The artist-in-residence experience

A year ago, I didn't even know what a residency was. It's something I'd never come across in my 'previous life' as a teacher. Last summer, I felt this instinctual pull towards time alone with my paints. I was so busy all the time and grafting to make money (usually doing things that had more to do with teaching than painting), that every cell in my body was screaming to run and hide away for a time. I did a self-led residency of sorts in the Yorkshire Dales with the dog, just the two of us in a lodge for a week with my easel and 6 blank canvases. It was transformational! I caught the residency bug and immediately started searching for more official residencies provided by arts organisations.

Redcar Contemporary Art Gallery is a relatively new organisation, only in its 3rd year of operations. Miyoko Yamashita, an inspirational and exceptionally well travelled artist, breathes her love of contemporary art and life into the place. It's very special and absolutely worth a visit if you are ever in the area. This residency program attracted me because it was by the sea; Redcar itself is somewhere we often go to relax and the wind farm off the coast makes a tranquil back drop to a beautiful coastline. I spent every morning walking along the beach and took so many of these types of photos of the landscape. There's just something so calming about waking up each morning, literally about 20 steps from the sea, and knowing that a day of focussed creative time will follow.

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My studio space was a dream. 3 huge windows filling the space with light and sounds of the seafront. After reflecting on my week away, there's a few key highlights that really made this time special:

Focus and productivity - I was an artist in residence for 7 days and I finished 8 pieces of artwork during the week. A level of productivity I can only dream of in my home studio! There was no other purpose to most of my days but making art, so as a result I ended up doing what I called 'art supersets' (for any gym goers reading this, you'll know what I mean!). Normally, I paint a layer then go an answer some emails or put the dishwasher on. On a residency, there's none of these distractions so between layers of oil paint, I'd draw out a new painting or jump on my sewing machine or shred some tulle fabric to collage later. Going from one project to another, allowing the momentum to drive me forward and more ideas to flow. Honestly, I could have filled another 2 weeks with the ideas I had. And as a significant achievement for me: I painted so much that I actually finished a tube of oil paint!

Feedback and community - There's a distinct advantage to being in a building which is a hive of artistic activity. It took me a day or so to get used to because normally I have relative solitude while working but once I did, it was wonderful. Artists and associates to the gallery were on hand whenever I needed advice or help. In particular, Miyoko's daily drop-ins to advise on colour choices or composition were invaluable for the development of my practice. What I really took away from it though, was being in an environment where art and the creative process was respected. No-one came into my studio space without asking permission to enter first and there was a wonderful balance of the public and other artists visiting to ask questions. I got encouraging feedback on my work throughout the process which gave me insight into how my work was connecting with others at the moment it was created.

Finding my boundaries - Probably the most significant impact for me was that I started to find the boundaries of my artistic 'comfort zone'. There is a space that I work in that feels comfortable to me and I had not really pushed past this space for a long time. Portraits seemed an easy win for me, but distorting the features and pushing for something more abstract? That was a challenge! Composing a head and shoulders portrait comes naturally to me, but including the full figure while maintaining an emotional connection in the artwork? So difficult! I have realised this is so important for me to continue to do though. I need to push past the comfortable and into those unknown territories. That's where I will find out what I am really capable of.

If you're thinking about doing a self-funded residency, I would highly recommend having a look at Redcar Contemporary Art Gallery's offer: https://rccag.co.uk/residency