The Spring 2006 Journal highlights this year's Twining Humber Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement recipient, as well as the following feature article, and much more!

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Feature Article:

Blue Mountain Center and Ucross Foundation: The Rural, Rural Residency 
by Paul Rucker

In January of 2004, I visited the resource room at Artist Trust in search of information about artist residencies. Like so many artists, from time to time I feel the need to rejuvenate and go to a new environment to stimulate creativity. For the past couple of years, residencies have become an invaluable part of my life. Residencies offer the time and space needed to create, and also the chance to meet other working artists and establish long-lasting relationships, some of which can result in collaborations and open doors to other artistic opportunities.

Rather than focus on the obvious things such as “the scenery was beautiful”, though it was, or “I had uninterrupted time to create,” though I did, I would like to let you know about some of the things you may not be aware of before you apply or go to a residency. Before applying, check and see if the residency situation is ideal for you. It’s really easy to get in the mode of applying for everything you see. But the truth is you may not want to spend six months in Antarctica. When I applied to Blue Mountain Center, located in the Adirondacks of New York, and Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, I wanted to be in rural environments far away from “normal” everyday distractions.

Both places had much in common. For instance, my cell phone did not work in either location. Blue Mountain Center even has a NO cell phone policy. While it may seem a little drastic to some, it definitely makes for a more relaxed environment. After a week without a cell phone, I began to appreciate not being able to use it and wrote letters and postcards. Ucross allows the use of cell phones, but as I mentioned earlier, they don’t work. I did hear that if you drive or bike about a mile down the road and go to the top of a hill, you could get service. The easier route was to use the payphones at both residencies and office numbers where messages can be taken for you and delivered to you at the end of the day.

Similarly, Internet access is limited at both locations. While wireless is available at Ucross along with two freestanding computers, Blue Mountain has no wireless and only three computers which is plenty considering that there are 15 residents at a time at Blue Mountain and eight at a time at Ucross. And for both locations, you should bring a printer along.

Another tip for applying to residencies is to have a clear proposal that justifies the time you are requesting. For instance, the residencies at Blue Mountain last four weeks, whereas at Ucross, they can be as short as two weeks or as long as two months. I recommend a four-week period to really get acclimated and take advantage of your time there.

Important not to forget, PAY ALL BILLS that will be due during your residency: the fewer distractions during the residency, the better. And allow time for play during the residency: hiking, biking, swimming, and boating are often possible activities at artist residencies.

And last but not least, keep on applying. You may get turned down multiple times. I know of a fellow artist who applied 15 times (once a year for 15 years) before she was awarded a particular residency.

Blue Mountain Center
The Blue Mountain Center is a working community of writers, artists, activists and musicians in Blue Mountain Lake, New York, located in the Adirondack Mountains. The Center exists to provide a peaceful and comfortable environment in which guests are able to work, free from the distractions and demands of normal daily life. Accepts artists working in all disciplines. www.bluemountaincenter.org

Ucross Foundation
Located on a working ranch, this residency program provides living accommodations, individual work space and uninterrupted time to selected artists and writers: painters, poets, fiction and nonfiction writers, composers, sculptors, photographers, playwrights, and those working in natural sciences and interdisciplinary art forms. www.ucrossfoundation.org

Paul Rucker has been awarded residencies to Art OMI, Banff Center, Ucross Foundation, and Blue Mountain Center. In the fall of 2006, he will be attending a residency sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio, Italy.

P.S. Paul recommends the following resources when searching for artist residencies:

Trans Artists is an independent foundation that informs artists of any discipline about international artist-in-residence programs and other opportunities for artists to stay and work elsewhere 'for art's sake'. Their free database comprises more than 700 artist-in-residence programs, listed by region and discipline. www.transartists.nl

Alliance of Artist Communities, a national service organization for the field of artists’ communities, offers a searchable database on its website of organizations offering creative residencies for artists of all disciplines.  www.artistcommunities.org

International Association of Residential Arts Centers provides a website listing over 190 international residential art centers from over 50 countries. www.resartis.org