"Fertility comes from letting go"

During my stay at Rensing Center I was fortunate to have many conversations with founder Ellen Kochansky.  A number of discussions occurred while doing a variety of small chores.  Artists contribute a few hours a week based on their skills and interests, and I found it added just the right bit of structure to balance my otherwise unstructured creative time in residence.  Whether working alone or with others, the work contribution made me feel like I was an important part of this community, and it made me feel at home. 

One of the most memorable discussions I had with Ellen was on the topic of reuse and dispersal, during which she reminded me that “Fertility comes from letting go.”  She was talking about recycling and composting as you might expect at an environmentally conscious residency.  But she also encouraged me to let go of preconceived notions of what the experience should be, as well as my (perhaps extreme) preference for order and control in my environment, in favor of going with the flow and living in the moment.

Both Ellen and my husband reminded me to have FUN, and persuaded me to be less driven towards the end result and more playful along the way.  Essentially, I needed to adjust my New Englander pace to the more thoughtful, leisurely pace of Pickens.  That advice marked a turning point in my residency.  As I focused less on schedule, numbers and deadlines, I became more open to observation, concept and experimentation.  So I did, indeed, have fun.  But more importantly, ‘fun’ was productive.  As a result, I successfully experimented with a variety of printmaking and collage techniques I had not previously considered to be useful or relevant to my work.

As an applicant I correctly sensed I would be comfortable in the art and environment ‘tribe’ at Rensing Center.  Fanciful representations of invasive plants and pests commonly make their way into my artwork, so I was very interested to learn about the challenges farmers and gardeners experience from invasives in South Carolina.  Jon Fritz was a generous resource to identify plants previously unknown to me.   One I love in particular (brace yourself) is kudzu.  Apparently I was the first artist-in-residence to request that Jon help me find some for my studio for closer observation.  A bouquet of sorts, I refreshed it every few days.  At first it was hard for me to identify in the lush green landscape, but eventually I had no problem finding it.  In fact, I pilfered it quite liberally along roadways in Pickens, convinced nobody would miss it.  However, one of my biggest challenges was to see this and other invasives as locals see them, and not simply as botanical specimens or design elements.  This was hard to do because some are actually quite beautiful.  But of course, that’s the problem with a lot of invasives, we love them until we don’t, which is as soon as they don’t do what we want them to do.  Although I discovered several new ‘favorite’ plants while at Rensing Center, throughout my residency, kudzu was king.

As I return home I’m still processing the experience, what I’ve learned, how my art has changed, and how I’ve changed.  All were a gift, and I thank you Rensing Center.

                                         

- Colette Lucas