ARTIST IN RESIDENCY IN MOTHERHOOD (ARIM)

The Artist in Residency in Motherhood was started by Lanka Clayton. This is a self-directed residency I did this residency within my own home as a means of reclaiming my studio practice, my happiness, and an integral part of myself.

I started my residency in mid-December 2020. Each day (or if I'm honest, every other day), I sit and give myself 20 minutes. 20 minutes to breathe, be still, and focus on making one line at a time using a thin brush and watercolor. The images I created are inspired by a small rainbow Montessori toy my daughter owns. And I made a lot of rainbows.

Created during a one month residency at Ucross Foundation in Wyoming.

In 1785, the Thomas Jefferson Land Ordinance Act created a systematic grid across the Western landscape. This established mechanisms for land settlement and land commodification. But the land had been here and with people. This work explores ideas surrounding territory and ownership. Created during a one-month residency at PLAYA.

Palimpsest was a durational project created at Djerassi during August 2017. I created a beaded rectangle in the shape and dimensions of a standard US flag and stenciled a quote onto the studio wall. The work was a contemplation of land ownership, ethics, and displacement. Over time, I erased the phrase, allowing the eraser dust to gather on the studio's molding and floor, representing the unjust erasure of one culture to create a blank slate for another.

Mo(u)rning #1 and #2 is a project started at Vermont Studio Center during August 2015. Finally finished a over a year later, kleenex is transformed into rugged mountains in these two posters. Ideally, there would be an endless copies of each set of posters. Viewers would be invited to take a poster home with them.

A number of drawings created during a residency at Vermont Studio Center during August 2015. All drawings are 22" x 30".

Grasses Drawings is a series that records the labor involved in doing graphite edging on a series letters. After the drawings were completed, I realized they also reminded me of the movement of the grasses at PLAYA, in Summer Lake, OR, where I completed a one month artist residency.

This work is the beginning of an exploration of ideas surrounding boundaries. This work was created during a one-month residency at Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska City, NE.

This work explores how one becomes a part of a place and how a place becomes a part of the person over time. To create this work, I used my own hair to stitch the view of my property from my garden.

This work focuses on recreation as a form of human land-use: people use wilderness/nature to “re-create” themselves. This work also explores the realities, rather than the romance, of being in "nature" for a period of time.

Created during the workshop "Behold: a seminar on beauty" at Anderson Ranch. This work would not be possible without the support of a Career Opportunity Grant through the Oregon Arts Commission.

406 Minutes is a drawing created in 406 minutes during a one-month residency at Jentel Artist Residency Program in Banner, WY. Each day, a specific set of marks were made onto a large sheet of paper. The large drawing was later down into a series of smaller drawings displayed in a stack as a sculpture form. Shown here is one of many drawings.

This work explores how we know our surrounding landscape through examining the flora of a place. I collected one plant specimen each day during walks as a means of learning about a specific place. This work was created during a one-month residency at Jentel Artist Residency Program, in Banner, WY.