Zion artist in residence

I have a neat opportunity taking place this year that carries into next year as well. Here at Southern Utah University where I attend college, there is a program designed for students called the "student artist in residence" in Zion National Park. Zion National Park hosts about 4 working artist throughout the year and then display their art in Zion's gallery space. But then once a year a student is chosen to take a week long residency in Zion. 

This year I was chosen to be the student artist in residence. I was really interested in perusing this opportunity for the experience and challenge. For the application process we had to create a proposal and submit some of our current artwork. My idea/proposal is "Get Connected." I want to illustrate ways people connect with nature, specifically in Zion National Park. In a way my idea is a play on words because in this technological time we all seemed to be connected to our technology and gadgets but less and less people are taking the time to connect with nature. So in my artwork I am going to depict people interacting and connecting with nature. I proposed to create about 30 images for my final show in March of 2015. My medium will be primarily relief printmaking. 

It has been a wonderful experience so far! Staring March 7 through March 16 I lived in Zion. 9 days of living in the national park, gathering inspiration and reconnecting myself with nature. I was able to live in the historical Grotto cabin in the middle of the park. It's was beautiful and more then I was expecting. In the mornings and afternoon the park was packed with people. That really helped me get a lot of pictures of people. But in the evenings, the parked emptied out and was really quiet. There were deer and other wild animals all around. We saw wild turkeys, mountain goats, lots of lizards and foxes. Being from the city I don't get to see very many of these animals. 

Now that I'm back in the studio, I'm working on getting my images composed and colors planned out so I can start carving. I have a few more weeks before I graduate and finish my BFA program, then I will be able to concentrate my full efforts on this project. 

Keep an eye out for more updates and progress on my Zion project!