April 27, 2012

Last full day here in the Badlands. I'm trying not to dwell, but am certainly having trouble with the idea of leaving. I do look forward to returning to my life at home, which I love very much. Yet there are so many places and people I now love out here, and it is very hard to be looking at the end and preparing to say goodbye. I never expected to come away from this experience with new, lifelong friends. Had a lot of packing, organizing, and some cleaning to do today. Finished one more painting as well. For dinner a bunch of us went to Cowboy Corner for Chicken Fried Steak night, but they weren't cooking today. So instead we went over to the Wagon Wheel, put on some music, and I had everyone fill in a page from my sketch book. Also decorated a dollar bill for the wall, a Wagon Wheel tradition.

My residency was over the top in all ways, simply beyond words. Creatively, I gained so much. My expectation had been to spend time painting on location every day. Instead I was taking longer hikes, delving deeper into the crevices of the park, coming home each night with a plethora of photographs. I did finish more paintings in a shorter amount of time than ever before, so I was plenty productive. I am coming home with seeming endless material for future work. By spending the majority of my time on foot, moving throughout the landscape, I'm coming away with a far better knowledge of the park than I envisioned. The endless encounters and experiences along the way, whether solo or social, only add to the depth of feeling I now have for the Badlands. All of these pieces come together to give me incredible motivation, even hunger, to paint. What I most did not expect was to meet kindred spirits, make lasting friends, and gain multiple perspectives on the park. I do have to offer a special thanks to all the park employees I met who offered ideas, information, insight, and more. Especially Ed and Ryan from whom I learned about and was exposed to aspects of the Badlands that I imagine are rare for any visitor or artist in residence, perhaps even rare for many employees. You guys are the best, BNP is very lucky to have you. It was also exceptional to have a fellow artist around to chat and explore with. While our art forms require rather different approaches, Steven and I would hike together as artistic comrades, always wanting to know what's around the next butte, or up the next canyon. We found ourselves in some great locations thanks to curiosity. I won't individually name all the friends and acquaintances who impacted my experience, but you know who you are, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and look forward to seeing you again someday.

April 26, 2012

Spent the day in the south unit again with Ryan on his ATV. It had rained a few days ago, so things were still muddy, plus it rained more while we were out. I just cleaned up, but before that, I was covered in a layer of mud from head to foot. I now can understand the joy little boys feel when they stomp through puddles with a huge grin. Messy, but so fun if you can let go of the need to be clean and perfect. We spent a good 7 hours in the south unit, and really did manage to go all over. Several new places for me, which was a real treat. And I could successfully identify where we were and which buttes/tables were which. It is rewarding to feel oriented down there. The area is remote and seldom visited, and I did not imagine I would have much exposure to it during my residency. We found a couple more old cars that neither of us had seen before, one was flipped upside down. More pronghorn, horses, cattle, turkey vultures, rattlesnakes, a garter snake, meadow larks. The adventurous part of the day (there always is one with Ryan, I have learned) came when the ATV failed to make it through one of the mud pitted creek bottoms. The mud was deceptively deep, and the ATV was really really stuck. Ryan even said, “we're going to have to call Vinnie to winch us out.” He's the south unit LE guy. We pondered and looked around and Ryan found a large boulder to roll part way down the embankment. He tied the ATV's winch around it, stood on the rock, and had me pull in the winch while hitting the gas. This succeeded in pulling Ryan and the rock over to the ATV. More thinking and Ryan decided to see if the winch was long enough to get around the boulder after moving it up and over the embankment and down into a small ditch. It was, and Ryan again stood on the boulder, behind the embankment, while I winched in, hit the gas, and steered towards the rock. It worked, though barely! Turned out to be really helpful that Ryan taught me to drive the ATV earlier in the day and gave me some practice. Lucky thing, not to be stuck there for hours. In the process of trying to free the ATV, Ryan had been climbing around it in the mud, and trying to lift on it as I drove. He was covered in thick mud up to the knees, and when he took his shoes off back at the quad, mud and water came squishing out. The adventure aside, I am so grateful to have had the chance to really get to know the south unit. It is similar to the north in some areas, but you also see very different land forms and rock layers in other places. Fascinating. Many thanks, Ryan! My residency would not have been the same without your tours of the south unit.