EVERGREEN ENERGY SPARKED MEMORIES AND PROLIFIC ART

Evergreen, Colorado

Well, it’s a wrap! My Evergreen, Colorado artist residency is officially over and I’m back in my home state of Florida. Over the long drive home, I had time to think about the impact the past three months have had on my life, my art, and my soul. I had time, yes, but I am still digesting so I will do my best to describe my perceptions at this point.

When the Center for the Arts Evergreen invited me to be their autumn artist-in-residence, I will admit that the first thing I thought of was, “Yay! I get to see the aspens change color!“

Sure, I was excited to be invited into their artistic community but, yeah, I really wanted to see those beautiful yellow leaves dance against the brilliant blue sky!

There was plenty of that. Lots of hiking, too. But the most beautiful thing I experienced was the family that is the Center for the Arts and how I was welcomed, from day one, into that family.

To me, Evergreen is a beautiful small town but without a petty, provincial energy. The support for the arts by the community is remarkable. I so enjoyed getting to know not just the people at the Center of the Arts but all over the town. Interactions with the community were authentic, intelligent, curious, and up lifting. It was a delight and an honor to share my artistic vision with Evergreen.

Taking three months away from every day life is no small feat. Moving your entire art studio to another location for three months is also no small feat. But worth it. The Center for the Arts gave me a public studio space in their building as well as a studio cabin that had a great garage that I could use as a second working space. The cabin was set on Little Bear Creek with a big lawn right in front of the water where elk and deer would frequently visit. Magical.

The home was small and quaint, it made me feel like a student again. Just the right size for one person. That student-feeling sparked memories from my last year in college, one of my most prolific artistic years. And these past three months have been no less prolific.

One of the highlights of my residency was teaching my process to a group of students in a two day workshop. I have never taught any part of my process before so this was very exciting to me. All of the students were very eager and enthusiastic, a joy to teach. I look forward to keeping in touch with them in the future and seeing what they create.

But it wasn’t just in the workshop that I shared my thoughts on art and my artistic process. I had opportunities both to speak publicly and on a one-to-one basis when people would visit me in the studio. I found it enriching to be so free with what I am so passionate about.

I decided at the outset that I would not paint with profit in mind. My usual art-festival-almost-every-weekend, commissions-hot-on-the-easel life, would not dictate what my paint and brush would create on the canvas. I would work purely from my soul and the inspiration that I attained from being in this beautiful town and state. I took this time as a true sabbatical from my life and flowed with the energy in a natural and harmonious way.

What resulted, in my opinion, is work that glows with the love I hold for Colorado, and the warm welcome with which Evergreen embraced me.

Now that I am back in my home studio, I am so excited to see what kind of art flows from this experience. I feel like the channels of creativity are wide open and I am filled with renewed energy!

Thank you endlessly, Center for the Arts Evergreen! I hope that you found my company as delightful as I found yours!

I promise to return “home” soon!

Pictured (left to right): Emiko Martinez, Jackie Weaver, Sara Miller, Christine Adele Moore, Lisa Nierenberg, Zach Figurski, Amanda Ingalls, and Tom Maxey

Aspen Fire in the Sky 48”x36” by Christine Adele Moore