Ragdale/3Arts Residency Fellowship

I just got back from a Ragdale/3Arts Residency Fellowship in Lake Forest, IL June 17-July 5, 2013.  It was a little slice of heaven to be out on the open prairie for three weeks in the Meadow Studio, a magnificent modernist structure. The program is set up so you just have time and space to make your work completely undisturbed. The only scheduled things is that each night M-F at 6:30pm chef Linda Williams cooks up an amazing dinner. Our group ended up meeting for 9:30pm for night caps, ghost stories, and gossip. Minus the s'mores and camp fires, it was adult summer camp. I was able to get nine 30x45 in. new oil paintings done. See a sneak peek of one of them below. There were 13 of us in our cohort - 3 visual artists, 1 music composer and the rest were writers.

The main Ragdale House where residents sleep and writers write.

The Meadow Studio. If you go, say hi to "Iggy" for me. You'll know what I'm talking about when you get there.

Inside the Meadow Studio. Amazing high ceilings, the best light ever, great ventilation, a huge counter/bar, a private patio and living room.

A sneak peek at my new work - Laura Kina, Family Portrait 1, 30 x 45 in., Oil on canvas, 2013.

Right outside the Meadow Studio is 50 acres of open prairie. It was incredible to watch summer storms roll in. Every day the prairie has something new to offer.

Deer, bunnies, birds, bees, and all sorts of insects walk, hop, fly, and crawl by the Meadow Studio.