Scriptwriter / Film-maker and producer
February 2022
Jess Burgess is a Brooklyn-based director and producer who spent a month in residency primarily to focus on a passion project - scriptwriting. She states on her website that she's a "daily admirer of life's idiosyncrasies" and "eats, dreams, and breathes stories." View an array of her work on https://www.jessburgess.com/
Scriptwriting is a private and personal endeavor. It does not often lend to a situation to be photographed regularly in a studio. However, one moment was captured to showcase the quiet workspace that Jess was able to set up in the pine room at Lemon Lodge. With an interest in film by many on site at the time, we would gather in the evenings to watch what was on top of Jess's recommendation list.
Jess mentions in the interview in the next post that her youth was spent in a similar rural location in North Carolina. Spending time outside is one of the biggest attributes of this residency. Others on site shared what they were doing and we also had bonfires. Jess also happened to be on site during the initial weeks of adopting a farm puppy so pet therapy can be an unexpected benefit to one's time.
Those spending at least two weeks in residency receive a complimentary guided forest therapy walk with Val, certified by ANFT which is a unique process to inherently feel the benefits of nature while focusing on all of your senses as well as sense of wonder and wander. A Forest Therapy walk can be added onto your residency if staying less than two weeks along with several other add-on options.
Jess participated in the farm stay scholarship component of the residency and the first image in this post is an example of the work in this instance - chopping down bamboo and then trimming. The farm stay scholarship offers an extension of the natural immersion into a more physical experience of tasks that arise during that particular time. Many have found their activity to be therapuetic.
Do you have a professional and fine art practice that you are balancing? Could you use some focus time to put the fine art work first with complete attention? Can you use your off-season for a personal and creative hibernation?
If so, what would you create? Apply today.
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