Judy Thomas, ASBA board member ask that we share the following information with our members.
The Red House Residency
Call For Applications
Summer/Fall 2023
The Red House Artist Residency, located in Bath County, Virginia, is intended to support emerging or established women artists, musicians, and writers with an approximately two-week artist residency (see “dates” below). Emerging and established women artists, including plein aire and landscape painters, botanical artists, nature artists and crafters, fiber and textile artists, nature journalers, printmakers, poets, singer-songwriters/composers/musicians, and writers are invited to apply. In turn, residents are asked to provide an outreach or public art opportunity. Residencies will be offered in June and September of 2023. Note: residents are asked to follow all guidelines related to Covid-19, should they still be in place.
Story of the residency:
This residency is supported and hosted by the McGuire-Reagan family on their family farm, Sycamore Bend. The Cowpasture River runs through the farm and artists are welcome to swim, tube, fish, and let the river inspire them. The beauty of the Alleghany Highlands includes the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Douthat State Park, and countless outdoor scenic areas. The family wants to support women artists, with an additional goal being to encourage and educate others from beginning local students to visiting amateurs. This a quiet, serene environment, where artists and writers can focus on their art.
Sycamore Bend Farm has been in Amanda’s family since 1973 when her parents Anne and Lockhart bought an old log house and some surrounding acreage. Billy and Amanda began renting out that house as a vacation get-away in 1994 when they got married, and moved to the adjoining property. Since then, their house and the Red House have been incorporated into Sycamore Bend, and they have raised two children, Catharine and Will here. While there was about a decade when Billy raised cattle, the main activities on the farm now are haymaking and trailblazing.
The Red House
The residency house is a four-room, one-bedroom, one-bath camping cottage with modern furnishings and Wi-Fi. There is an equipped kitchen, and residents will provide their own meals. A wood stove and space heater warm the house in colder months. A list of what to bring will be sent to accepted residents. Photos are on our Facebook page, Red House Residency.
Dates: Residencies will be slightly less than 2 weeks, to allow time for cleaning between residents. Dates for the residency, with a noon arrival and departure are:
Thursday, June 1st through Thursday, June 15th,
and
Saturday, June 17th through Saturday, July 1st.
Friday, September 1st through Friday, September 15th.
and
Sunday, September 17th through Sunday, October, 1st
Application requirements: Applications must be received by Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
There are several parts to this application. Please write a narrative that addresses each area:
Dates Preferred: Applicants are asked to state date preferences for the residency. Let us know all the weeks it would be possible for you to participate.
Artist statement: Tell us about you, your art, your artistic inspiration, and your artistic goals. Max 500 words.
Plan: What is your plan for the residency? What will you do to advance your art process while you are here? How will this setting enhance your artistic process? Max 500 words.
Public event: (Adjustments may be made due to the status of the pandemic). Residents are required to provide one outreach activity, public event, or public project during their stay. What will you provide? Describe the activity and state your goals for this activity. If you need to make any changes to the agreed-upon public event, we need to know at least 3 weeks in advance, because of the lead time for promoting the event in local media.
Let us know if, in the event you are not accepted, you wish to be placed on a waiting list for this year or next.
Examples of event:
Visual Artists: preference will be given for a hands-on, arts activity for any age, given covid restrictions and outdoor capacity (though a small conference room may be available at the local library or historical society). We would like you to think about designing a program to have your participants take away a “product” or small finished work from your event, even if it is not in your primary media. We believe that this will help us build or program. Examples are monoprinting; a small, abstract painting; beading; collage; mosaic; a nature journal page; a craft like felting or: nature crafting.
Writers: can read their work and describe the inspiration behind it or engage participants in a written-word based activity.
Musicians: can provide a performance of their music or design an interactive, public musical activity.
We are happy for you to “think outside the box” to provide alternative ideas and will work with you on this so you are comfortable with the plan. There are a variety of locations on the farm that lend themselves to group activities, and the resident can work with the artistic director and host to decide which is most suitable for what they will offer. As noted above, an indoor venue may be available. We may be able to assist with providing some materials, but this is generally the responsibility of the artist. Max 500 words.
Work Samples:
Visual artists: 5 images of your artwork, either scanned or good quality photographs. We prefer 300 dpi, 8 inches maximum on the longest side, jpg scans, but good photographs are acceptable.
Writers: 3 writing samples, 15,000 words. Poets, please submit 5-8 poems. Please let us know if any submitted works have been published and provide the citation.
Musicians: please provide two short, audiofile samples of your work OR a link to online recordings or performances of your work.
Email your complete application to: rhresidency2021@gmail.com
Contribution:
Fee: Mail a $30, non-refundable application fee, made out to: Sycamore Bend, to this address: 5503 River Road, Millboro, Virginia 24460
There is no stipend for this residency.
Expectations:
This is a rural area and residents must have a car. If you do not have experience living in a rural area, here are a few realities: restaurants are few, and a half hour drive away, as is a small IGA grocery store. Most major shops and shops can be found in Staunton, which is about an hour’s drive. Access to the Red House is down an unpaved road. A washer and dryer is available in the log cabin on the farm when it is not rented out. It is quiet and dark at night (with the best night skies most of us have ever seen!). There are a variety of wild animals in the area.
Agreement: Accepted residents will be sent a residency agreement and waiver which must be completed and sent to the address below (under “Fee”) one month prior to the start of the residency.
Jurying Subsequent Residents: Residents will be asked to help in the selection process for the subsequent year’s residents, along with the host and the artistic director.
Covid Considerations: The pandemic has affected all areas of our lives, and this residency is no exception. As stated above, we will work with you to make your public event safe and feel safe for you and participants. We ask that you clean the Red House before you depart, focusing on high-touch areas. Rest assured, we will clean and air out the house before you arrive.
Kate Lagaly, instructor in the Garden's Botanical Art & Illustration certificate program, recently received an Award for Distinction in the Colored Pencil Society of America's 29th International Exhibition. The exhibition includes 120 works from around the world, and 17 award winners. Kate had previously been accepted in the show nine times, which is an honor of its own. "To actually win one is very exciting and a long time goal," said Kate. 
