Sleeping with the Bear...

Today, I was accepted into the Glen Arbor Art Association Artist Residency program! What a thrill for me to have an opportunity such as this.

The GAAA offers several creative residencies each year. In cooperation with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, participants work at Thoreson Farm, a farmstead in the historic Port Oneida district of the National Lakeshore. Its newly remodeled buildings provide studio space and overlook open fields and woodlands. The National Lakeshore includes several miles of spectacular Lake Michigan shoreline, wooded hills and the Crystal River. The goal of the residencies is to allow artists a respite in order to work and to leave the cares of the world behind to focus on their creative process.

For now, the plan is I will be in residence from September 30 through October 6, with a presentation to the community on the Tuesday evening of my stay. I plan to educate myself on the ecology of the Sleeping Bear region, and emphasize the importance of the Park as a place of pleasure and preservation via my photographic images. I hope my work will bring people new insights, enjoyment and understanding of such a wonderful place in our own state.

Here are some images I took one evening last June - when I decided I was completely smitten with the place!

Sleeping Bear Dunes