 This residency in February 2025 was my first ever residency, so I wasn’t totally sure what to expect, but I found that it was a perfect first residency for me.
My co-resident Vicky and I arrived on the 1st February; which happens to be Imbolc in the pagan calendar: the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. This is when the very first signs of spring arrive, and it is supposed to be a time of growing potential, of renewal. During those two weeks I could feel the seasons shift, the air changing a little. Or maybe I was just not used to finding that kind of stillness. I didn’t have a very solid plan before arriving – I had a project based around my family and the landscape of North Wales that I wanted to continue with, but I also wanted to just see what would arise by walking and drawing and slowing down. I am not normally an early riser, but I couldn’t not wake up with the sunrise and sit in bed looking out at the water constantly changing colour. On my walks, I noticed some patterns and connections that sprouted new ideas, or helped me along on work in progress. Though Vicky and I did not plan a collaborative project, there were elements of her work that found their way into mine - for example, Vicky was using tracing paper in her film, and there was enough left for me to try drawing on it, as I hadn’t thought of using transparent paper in my project. This led to me making a piece of work for my end of year show two weeks after the residency ended, and although it’s a simple idea, opened up some new ways of working. I felt very settled in after two weeks and it was hard to leave. Scarlett and Jake (and Toby, cat, muse, bread-thief) have made such a perfect and nurturing place for artists and I’m sure all residents leave there feeling energised, as I did. Katie Vicary
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