Residency #1 begins soon!

Sullivantia, one of the rare plants living in
the Highlands Nature Sanctuary,
in Bainbridge, OH.

In preparation for the Highlands Nature Sanctuary Arc of Appalachia Artist-in-Resident program which begins June 8 and culminates on June 28th with a show and sale of works from the five artists who will be spending part of their painting lives in an Ohio Eastern Temperate Forest, my Sherpa, Martin, and I drove to the site on Monday.

We were pleased to meet Charlotte and Dale on their lovely property. They purchased a piece of land with a small house on the edge of the forest, and let nature creep back in. It's taken 15 years for the forest to reclaim itself on their land! They have a small clearing around their house, live among singing birds, insects, a diversity of woodland plants, and are the perfect stewards of the Nature Sanctuary.

They handed us over to Betty, one of the board members, and we said goodbye to the laundry on the line, and the great balls of native grapevine that they made into natural ornaments for their piece of serenity.

I am looking forward to spending three weeks immersed in the natural world of the Eastern Temperate Forest! The trails are narrow, no fishing or hunting allowed, a lot more peaceful than the Hocking Hills Area of Ohio. Visitors are asked to keep their voices down, and who wouldn't if you're in the company of a few 400 year old hemlocks?

I look forward to sharing this experience with you, when I can get a connection.