![\"Dunes-Beach-Blowout\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceythompson.com\/art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Dunes-Beach-Blowout.png?resize=840%2C528&ssl=1\")
Beach House Blowout, Trail 9, Indiana Dunes State Park<\/p><\/div>\n
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Through the magic of Twitter, I stumbled on Lucy Bellwood\u2019s amazing comic <\/span>\u201cMappin\u2019 the Floor: A Scientific High-Seas Adventure.\u201d<\/span><\/a> It was thrilling. It had adventure. It had science. It told a great story of professional passions and discovery. It was beautiful. It spoke to me, and I fell in love with it <\/span><\/p>\n When I saw that Bellwood created her comic as part of an <\/span>artist-in-residency program<\/span><\/a> I nearly jumped out of my seat. I had the sudden realization that \u201cI could totally do something cool like this!\u201d Unfortunately, I had already missed the deadline for this specific program. But with a little research, I found a wealth of other similar programs to explore! <\/span><\/p>\n It turns out many regional and <\/span>national parks<\/span><\/a> have residency programs. These programs are a way for parks to generate public interest. The parks provide lodging and amazing scenery. The artist agrees to donate art or give a talk about what it\u2019s like to be an artist-in-residence at this park. Artist-in-residencies are more than an opportunity to create art. They are an opportunity to share the mission and the spirit of a place in a way that reaches far outside the park.<\/span><\/p>\n They are such a popular form of community outreach that there are plenty to choose from. California alone has seven active residencies (I\u2019ll have links to these at the end.) There are six in Alaska, one in <\/span>Hawaii,<\/span><\/a> and even one in the <\/span>Dry Tortugas<\/span><\/a>. For me, the choice was easy. I chose the <\/span>Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is home. It is 15,000 acres on 15 miles of Lake Michigan lakeshore. It\u2019s a rapidly changing place subject to erosion, flooding, fire, and industry. It\u2019s different every time I visit, but it is always beautiful. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marsh Sunset off US 12<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Swooning over a place is one thing, putting down into words exactly what you\u2019re going to do while you\u2019re there is another. As a casual sketch-artist, I haven\u2019t had to write about my work. I\u2019ll post a little process on Instagram here and there, but it\u2019s hardly \u201capplication\u201d grade material.<\/span><\/p>\n I broke it down into 5 steps. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Those are real things I actually said about a dozen times during this process. Everyone feels this way sometimes, especially when out of their element.<\/span><\/p>\n Whenever I teach friends how to surf, I try to frame each awkward moment in the learning process as practice. You practice carrying everything to the beach. You practice putting all the gear on. You practice getting out past the waves. Learning to surf is not only riding a wave but all the small steps that get you there. Feeling silly or out of place is one step in many. Focusing on learning makes it more likely you’ll keep going, not matter how much of an imposter you feel you are.<\/span><\/p>\n This idea kept me going while staring at that blank application page. Whenever I’d question whether I even deserve to apply I’d tell myself: It\u2019s all practice. I am practicing organizing my ideas. I am practicing talking about my work. I am practicing putting myself out there. And if I fail, that’s practice, too.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The next step was deciding on a topic. \u201cOohing and ahhing\u201d over how great the dunes are wasn\u2019t going to cut it. \u00a0I read through the application to make sure I was considering all the requirements. I had a few ideas that I fleshed out with research. <\/span><\/p>\n The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is the home of the Theory of Ecological Succession. <\/span>Henry Chandler Cowles<\/span><\/a> came up with his<\/span> theory<\/span><\/a> studying the Indiana Dunes. His research focused on how the environment changed from bare sand to thriving forests or wetlands and back again. Cowles contributions to ecology helped scientists see the world not as rigid ecosystems, but as places that change over time. <\/span><\/p>\n I wanted to document the changing landscapes that Cowles saw. I wanted to learn about all the plants and animals that contributed to and benefitted from these changes. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This was the most laborious part of the process. I started with an outline. For each bullet point, I included notes about what I wanted the reader to take away from that section. I wrote and rewrote three drafts using Google docs to track my work. I put together art samples and described how each of my past works of art related to my plan for this residency. <\/span><\/p>\n I didn\u2019t do it alone. I had help from some fantastic writers in my life. They helped me hone my message, tighten up my language, and fix all my typos. I couldn\u2019t have done it without them and they have my eternal gratitude. <\/span><\/p>\n To make life a little easier for them, I ran my drafts through automated editing programs. I used <\/span>Grammarly<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Hemmingway<\/span><\/a>, to look for basic grammar and spelling mistakes. Both are free. While the final pass still needed a human touch, these robot-editors helped get the easy fixes out of the way.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The application process differs from residency to residency. For the Dunes, I had to physically mail my application in with a USB drive of my work. I mailed it in with three weeks to spare before the deadline, in case the mail took longer than expected.<\/span><\/p>\n The application also required I provide a self-addressed stamped envelope. This allowed the judges to return my drive with their decision. If I have one tip for those applying by physical mail: get tracking numbers. I got tracking numbers on both the package there and the package back. It didn\u2019t cost very much and was worth it for my sanity.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n When my self-addressed stamped envelope came back, it included a rejection letter. I wasn\u2019t surprised. This was my first time ever applying. It\u2019s a learning process. I had learned how to apply for a residency and now I was practicing receiving rejection letters. This setback was an opportunity to improve and try again.