Budding playwright Ashleigh Giffen came to Studio H Canada for an intensive writing residency.
Here is Ashleigh in the studio blowing off the tension of writing and deadlines, hanging out in the studio reading Viking Runes for guidance and finding new inspiration by playing with all manner of art materials. Ashleigh has made a post about her experience here and you can read about her on the bio page as well.
Did she get all her work done? Well, writing to deadline for the Vancouver Arts Club and the Squamish Times newspaper had to compete with the lure of roaming Metchosin’s beaches and lakes, hanging out with the local artistic luminaries, and of course there is all the gourmet meals prepared by her uncle Mike…..
I loved having Ashleigh come and work at the studio and seeing her find her groove. She felt very comfortable exploring materials and allowing me to guide her in the use of tools and materials for visual art. As an emerging writer she is open to everything and that is a wonderful thing. Her visit inspired me in other ways too. In the next four months or so I hope to be in a position to formally launch a program to support young emerging artists to come to the studio and have a similar experience. There is nothing like concentrated time, even a week at a time to focus on your work. I re-learned that lesson last summer when I did an intensive mentorship with Harold Klunder and worked in my studio every day.
The studio has a moderate library of art books and magazine collections (especially Border Crossings, my favourite) as well as theory, and of course political science and philosophy. Enough to keep the budding writers and artists inspired.
All that writing makes a person hungry, and thirsty! The front patio of the studio is a place of fragrant, calm warmth, with Gypsy jazz floating on the airwaves, it’s bliss.
If you are interested in this kind of experience or know someone who is, please forward the link to this post or leave a comment at the end of the blog.