Sou’wester Art Residency
Restful, restorative, renewed creative energy.
These are the feelings I walked away with after I spent the loveliest week at Sou’wester Lodge in Seaview, WA for my first artist residency.
I chose to do a weaving intensive for my residency, exploring the boundaries of my current fiber arts practice to experiment with off-loom weaving and mixed media weaving.
I also had a friend come up one morning to take some photos of my weaving! Most of the photos in this post are from Jorie Helwig, and she did such a fantastic job capturing everything 🥹 It was so much fun to hang out and chat while I did some weavings and she took photos.
One of my main focuses for this residency was mixed media weavings - working with different materials like burlap, abaca fiber, and marbled paper ribbons, as well as ceramic and brass beads. I’ve built up a nice collection of materials from my favorite art shop, Art Supply Center, and I’ve been really excited to use them!
I’ve also been wanting to try off-loom weaving using wood as a frame for warping. This was a fun piece to play with - it’s a short cut of maple from a local woodworker, using a dark green mohair for the weft. I want to practice more so I can get better at creating the shape I want with the weft fibers to have more dynamic curves flowing across the board, but this was a great first piece and I’m super happy with it!
And let’s have a moment for the gorgeous Bridal Suite room that I stayed in during my residency 😍 It was spacious, filled with soft light, and the perfect space for relaxing and creating.
On my last day, I made a mixed media wall hanging inspired by the Bridal Suite with blue and white roving, blue sari ribbon, marbled blue paper ribbon, brass beads, and dried flowers from the vase in the kitchen. Soft, cozy, welcoming, light, joyful - everything I’d want other people to experience from their own stay in the Bridal Suite.
I couldn’t have asked for a better experience - I think this is something that I’ll make into a yearly tradition for my creative practice! If you’re looking for a place where you can retreat from the everyday and really focus your energies on your art, the Sou’wester might just be the perfect place for you 💙
