:
--Is [DGLS] a web site for the commercial aspect of selling your art? Is it simply a pure place of asethetic discussion? I mean it all does seem a bit ego building doen't it?

This is what DGLS is (and what many weblogs are): a project that is ongoing. My original idea when I found out about weblogs is that it would be a really easy way for me to update people about my exhibition activity...much easier than having to contact my website designer and having them make the changes. But as I learn about the possibilities of it, I'm trying to experiment and develop it.

Regarding your concern about DGLS being "ego building." This, to me, is the underlying issue you have had since you first appeared here to split hairs about my residency in Michigan. I truly don't know what seems to threaten you so much about an artist sharing their work, their studio process & progress, their thoughts, connecting and conversing with other artists, talking about trivial stuff from time to time, and having fun.

If what you see or what you want to see on DGLS is an ego-building exercise and a threat to something you are about, I'm actually surprised. My work has its position, but I don't see it in any way as attempting to promote what most people think of as an "ego." But then, perhaps that is why it may be interpreted as a threat.

I know what it feels like when I see work is outside of my conciousness at the time. It can seem foreign and, to a degree, "threatening." For a time Tuttle's work fell into this category for me.

See you later, "Bob." I really have to get back to my paintings.

By Douglas Witmer, at 8/02/2005