How to Do an Artist Residency (and Not Be a Jerk)
An interview with Amy Ellingson
After a few challenging interactions at a small residency I attended this spring, I reached out to my community to see if we could cull together an agreed upon list of etiquette rules, or at least some techniques to help manage the quirky group-living dynamics that inevitably come up while attending artist residencies.
One of the best responses came from Amy Ellingson, a painter and former professor of mine who recently left her long-time home in San Francisco to build a new life (and a gorgeous new studio) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition to her 7-point guide for making the most of the artist residency experience, she shares her new projects and why she left San Francisco for the Southwest.
By all accounts, you seemed to have the perfect set-up in the Bay Area. I think every painter I know there was green with envy over your corner studio in Yosemite Place. What prompted your move to Santa Fe?
I’m a Bay Area native, I’ve loved San Francisco all my life, and I was lucky to work in Yosemite Place, a studio building full of friends and colleagues, for 17 years. When I moved into my first space in the building on the second floor, it was a big step up from my small studio in Outer Mission/Bernal Heights. Sometimes we stretch a bit…
