Well, I was just going to post an image and a little blurb but decideded to do better. Its Monday morning and feels like it so I thought I better force my brain cells to get going right now - no excuses.

This impressionistic painting was inspired by my stay as an artist-in-residence at Hot Springs National Park. I have mentioned the artist-in-residence program in some previous posts. It is a great program, although not all of the parks participate. There are close to thirty that offer residencies. Most of the parks offer this to all types of artists - visual artists, musicians, dancers, story tellers, theatre folks, etc... I think the one at Mt.Rushmore is just for sculptors (of course). Anyway, the parks have an application process, and most are fairly similar, but the deadlines vary quite a bit.

I have been chosen for two residencies in the past, one at Hot Springs National Park, and the other at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. They were both great experiences. Not only is it a chance to really focus on one's art without interruptions and day to day stresses, but it is just enjoyable to explore these wonderful, protected parcels of nature. We are so fortunate to have them. You are considered a volunteer although the extent of your volunteer work is maybe a couple or three hours conducting a workshop, or talk, demonstration, performance or something of that nature (and not all require even that). Many of the parks ask for a piece or creation from your time there at the park. Some artists don't like this but I did not have a problem with it. I was glad to contribute something to the National Park System collection, knowing it will be taken care of, on display for many to see, and could potentially lead to more business opportunities. In exchange I was put up in great lodging, had VIP status, made some contacts, and had a cheap vacation.

The lodging at Indiana Dunes was in a cool house designed by some long gone architect from Chicago. It was up on a dune overlooking Lake Michigan - just a small road seperated the lake from the land. I had two decks and sliding glass doors on two sides of the house. On a good day I could make out Chicago in the distance. Any day there was good though. The house at Hot Springs was a former rangers' residence. It was a cute place located in the confines of the campground; it is a wood and stone structure built by the conservation corp back in the 30's. It has its own laundry facilities, a wood stove (for cooler months), a great studio, a screened in porch, etc...you get the idea. There was a creek running around the campground and on the other side were a few trailheads leading up the small mountains/big hills. Along the historic row of bathhouses are one or two that still offer services using the 'healing waters' from the springs. Hot Springs was one of the first aquisitions of the national park system although it was not the first national park. And thankfully I did not have any run-ins with snakes or taurantulas (yes, they have them in this part of the country).

Anyway, for those that might be interested or know of someone who might be interested, you can go to http://www.nps.gov/. From there you will want to look under 'volunteers' and then proceed from there. You can visit the individual parks' websites but I would go to the nps site first.

There is much to discuss about this and I will take it up again in a future blog. If you have any questions just let me know and you can always leave comments or e-mail me. You can access my e-mail if you click 'view my profile' to the right.

"We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world, and we impoverish ourselves if we forget this errand". Woodrow Wilson

Thanks for visiting, Helen