Artist in Residence In Keflavik, Iceland

From April 10 through April 18 I was honored to be in Iceland doing an Artist Residency in Keflavik. My friends, Andi and Yukiyo, the owners of Guesthouse 1x6 ( http://www.1x6.is/ ) invited me to come and stay for a week in order to produce a body of artwork in situ, and leave some art on the walls. This past summer, August 2015, my husband and I stayed at the guesthouse for our last night in Iceland. Andi and Yukiyo are so dedicated to the art of taking care of their patrons - we instantly felt at home and absolutely loved our stay, which capped off a truly amazing adventure in Iceland. I drove the Ring Road, the major road that connects most of the exterior of the island, in an attempt to photograph abandoned farmhouses in the stark, hauntingly beautiful and desolate landscapes. We spent most of our days camping, but treated ourselves to a night at 1x6 for our last night.

Truly, I have never experienced vistas that made me cry from how awe-inspiringly beautiful they were, but, as I crested over gravel mountain passes, my heart opened in ways I can't express, and a head-over-heels love affair with Iceland was born.

So to say I was ecstatic at the invitation would be a huge understatement. I'm grateful that my school supported my mission, and  before I knew it, I was boarding my  WowAir flight (http://wowair.us/) out of BWI and was on my way!
I rented a car with SADCars (http://sadcars.com/). I had rented a car with them over the summer - they specialize in used, well-loved, but well-maintained vehicles. Travel tip: roads in Iceland are rural! You may find yourself on an empty, gravel, mountain pass road that hugs narrow cliffs leading straight to the ocean. If that's the case, you probably want an old reliable rather than a flashy new vehicle. I have to say, SADCars took very good care of us when we were there in August; we got a flat tire in the East Fjords, and their maintenance guys had us back on the road with new tires in no time. 

This time I got a little red Toyata Yaris. Here in the states I drive an automatic, but, thanks to a lovely colleague of mine, I learned how to drive stick just for traveling in Iceland (the cost difference between automatic and manual transmission was enough that in July I forced myself to learn a new skill) Getting back behind the wheel during this trip felt natural and fun. 

The goals of this trip were: 

• To create a body of work, both on paper and on the walls of the Guesthouse, from photograph to finished work. For me, this involves several steps: taking the photos, processing them, having transparencies printed, exposing the silkscreens, creating paintings, and screen printing over the paintings. I wanted to complete the whole process and the body of work within my week-long time constraint.
• To photograph the landscapes and farmhouses of the Reykjanes and Snaefellsnes Peninsulas
• To make friends and art connections (with hopes to come back!)
• To offer a printmaking workshop to the local community, teaching screen printing and gelli plate printmaking

Below are some of the photographs I took during my journey around the Reykjanes and Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Honestly, I have about 1,000 more photos on my camera that I haven't really had a chance to look at yet. These were taken on my phone. 

One of the days was an "Admin day", wherein I met with Anna Maria and Anna Margret at Bókasafn Reykjanesbæjar. They were my contacts at the library, and were instrumental in organizing and promoting my workshop. A huge thanks to them and I'm glad I have new friends!
I also had my transparencies printed at a shop in town, Merkiprent. They had great service, had my transparencies printed the same day, and it was such a joy to be able to do some business with a local printshop. Below are the images I wound up using in this first batch of screens. 

I exposed the screens using natural sunlight, at about 2pm. My exposure light did not work with European voltage. 
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The exciting challenge was to replicate my entire studio practice, on a micro scale, pared down to the most essential, all the while staying within the size and weight restrictions of WowAir. I was nervous about traveling with paints and inks, both because of cabin pressure, but also because of how tight security seems to be these days while flying. So I did my research. Artists, if you want to travel with your paints, make sure that you bag them in clear plastic bags. Write on the bag in Sharpie, "Artist Pigments suspended in ...." (whatever it's suspended in. In my case it was acrylic). I also tucked the MSDS sheets in to the bags, so if my suitcase got searched (which it did) my friendly TSA agent would have no questions about what I was traveling with. 

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On Saturday I got to teach the workshop at Bókasafn Reykjanesbæjar. I had my work out for people to view, as well as my business cards and post cards for the show currently up at Pennswood Gallery. Local art enthusiasts were invited to come out for free and print from my screens, making their own creations on fabric and paper. I introduced them to Gelli Plate printmaking, ​http://www.gelliarts.com/, and we used the easily found volcanic rocks to make textures on the printing plate. People experimented with painting back into the prints and combining images, as well as using Caran D'Ache crayons. It was such an honor to share with these new friends the magic of printmaking!
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The week went entirely too quickly, despite my attempts at staying up late and waking up early. I was truly humbled by the kindness of strangers and the warmth and thoughtfulness of new friends. I tried so many new things, namely, traveling completely on my own. I went with an eagerness to learn and a passion for soaking up all I could from this experience, my eyes wide with awe at the beauty of this earth and its people. I ate really. really well. I drove further and more challenging roads than I thought I could. I had amazing conversations with beautiful human beings. Breathing the cool air, I felt healthier, stronger, and more connected to nature than I often do here. I was able to take the time to really BE in the moment, and cherish each one that I got to experience during this residency. 

My heart is full and open. 

I am so grateful for this opportunity and am especially grateful to Andi and Yukiyo for being such warm and kind hosts. I can't wait to be able to get into the studio to work with the ideas that have been bubbling and churning from this trip. More than anything, I leave a piece of myself in Iceland and have a longing to return. 

I'm reminded of the Asgeir Trausti song, "Home": 
Home, I'm making my way home
My mind's already there...

Takk fyrir and bless bless until we meet again, Iceland.