We received almost 80 applications for the Meg Hunt Residency Program! Thank you to all of those who applied and who helped to spread the word. The jury is hard at work making difficult decisions to select five artists and writers.
To share excitement for this program, I got in touch with one of our past artists in residence, Greta Van Campen. The Wrangell Mountains Center has been hosting artists and writers informally, and Greta was one of the first people to get to work in Porphyry Place, where our new program is based. I asked Greta to talk a little bit about the project that brought her to Alaska, what it was like working here, and what advice she would share with future residents:
Greta working in the Meg Hunt Studio
Working on McCarthy Creek
In 2011-2012, I traveled across the country, painting in all 50 states. Alaska was the final state I visited, and I was thrilled to partake in the Wrangell Mountains Center's new residency program. While my time in McCarthy was brief, it was across the board one of the best, most memorable and eye opening experiences I had.
During my stay at WMC, I would spend half the day painting in the studio or sketching outside. The other half of the day was spent exploring, hiking, taking a tour of the glacier, meeting new people, and photographing the area. I later made more finished work from those photos. I was only at the Wrangell Mountains Center for a short stay (5 days), as I didn't have much time in Alaska. If I could do it again, I would have stayed longer.
Everyone at the WMC was friendly and helpful and I didn't face many challenges, other than perhaps not knowing where to begin painting (it's all so overwhelmingly beautiful)! I also had to adjust to taking care of my brushes and cleaning up without using too much water. If I'd had more time, I would have done more exploring in the beginning and then buckled down and done the finished work while there, as opposed to after I got home. It would have been nice to share the finished paintings with the community.
Below is a slideshow of some of the work Greta completed during her residency:
Learn more about Greta Van Campen on her website.