Karrie Steely
From the moment I arrived at Elsewhere it felt like home. The entire place is steeped in wonderful colors, textures, calm and potential. Not a bad place for my first artist residency. I was in search of a refuge where I could ride out the shortest days of the year with other creative spirits. Normally I experience major depression in the dark cold of December, and this year I wanted to explore my relationship with the fallow time and perhaps, just maybe, find some joy in it.
This was my project: I created mixed media miniatures with gouache, pen and cold wax. I explored the winter palettes wherever I went, taking pictures every day and breaking them down into color components, then incorporating those colors in my wintery works. Finding light and color in the pale whites, washed out browns, and vivid shadowy blues. I then took these miniatures and wandered through town, hiding them where people could find and then keep them. The intention was to share little sparks of light and happiness. I wanted to liberate them. It felt necessary after spending so much soul-crushing time and energy the past few years struggling to make money with my art.
During my time there I settled into the rhythms of the daily rituals. Cooking, bringing in firewood and building fires, creating in the studio, curling up on the well-worn couch with the well-worn cat and a well-worn book or journal. My fellow artists were absorbed in their projects but regularly came up for air and we spent time together playing games, eating and going on outings. (The Solstice night drumming circle celebration at Elderberry farm was the highlight.) Our lives flowed in and out from one another comfortably.
There are a multitude of things to do within a few blocks of Elsewhere. For a small town, Paonia has a surprising variety of world class options. The downtown area thrives with local products and food. There are a handful of outstanding small restaurants and pop-up bakeries. The annual Dark Night performance by nationally acclaimed local author Craig Childs and talented accompaniment was magical. I loved the weekly improv workshops that were accessed through the dark back alley entrance of the community radio station (no password needed). Paonia has a huge sense of community, and Elsewhere residents are very much welcomed as a part of it.
Elsewhere is a liminal space where inner and outer worlds can coexist in a state of ease and flow. This is a place where people can be artists in the truest sense. Not by creating great masterpieces (although it has surely happened here), but by being given permission to abandon themselves to their creative processes. Supported and encouraged by others who are doing their own exploring and by the greater community. For the first time in years, I spent an entire December without struggling with depression. Being in this magical space surrounded by a supportive, warm people helped me to befriend the darkness as I chased the light.