fine artist / painting /sculpture
Twelve days - September 2023
Dawei is a recent graduate of the arts program at VCU. In his application, he expressed interest in nature and a residency experience prior to returning home to China where he will continue his arts practice while developing a portfolio for graduate school back in the U.S.
Dawei was interested in learning about sewing with machine and also spent time researching painting methods from the masters. At one point, he said he was looking at instructions on painting rocks. Not literally painting on a rock, but realism of a rock in a landscape painting.
This nature immersion meant that he was working primarily on honing his painting skills with a landscape. The live/work space allows one to spread out if you are the only one on site, or to negotiate space use with others which has been very cordial for participants.
At a final look at the painting, it was easy to recognize the dogwood tree outside of the lemon lodge that had been pruned this year due to overgrowth and a really hard freeze in December 2022. Dawei is most interested in contemporary art and sculpture and hopes to pursue this in graduate school. Although he discovered that the material he brought for sewing was not suitable for the machine, he found an experimental opportunity to look at form and space on site with an ephemeral sculpture that was also enjoyed by recent farm cat (barn cat reject) hank.
Being a student in a city, Dawei did not have access to a car so he opted for the transportation add-on option. On the way to the airport in Nashville we had an interesting conversation about city life versus the countryside and even that the city where he's from in China has no nature at all because it has been completely developed including factories. It was also interesting to chat about American culture starting with noticing the Tennessee state flag while on the drive. He shows his final painting upon being dropped off at BNA. Check out the next blog for a brief conversation about this work.
Are you interested in honing your skills or trying out new mediums or techniques? Are you interested in the nourishment that comes with spending time in nature? If so, apply today.
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