Thoughts about the Residency by Joseph Garland

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"Joe MacGown! What can you say about this crazy joker?  An entomologist by trade, an artist by compulsion, and a generally make-happener of things.  I’ve got a little freak flag I’ve got rolled up in my pocket—most artists do—but Joe’s one of the rare ones who’s out there letting it fly.  He’s a man with a plan—or at least he’s improvising well enough to look like he knows what he’s been doing the whole time. 

 

As I understand it, that improvisational style is how his new art residency came to be. It’s how he built the new buildings gracing his property, and it’s really how my time out there went—a loosely planned couple of weeks wherein I only kinda knew what I was doing, and it worked out far better than I could have hoped. 

 

The MacGown Art Quarters have really popped off since I first came out to them about seven years ago. It used to be a house, a cool art studio, and a lot of woods. Joe and his wife, Jennifer, have really decked out the place since then—a new house for themselves; a sweet new cabin built on the edge of the woods, where I stayed for the duration of my visit; and yes, a deck, complete with pavilion, overlooking a brand-new pond. All of it is more or less hand-built by the MacGown family. As I write this, I bet Joe’s hammering away at the next one: an art gallery and workshop space overlooking the pond where the MacGowns and other artists can display their work in its full glory. The old house has become a sort of gallery as well…it’s slowly undergoing the process of becoming entirely covered in artwork—a process which I was able to assist in during my stay. 

 

All of these new developments have formed a sort of art playground, which I was free to roam and improvise. I flitted around from building to building, watching my art react to a million different stimuli, from the 17 acres of woods and trails, to the wild collection of synthesizers and other instruments Joe has recently acquired, to the crazy conversations I’d have with Joe and Joseph—Joe’s son and a good friend of mine—and the many visitors who would stop by to chat and check out my artwork. It was a whirling variety of activities, and all of it was spiraling towards a single point—an art show that the MacGowns and the MSU idea shop had set up and scheduled for the end of my stay. 

 

Thus, my artistic cavorting was given a wonderful structure to develop so many skills essential to artmaking: the ability to anchor myself in a creative headspace; to focus on ideas when their formation was slow, to keep pace with the ideas when they sped up; to let go of my reservations and watch as instincts begin to make the work; and to confidently present my work to an interested audience. Opportunities to practice all these skills came forth in an unpredictable but steady pattern as I settled into the funky groove of the MacGown land.

 

By the time my show rolled around, I was nervous, but I felt prepared to handle it. Joe had given me a lot of advice over the two weeks, the central theme being Don’t Be Shy. I applied it as best I could as I set up my work and the crowd began trickling into the gallery space. I said hi to people, painted some of their portraits on the spot, and sold more work than I had expected to.

 

The whole residency was pretty much a dream come true. I spent two weeks on a friggin sweet patch of land, unfurling that freak flag and messing around with art. Then I turned around and shared it with the public and made a real connection with people—and sold some work! An experience like this is about as good as it gets for an artist— it gave me some of the most inspiration, and encouragement, and growth that I’ve had in a long time. A huge thank you to Joe, Jennifer, and Joseph. I couldn’t recommend this residency enough." ​

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J.G. 2022