Inside the Studio
California Dreaming
Artist Residency at MacArthur Place (Sonoma, California, November 2024)
Artwork Launch With Uprise Art (New York City, March 2025)
Sonoma Coast State Park
The soft focus and connectivity of the fall colors I saw in California were immediately reflected in the palette of my new work. I began four new bodies of work here: Dreamspace, Enclusions, Minerals, and Heart & Soul.
Each series started with a variety of archival papers that I gently dip-dyed, a new-to-me material that I carefully customized through tone and texture.
(above) a map of MacArthur Place, with the Artist’s Cottage highlighted,
(below) sights on the grounds at MacArthur Place, November 2024.
In November 2024, I was fortunate to be invited to work as an Artist-in-Residence at MacArthur Place in Sonoma, California. I had not been to Northern California before this trip. I made the best of it–taking time to travel to the coast, explore San Francisco, meet dear friends in the area, and journey up to Yosemite with my family for a few days.
There is a quiet vibrancy to the land and its colors this time of year in Northern California. Even with record-setting rainfall during my time there, the fall landscape was aglow in every direction.
“...going out was really going in.”
painted papers in my studio
MacArthur Place was an impeccable host for my artist residency, and I hardly needed to leave its grounds. I found abundant inspiration in its unique history and natural setting, and I made friends with a fantastic group of local artists through the workshop I taught on-site.
That said, if you ever find yourself in Sonoma in the middle of an unseasonal atmospheric river situation with record-setting rainfall and flooding, you understandably may require a good book to read. I cannot recommend the local shop Readers’ Books enough, a bookstore with solutions for every reader’s needs.
In the following peek inside the studio work, I’ll share the work-in-progress from my artist residency time at MacArthur Place, photos from my travels in California, and the finished works inspired by this time.
Uprise Art in New York City represents the artwork created during this artist's residency. I am incredibly appreciative of the gallery’s support for this experience.
