Post written by Claire Paterson, winner of the Steven Campbell New York Scholarship
DAY 1 – Tuesday November 1st
I arrived in New York, and booked my very first Uber cab to take me out to my apartment in East Williamsburg.
At the apartment I met my room-mates Ash and Giles, both talented artists who went out of their way to make me feel at home. In the evening I had a wander around the neighbourhood, tracking down a good little coffee shop and taking a walk through a local park that’s bursting with Autumn colours right now.
DAY 2- Wednesday November 2nd
In the morning, I headed into the ISCP, where I met with the staff and 4 other artists who are starting their residencies at the same time as me. I collected my keys and checked out my studio, a great space with huge windows and lots of natural light. I’m on the the 3rd floor with 5 other artists, and we have our own little lounge and kitchen area.
In the afternoon, I went out to visit my sister G in South Brooklyn, meeting her dog Blue for the first time and getting to see her wonderful, art-crammed apartment.
G had set aside lots of objects and sculptures for me to use in my collaborative myth-making sessions, including pieces by the artists Amber Fleming and Robert Picker (who I’ll talk about in upcoming blog posts).
We booked a cab and travelled back to the ISCP, probably bemusing the driver with all of the sculptures we managed to cram into the boot and on our laps in the back seat. I then worked well into the evening at the ISCP, getting my studio ready for the Open Studio event.
DAY 3: Thursday November 3rd
ABOVE: Japanese artist Tetsugo Hyakutake’s studio (www.tetsugohyakutake.com)
Today the artists in the ISCP opened their studios to each other, so that we could all get some idea of what everyone else on the residency is getting up to.
ABOVE: Australian artist John Aslanidis’ studio – http://www.johnaslanidis.com
I had a particularly interesting conversation with the Australian artist John Aslanidis, whose paintings are influenced by music and sound waves. When I discussed my own project with him, he suggested that I use music as an influence on my collaborative myth-making process – to see if certain pieces, if played while the sessions with models are happening, might influence the poses that are generated. John has agreed to collaborate with me, and has sent me some music samples he thought might be interesting to use in my first modelling sessions next week.
DAY 4 – Friday November 4rth
Today was the public launch of the ISCP’s Open Studio event. My sister G came along, as well as Amber Fleming and Robert Picker, the other artists who’ve contributed sculptural pieces. The opening was very busy, and I was chatting to the public all evening, getting lots of different perspectives on my upcoming project. One of the NY models I’ve been in touch with came all the way out from New Jersey to get an advance look at my studio before our first photo session next week, and it was great exploring ideas with him about what’s going to be involved.
After the doors closed at 9pm, we all headed to an after-party at a pub around the corner called The Arrogant Swine, whose management had arranged an all night Happy Hour for ISCP artists.
DAY 5 – Saturday November 6th
ABOVE: Maartje Korstange’s offsite work, part of the ‘Animal Mirror’ exhibit at the ISCP – www.maartjekorstanje.nl
Walked to a local park this morning to see an offsite work by Maartje Korstange, one of the artists on my program. Maartje talked for a while about her outdoor piece, an ‘organic site-specific sculpture related to the recent disappearance of a large number of North American honeybee colonies, meant as much to serve as a home for solitary bees as for the enjoyment of its human visitors.’
Afterwards, I spoke to Maartje about her work, and after discussing my own project, she has kindly offered to lend me a sculptural piece for my myth-making sessions. We headed back to the ISCP, where I visited her studio and carried one of her beautiful sculptures upstairs to my own space. (I’ll be writing a more in-depth blog post about Maartje Korstange at a later date).
My studio opened to the public from 1pm-8pm, and my space was busy all day. Magda Salvesen, wife of abstract expressionist Jon Schueler, paid me a visit, and has invited me to an opening next week at the Berry Campbell Gallery, where Jon Schueler’s figurative work is getting shown.
I also had a visit from Sarah Ingersol, one of my friends from the Glasgow School of Art who’s in NY at the moment studying film and making documentaries. Overall, it was a great day of meeting people and discussing my project with the public, many of whom gave me some good tips about what to see and do while I’m in New York.
DAY 6 – Sunday November 7th
Enjoyed an extra hour in bed today because of the clock change, then wandered down to Manhattan Avenue to watch a little bit of the New York marathon and soak in the atmosphere. As it was a beautiful day, I went to visit my sister and we took Blue for a long walk in Prospect Park before having a catch up over dinner. It was a relaxing day of recharging my batteries in preparation for what’s already shaping up to be another busy and exciting week next week!
The Steven Campbell Trust 