Well I just found out that I did not make the final cut for the Scotland Residency that I applied for. I had made the initial cut from 180 to 15, but didn’t make it to the final round. I don’t think there was a great chance to win this, as only three are selected and those represent all artistic mediums, but it would have been a wonderful experience.
I’m sharing this with your for two reasons, first I didn’t want you to think that I only share my successes. I am disappointed by the loss of this opportunity and want everyone out there like me, who has gotten these notes that feel like rejections to know that it happens to everyone. Second, I thought you might be interested to read how I responded to the tough questions that were posed for the application. I have such a hard time writing answers to questions like “Please describe your artistic practice?” Or, “What is your interest in this residency?” Deceptively simple questions… I have to say how grateful I am to have such talented writers around me that I can turn to for guidance and feedback (especially after reading 5 drafts). So thank you to especially to Joel Preston Smith and Kirsten Rian… The odds were against me, but I’m know I put my best foot forward.
I think most of us photographic artists are such visual people that we can’t even stand reading the introductions to some of our favorite photography books (shame on us). I know I’m guilty of it. I hope we can all take some time to appreciate the artists out there capable of communicating clearly and eloquently with the written word. I know that as I continually struggle to become a better writer, the more in awe of them I become.
What is your current artistic practice?
The questions I attempt to answer when creating art, are: What, if anything is permanent? How are the things that we value or leave behind reflections of who we are? What around us is a model of humility and inspiration? What lasts? Using refined techniques, I provide a formal medium for valuing and studying informal subjects—in order to pay tribute to things we see everyday—discarded toys, dresses hanging in a closet, or trees growing beside dumpsters. The joy for me in taking pictures is when I am able to look closer, recognize the beauty that is present everywhere, and then successfully communicate that vision with others.
I take great pride in my print-making abilities, and have studied with both darkroom and digital printing masters to ensure that my skills are always at the highest possible level. All of my images are all generated from film negatives, which I scan and print digitally on an Epson Professional inkjet printer on acid-free, archival-rag paper designed for fine art printmaking. I was recently named a Moab Master photographer, an honor given to artists who are redefining artistic standards for digital printing.
Recently, I received a grant to publish my first book, Displaced, which will be released February. While working on the book, I realized that all the choices I have made in my artistic career–including whom to work for, whom to study with, which projects to pursue and when to invest in further education–have all led me toward creating books. I have thrown myself into the study of camera operations, composing images, film selection, negative development, scanning, printmaking, writing, graphic and web design, color theory, bookmaking, packaging, and marketing all in the hopes of arriving at a point where I felt qualified to produce them. I work extremely hard not just to be competent, but to excel at all of these disciplines, in the belief that I can make work that is exemplary, expressive and inspired. Designing these packaged stories is my life’s passion; it is what excites me most as an artist.
What is your interest in this residency?
In 2007, I traveled throughout Nova Scotia, Canada on a self-imposed exile resulting from a painful separation from my husband. Needing a place to escape, to find beauty in, and restore confidence in myself, Nova Scotia provided a safe haven for artistic exploration and healing. In my marriage, I’d become unwelcome, an interloper, but in Nova Scotia, I was an honored guest. I hadn’t traveled on my own for ten years and was scared of being on my own, alone. But, I felt welcomed by a hauntingly quiet land that somehow came to feel like my true home. Toward the end of the trip, I realized that I had changed there—safely returned from a state of anxiety-ridden sadness to one of faith that I would be able to go on—alone.
After returning to the U.S., I felt grateful for being allowed to find sanctuary in such a serene and beautiful place. I wondered how I might present a gift to a place? What could I possibly bestow on New Scotland?
I felt that Scots arriving there for the first time, possibly in exile themselves, would have been relieved to find solace, safety and familiarity in that land. I wondered how often they’d thought back to their past—to what had been left behind and whether it would have made the separation easier knowing that Nova Scotia and Scotland were literally attached at one time and that in a sense, they were now residing in another part of the homeland they had left.
I knew then what I wanted to do—go back to Old Scotland and assemble a photographic record of the sibling land, as an homage to the people and landscape that I was now connected to.
I haven’t been to Europe in twenty years. A lack of money and scarcity of time have prevented me from exploring and documenting the landscapes that I find most compelling. Coming to Cove Park will open my eyes to a different part of the world again while simultaneously giving me the opportunity to visually reunite two places linked by history, people and landscape—to reconnect two lands, and in doing so, honor them both.
How will the opportunity impact your work?
In my artistic career, I have never had the chance to focus exclusively on making art. I am constantly distracted trying to make money, marketing my photographs, teaching and the other responsibilities of daily life. I find it harder and harder to carve out the time to simply create. As a resident at Cove Park, I would be able to dedicate myself to developing a comprehensive body of images of the Scottish landscape.
I would also be extremely enthusiastic to participate in the residency’s Public Programme component. In Portland, Oregon, and around the U.S., I now frequently present my work to art communities and eagerly participate in opportunities to learn from other artists. I founded and now lead a critique/discussion group at the Newspace Center for Photography in Portland, a monthly meeting dedicated to constructive critiques of photography, shaping careers and artistic practice. I am also a guest critic for Portland State University’s School of Architecture, advising students on how photography can improve their communication skills, and in 2010 will be starting an artist book press and gallery called Vela Noche. I firmly believe that artists have a responsibility to share their own work and perspectives, to teach and inspire when possible, and to listen and learn from others.
Because I have not been able to travel much over the last ten years, I have not been able to devote longer than a few weeks towards one endeavor. My other works to date are small, intimate portfolios. Participating in the Cove Park Residency will have a profound impact on my work—in attracting a wider international audience, in my exposure to how other artists approach their work, and most importantly, in helping me take the leap towards a higher plane of artistic and personal growth.
During this residency I will create a new book, Come Away In, about being welcomed home—back to a place I’ve never been.
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Speaking of talented writers, I’m so proud of my nine-year-old niece, Gaby. I created a blog for her as a holiday gift this year and I’m blown away by how good of a writer she is at the age of nine. Her web site, in case you have a free moment is www.gabyvinick.com. Check out the Haiti posts in particular…
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