Life in the Woods(2008)

Statement:

In the summer of 2008 I participated in an artist residency on the Jeffer’s Tree farm in southeastern Ohio. I did not have many expectations about the experience, but soon after arriving at the farm I began photographing my fellow residents and the natural setting of the residency. I think I held the lofty goal of wanting to capture the mythical artist in the midst of creation. However, instead of the idealized “Artist” who finishes works with supernatural talents, I witnessed a very consistent and persistent curiosity to be the source of my fellow residents creativity. Over the course of my stay, I came to realize that the artist, as with any archetype that we place high up on a pedestal, is just person. This realization was both amazing and diminishing.

Life in the Woods is a project that documents the participants of an artist residency and their creative endeavors. It also examines the natural setting of the tree farm, which was often the backdrop, inspiration and subject matter for many of the artists’ projects.