Sibylle Peretti – Report on my North Lands Residency October/November
Rainer Maria Rilke wrote:
To walk inside yourself and meet no one for hours – that is what you must be able to attain… This quote came to my mind during the Residency at North Lands Creative. It impresses the freedom I felt at this place, being able to create and imagine new ideas and thoughts without any pressure of explaining them to others.
I was very excited when I heard the news that I got invited to spend 3 weeks at North Lands Creative. Finally I was given the opportunity to experience the magical place many of my artist colleges talked so passionate about. The journey began October 13 when I boarded my plane in New Orleans and ended after endless travels in Lybster, Scotland. The bus arrived in the dark and I was so thankful when Michael, the studio coordinator, was greeting me as the bus door opened. He helped me finding my way to the Schoolhouse, which became my home for the next 3 weeks.
In the morning sun I finally saw the beauty of the surrounding landscape. My window view felt like a painting were clouds, wind, and animals changed the composition. A Judith Schaechter Book was lying on my desk. I made my way to the Studio. Everything felt so inviting and cozy. Michael is a true angel who makes it very easy to feel comfortable in the new studio setting. My other two residence fellows arrived already a day earlier and they where blowing glass in the hot shop. I felt lucky to find a huge table set up for unpacking my sketches, drawing materials, and photographs. Since my work practice involves many processes like printing of photographic images, mold making of specific objects that relate directly to the kiln formed landscapes, I had to ship these materials in advance. The sheet glass I was planning to use during my Residency was already ordered, waiting in the studio and I was excited to start on my projects very soon. I explored the studio and found it very well equipped and just perfect for kiln working. I fell in love with the large fusing oven and truly miss this one a lot!!!!! And the cold shop of North Lands is by far the most beautiful I ever have seen. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much cold work in mind…
I realised that 3 weeks would just fly by and tried to structure my day to be able to explore the surrounding sublime landscapes and also find the time to work on several glass castings and kiln forming projects in the studio. But then the weather made all these decisions for me and as soon as it looked like that the sun would be dominating the skies I went off to the coastline and explored this stunning and intense landscape. I spent hours lying on cliffs feeling the force of the sea, climbing up the hills, resting in the grass and often thought if I would die now and here it would feel okay…. navigating through the hills and walking for miles without running into any human is a rare experience. I took many photos during these walks, which will become part of my future projects. I can’t wait to start working on them since I know that that they will bring the memories of this unforgettable landscape back into my New Orleans Studio.
During my studio time I was able to kiln cast 2 sculptures titled “Lovers I&II”. I couldn’t finish the works, but sent them to Berlin Glas e.v. where I can complete the pieces in the summer of 2019. I was able to use colours I never used before, burned sienna red and indigo blue both made by Bullseye Glass Co. In addition I completed the kiln forming process of several wall panel pieces using the opaline striking glass by Bullseye. The large kiln allowed me to lay out large sections of the murals in one firing session. During the night times I worked on drawings and ideas for future small-scale panels. I had time to explore frit tack fusing which will play a role in theses smaller scale 2 dimensional works.
I had a fantastic time during my Residency. Everything I could have wished for became true. Our group of artist fellows was a perfect match; the studio is a glass artist paradise. The landscape leaves you at owe and will nourish my mind for a lifetime. And the team behind North Lands Creative Michael, Jo, Lorna, and Chelsea are incredible. Thank you all for this special experience. Time was too short, so I hope to make it back one day……… Sibylle
“Lovers”
The little lonely pony I passed during my walks……….
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