Occassionally we get to turn the tables on our visiting artists and visit THEM! Just this August we went to the Boston area to visit our niece and nephew and we took the opportunity to visit two very recent Cassilhaus artists Michael Prince and Rachel Perry In my previous post you met Michael and learned of his JUMP series-his son and his friends jumping off a pier very close to his beautiful home in Magnolia, MA. He threatened Ellen and I with the offer to add us to the series and to his surprise we took him up on it. We had a lovely kayak trip out to a small island near the pier and then Michael photographed us from the boat. It was a lot higher than we had imagined.
Many more style points for me than my wife. We also got to see Michael's lovely home and studio and meet his wife and son.
30 minutes away in Annisquam we had a wonderful visit with Rachel and her husband Bruce. They have such a beautiful home and treated us like family.
Rachel has so many great projects going on simultaneaously and it was a rich experience to be in her studio spaces to see the things being created we had learned about during her residency and some new projects as well. After one magnificent meal with her family she told us of her tradition of embroidering the names of her dinner guests into her tablecloth.
She had Ellen and I sign in pencil and a few weeks later I got a photo of a work in progress!
We took a wonderful walk along the water and caught up on all the things going on since we were last together.
These new found friendships from the residency are such a gift. A little more than a year ago we didn't even know these people and now we can't wait for our next visit. A few weeks ago Rachel sent me a beautiful note about her time here at Cassilhaus:
"My experience at Casilhaus was a rich season of contrasts: I spent many hours working in blessed solitude with only nature as a distraction, and I attended cultural events as far ranging as lectures and openings at the Nasher Museum to the North Carolina State Fair. The generosity of Frank and Ellen underpins the experience of being at Casilhaus – everything is there for the benefit of the artist making her work. The sense that Art is All seeps from every aspect of the residency. It was a true pleasure to live and work at Casilhaus for three weeks, and a bonus to make dear friends for life."
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