Comments about the Residency by  Karina Rovira (2022)​

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From the first time I had heard about the residency Joe and Joseph were putting together I was intrigued and knew I wanted to participate in this residency. To focus on my work in this space that has so much nature and solitude was something I wanted, but also to balance it out in a town where an art scene was in the process of growing and evolving. 

 

I had been living in Berlin the last 5 years, and had been growing my art practice there. I had focused on photography and oil pastel drawings but they were always created and talked about separately. The residency came at a point where I was looking to see how to connect drawing and photography together and go deeper in these mediums, and also try out an old alternative photo process I hadn’t had time to explore consistently called cyanotypes. I was ready to explore these worlds and the residency was giving me a platform for the ideas that I had been playing in the back of my mind to manifest. 

 

During my two weeks there one of my favorite aspects was the atmosphere and ambiance inside and outside the studio. In the land I was staying the scenic and peaceful atmosphere I found to be very stimulating. The cabin in which I stayed in was cozy and more then comfortable, and had everything I needed for the two weeks I was there. The studio space I shared with Joe and Joseph was full of resources and materials. I had brought my own supplies to work with but Joe and Joseph also shared their knowledge on other materials they had, and encouraged exploring with things I hadn’t used before. This residency not only allowed me the time and space to go deeper into the materials and techniques I had already known, for example I have been doing oil pastel drawings for many years but during the residency I got the time to go deeper into the technique adding more and more layers to the drawing which I original never really did, but it also introduced new materials like using inks, chalk pastels, and being in a natural environment inspired me to use botanicals as s focus in my drawings, and also allowed for me to explore cyanotypes. 

 

It was also great to not only be in this nature but also get to know more of the art community growing in Starkville. Having people drop by the Macgown studio to talk about art and what I'm currently working on added another level of freshness to the experience and it was a great pleasure to meet the wonderful artists living in Starkville. 

 

We had two main events during my time at the residency, they were firstly a open studio day where people in the town were invited to the studio learn how to make cyanotypes. This was one of the main techniques I was focusing on during the residency, it was great to see such a wide range of ages attend the workshop day, and it was lovely to share this technique with other people so that they would also grow interest and want to experiment with it themselves at home. The second event scheduled during the 2 week residency was an Artist Reception on the 12th day of the residency to showcase the work I made during the residency and also meet more people in Starkville. The thought of filling up a space and having enough work to show people was intimidating but I was pleased and surprised with the amount of work that was done with this short period of time. Joe and Joseph were also always very encouraging and supportive which made it easier and fun to create all the work. 

 

Overall, I could not be happier with my experience at the MacGown Artist Residency, and found that it was very valuable for my own artistic growth. The benefits from this residency will not only be present during this two weeks but will extend outside of that time! I would like to thank Joe and Joseph for creating this Artist Residency they were more then accommodating and willing to help me source things I needed - art related or otherwise. They gave me helpful advice on pricing my work, exhibiting, storing, packaging, and also promoting and exposing my work which they also took the time to do while I was at the residency, like organizing events, studio visits promoting online, in the local paper, and also on a podcast.  I would love to also thank the Del Rendon Foundation for financially supporting this residency, the financial support is also what made this trip physically possible for me to do, and it will help my artistic practice more forward with supporting my material cost and also studio cost. I am very grateful for this time and feel very encouraged to keep this momentum going!