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sure, I was a little disappointed that I didn\u2019t get in but in the spirit of practice I went anyway. I thought this would be a great chance to see how well my proposal actually worked in real life. <\/span><\/p>\n My family lives in the area near the Dunes so I was fortunate to have a place to stay. Their town is surrounded on all sides by the park. I could do all the things I\u2019d planned to do without the pressure of having to show something for it at the end. <\/span><\/p>\n I planned to go out in the field and paint at least once a day. I thought I\u2019d take a few mediums (watercolor, gouache, chalk pastels, and pen and ink) and see where the mood took me. I had a few ideas about what \u201cchanging landscapes\u201d I wanted to paint. I wanted to paint erosion-prone areas and areas in recovery. I wanted to paint the main ecosystems including dunes, marshes, grasslands, and forests. I wanted to paint how the dunes change in shadows and sunlight.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was a great two weeks. I hiked with my brother almost every day to scout locations in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the Indiana Dunes State Park. I learned so much from this residency trial run.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n First, I’m not as tough as I\u2019d like to think I am. It was HOT. I didn\u2019t wind up painting on location as much as I\u2019d hoped. I took photos and reference sketches back home and painted when it cooled down. I also realized I am afraid of ticks. I wouldn\u2019t have been quite so hot if I wasn\u2019t wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucked into my socks. But if I did that, I\u2019d be a walking buffet for ticks so I sweated it out. Everything I wore was UV protecting, insect repelling, and sweat soaked. I washed my painting clothes every night.<\/span><\/p>\n The main challenge I faced was lack of focus. A few days in I realized why I didn\u2019t get into the program. My proposal was over ambitious. I\u2019d said to the judges the equivalent of: \u201cI want to paint everything in every medium in every style every day.\u201d I was so caught up in the possibilities of what I could do with this residency, I didn\u2019t get down to specifics. I \u201coooed and aaahd\u201d but in fancier sounding words. Had I gone with this plan as a resident, I would have been all over the place. There\u2019s no telling what I would have come up with beyond \u201cpaintings.\u201d If I had it to do over again, I would have picked one thing to focus on in one medium. <\/span><\/p>\n Because of this lack of focus, I took 24 pounds of art supplies with me. That was quite the carry-on. Had I limited myself to one medium, I could have cut that weight by more than half. I only took the chalks out once! The lesson again here is to focus. I don\u2019t need to paint the entire world with every possible medium today. I can do one medium well per visit and save something for the next trip.<\/span><\/p>\n I also wish I\u2019d tried to connect with rangers or local naturalists to learn more about specific areas. Had I selected an area of focus, \u00a0it would have been easier to find the right person to reach out to.<\/span><\/p>\n This is why we practice, to try something new, to learn from it, and do it better next time. I now have volumes to think about for my next trip and plenty of new experiments to try. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eastern Prickly Pear, Opuntia humifusa, native to the Great Lakes<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n This experience showed me much I love painting dunes. I want to do a series of dune landscapes. I\u2019ve already visited Indiana and New Jersey. Now want to visit dunes in California and Oregon to see how dunes differ from coast to coast. I want to come back to the Indiana Dunes and document how they change season to season and year to year. I don\u2019t need the residency to continue to visit, but I\u2019d like to re-apply once I\u2019ve found the right thing to focus my residency on.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve had so much help through this process and learned so much. If you\u2019re considering applying for a residency and have any questions, please don\u2019t hesitate to <\/span>contact me<\/span><\/a>. I\u2019m happy to help. My writing skills may still need work, but I can offer encouragement and support.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n View towards Chicago from\u00a0Dune Succession Trail Steps, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n California Artist-in-Residencies<\/b><\/p>\n Alaska Artist-in Residencies<\/b><\/p>\n Michigan Artist-in-Residency<\/b><\/p>\n![\"Dunes-Sunset-Marsh\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceythompson.com\/art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Dunes-Sunset-Marsh.png?resize=840%2C578&ssl=1\")
The Application Process <\/span><\/h1>\n
Step 1: Overcome imposter syndrome. <\/span><\/h3>\n
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Step 2: Pick a topic and organize your ideas<\/span><\/h3>\n
Step 3: Write, rewrite, and have a good editor (or two)<\/span><\/h3>\n
Step 4: Mail it in and wait.<\/span><\/h3>\n
Step 5: Focus on what you\u2019ve learned<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Dunes-Stones\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceythompson.com\/art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Dunes-Stones.png?resize=840%2C459&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nIn the spirit of practice<\/span><\/h1>\n
What I learned<\/span><\/h1>\n
A few things that went well<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Where I struggled<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Dunes-PricklyPear\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceythompson.com\/art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Dunes-PricklyPear.png?resize=840%2C501&ssl=1\")
What\u2019s next?<\/span><\/h1>\n
![\"Dunes-Steps-View\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceythompson.com\/art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Dunes-Steps-View.png?resize=840%2C536&ssl=1\")
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Links to Artist-in-Residencies mentioned above:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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