Skowhegan

Skowhegan was formative for me. It felt like the bubble in the tv show Lost, where everyone had an odd, mystical, and varied relationship to the institution and landscape. It’s imperfect and transformative when you’re inside of that collective energy; something happens when you leave.

The woods are pretty haunted there.

I worked on ceramics when I was there and built a raku kiln with a friend. More importantly to the evolution of my practice, I made friends with a group of 8 silly, gorgeous Holsteins. I brewed up some homemade bug spray and fed them molasses treats + a salt lick while I brushed dried feces off their bodies. The plan was to use the hair in firings but I couldn’t; there was another purpose not yet known to me. Several years later, I made a giant incense cone using their collected hair I groomed from them in daily rituals of care, along with other aromatics. After a long process of personal grief and transformation, it was time to shed the hair. The finished cone was given to a friend who was grieving, to burn.

Also the Skowhegan lecture series is incredible and I think most of it is online for free now? It wasn’t before but I think they’re trying to be more accessible.

Anyways! It’s a beautiful, strange place that will do things to your work and your being. I suggest applying.