Alderworks Residency, Skagway, Alaska

My husband, Ed, and I are spending four weeks at the Alderworks Artist and Writer Residency nine miles north of Skagway, Alaska, from May 18 to June 14. This is a dream we’ve had for so many years, something we fantasized about when we had sleepless nights with new babies or sat in traffic on the way home from soul-sucking jobs. And here we are!

I first came to Southeast Alaska when I was a junior in college. I spent a summer leading day camps in small homesteading communities and logging camps, and I was swept away by the people and the natural beauty. The boats and mountains and wildlife that I saw here at 21 have crept into my paintings over the decades. I brought Ed 10 years after that first trip, and he interviewed at a small college as we flirted with the idea of moving up here. 3 years ago we brought our daughter, also a junior in college. I’ve never been able to forget the blue and white peaks rising out of the water or the spruce and hemlock forests.

So it was natural to search for a residency here and then apply and then tell Jeff Brady and his daughter, Annie, our Alaska stories when we interviewed for the May slot. We also spoke with them about our hopes for painting for me and writing for Ed at Alderworks.  We are very grateful to Jeff and his wife, Dorothy, for inviting us to come here to work for four weeks.

Although there is very limited internet here at Alderworks, I will try to keep a blog of our residency. I am learning so much already about what to pack for 4 weeks of painting and how to structure my days. I’m so grateful to the other artists who have shared with me their residency experiences.

So the first photo I have to share is of Ed and me at 6:30 am at the airport with five bags, two of which were over 45 pounds. The wood panels, paint, sketchbooks and Ed’s laptop left little room for clothes!