I just returned from an amazing experience as a fellow at Hambidge, an art residency at Rabun Gap, Georgia. It was a time of growth, exploration and renewal for me. I brought lots of material along with worries about what I’d work on, all the usual fears of creating. I was given a small house/studio on their six hundred acre property, surrounded by mountains, forests, streams, hiking trails and other little houses for other fellows. My house had a light filled large studio with a small bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. Somehow as soon as I unpacked my materials- wire, papers, charcoal, pastel, litho crayons, inks, photos- work just started coming and didn’t stop until the last day. The longer I was there, the more I experimented. Ideas kept coming and my excitement in my work kept building. I started working in wire and worked on two figurative pieces, then went to paper and made a series of five large collage/drawings using pastel, litho crayon, charcoal, water and ink. They combine words with the female form and range from 28”x 41” to 54”x60”. I also started using resists on paper with pencil and ink. These were smaller pieces that I started out using Vaseline on. On a suggestion from Bob Thomas, the residency director, I tried paste wax and found it an even better resist. By the time I had to pack up my work, the walls were covered with drawings, going right up the staircase. I was so excited by what I was doing that I finally had to force myself to stop and pack the last day. I have come home excited to continue experimenting with resists combined with ink and water, and just wanting to keep working at the pace I worked at while at Hambidge. It was wonderful not having to take care of anything or anyone, knowing that dinner would be made and other artists would be there to talk with each evening. My days just flew past, working, hiking the trails, working, reading books, working, dinner, working, and reading… Words don’t express how much I loved my time there. The staff was wonderful and I felt so well taken care of. I keep thinking how can I take Hambidge home with me. I’ve already started cleaning out a room so I can have a studio at home. I liked being able to work whenever I wanted to.

I’m excited about the work I produced and will be showing some of the new work in a one-person show at the Queens College Arts Center, Queens College, City University of NY, in October 2009. I’d love to find a place to show the work created at Hambidge. It was interesting to see how the work kept feeding on itself and going in new directions. 

                                     Naomi Grossman