What does it take ?
Artist in Residence
What does it take ?
Insight to what it takes for a successful Mojave National Preserve Artist In Residence Program
We get many great applications and inquiries about the Mojave National Preserve Artists in Residence program but we also receive questions and ideas that indicate some of prospective artists do not understand what it takes to create an art project for the National Park Service .
To help future applicants I ’ ve asked past artists from the Mojave National Preserve program to share their perspective of ‘ What it Takes ’ to complete a successful artist in residence project .
“ It ’ s best to take a few desert trips before applying , to get to know the area , and to explore your creative ideas and themes for the application . Coming up with a theme that is unique can be a challenge , but there are infinite possibilities in this seemingly infinite space .” - Gabe Thorburn
“ While participating in the Artist in Residence program , you will immerse yourself in your surroundings . You will discover that your project is a life changing and very rewarding lesson , not only in your craft but for your soul .” - Ken Cook
“ The Mojave , vast and varied , reveals itself slowly . But patience will be rewarded . Despite dozens of overnight trips it wasn ’ t until I spent my first full camping ( in an RV ) that I felt I was beginning to understand the landscape . Stay for several days at a time if you can during fall , winter , or spring and you will experience a natural rhythm that has remained largely unchanged for thousands of years .” - Janet Huston
“ Once a subject or scene has been selected , visit it throughout a twenty four hour period for the change in ambient lighting will produce amazing compositional differences . Moon phases will provide similar interesting variations .” - Norman Schwartz
“ The act of ‘ seeing ’ an image and giving it voice takes practice , practice . Malcolm Gladwell eloquently captured the essence of what it takes to create enduring art in his book , Outliers , ‘ 10,000 hours is the magic number to greatness .’ Spend as much time in nature as possible practicing and perfecting your craft .” - Tom Lowe
If you follow these tips and do extensive research for your project by studying the work of others , contacting us with questions , and taking the time to visit Mojave National Preserve , your application has much greater opportunity to be favorably reviewed and ultimately selected . When you ’ re ready to apply visit www . mojaveair . org / artist-in-residence / the-program /# submit to fill out an online application or to download a paper application to mail in . DLM
Mar / Apr 2017 | THE DESERT LIGHT 13