Make The Most Of-An Artist Residency

Last August, I made a brief visit to paradise. I woke up early and took a quick walk down a flower-lined path and over a river to breakfast. Once caffeinated, I headed to my studio, a cozy room with a bookshelf, desk, and armchair for reading, with a window overlooking that river, whose burbling underscored several hours of writing. I went to lunch at 12, then spent some time lounging in an Adirondack chair in the sun, reading. After that, maybe I went for a hike, or to a yoga class, or back to my studio. Then dinner, followed by more writing, then a reading or artist lecture, then out for some drinks in town. 

This was my version of heaven: A stretch of uninterrupted time to work on my novel, read other people's novels, wander in a gorgeous rural setting thinking about writing, and hang out with people who have the same strange predilections as I do. I called it art camp, but it was actually an artist residency at the Vermont Studio Center (VSC), one of the largest of such programs in the country.

According to the Alliance of Artists' Communities , there are about 500 programs in the United States that offer writers, visual artists, dancers, musicians, and other creative people a retreat from the distractions and noise of daily life to focus on their work. Look at the bios of most successful artists and you'll find they've paid a visit to at least one of these, a testament to how effective they can be in helping you develop a project. So how do you make it happen? Read on for tips on finding the right residency for you, applying, and making the most of it.

With so many residencies to choose from, you'll want to narrow down the options into a manageable list. Glendaliz Camacho , a short story writer and essayist who has attended multiple residencies, suggests you start your search by reflecting on your real-world obligations.

"If there's family you take care of, how long can you be away? How much time can you take off work, and would it be paid or unpaid time?" Camacho says. "Factor in the cost of travel. Then you can start organizing a list."

The Alliance of Artists' Communities should help you make that list, as it lets you search for programs by discipline, location, and other factors. There's also Aerogramme Writers Studio , which covers residencies, fellowships, and other opportunities for writers specifically, and ResArtists , a resource for residencies in all disciplines worldwide.

Ask other artists for their recommendations, too. "I've found out about residencies through word of mouth. Often, you're so grateful they accepted you that you're willing to be the mouthpiece to tell other people about it too," Camacho says.

And as you research, consider the following criteria:

Cost

Erika Dreifus , author of the short story collection Quiet Americans and the Practicing Writing blog, says that among the many factors to keep in mind as you research, there's "the matter of application and participation fees and stipends, for starters."

Some residencies are free to attend and may even provide stipends, while others offer only partial scholarships; still others, like the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts , ask that residents pay what they can.

In most cases, you'll be responsible for your travel costs, which could limit you to residencies within a particular region, or ones near major airports.

Size

At VSC, I was in residence with 50 other writers and visual artists, and found that the social side of the program was, for me, a good counterweight to the solitude of writing. On the flip side, I heard of one residency where such interpersonal drama-and debauchery-ensued among those in attendance that they nicknamed the place "Divorce Camp." At residencies like Millay Colony , meanwhile, there are only six residents in session at a time, presumably making for a more subdued-and perhaps focused-experience.

Setting

Apart from the travel costs, consider what kind of setting would best spark your creativity, as well as what your day-to-day living needs are. "Location [is important], of course, both in terms of the sheer appeal of the place and the importance of transportation and access to facilities. If you're responsible for your own food, how will you obtain your supplies? Will you need a car?" Dreifus points out. "Residency timing and duration can be key, too-a number of residencies require a minimum stay that isn't always compatible for writers with day-jobs that don't offer ample vacation time."

Living in New York City, I found VSC's rural setting a welcome change. Though I don't have a car, everything I needed was within walking distance, and there was easy access to multiple hiking trails and swimming holes. The town was so tiny, though, that it didn't even have its own drugstore. I was only in residence for two weeks, but I imagine that after a longer stay, the setting might have begun to feel a bit claustrophobic.

Food

Some residencies provide meals; VSC had a sizeable kitchen staff cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, and not having to go grocery shopping or cook freed up a tremendous amount of time for me. Some programs offer some meals or free groceries, while others expect residents to fend for themselves. Consider how meal prep-or taking time out for communal dining-would impact your creative flow.

Application deadlines vary according to residency seasons-, and requirements are often different for each program-, but generally, you'll be expected to provide some biographical information, an artist's statement, and most importantly, a work sample. Some residencies also require CVs, recommendation letters, supplemental statements, and information about your finances. To keep track, I've made a spreadsheet listing each residency I'm applying to, as well as its deadlines and requirements.

When you're putting together your application, think strategically, as residencies are highly selective. Competition is usually fiercest for the summer season, because so many writers and artists are also teachers who work the rest of the year. Brace yourself for some rejection, which, Dreifus says, "gets easier over time."

Camacho has found it helpful to detail in your application why a certain residency appeals to you.

"Every artist and writer needs time, but you can get that anywhere. What can you get from here, from this one in particular?" she says. "What is it about that place that could potentially affect your writing? Does it figure into your writing somehow?"

If so, you'll want to explain that in your artist's statement. And try to avoid declarations that any creative person could make, like, "I've wanted to be a painter since childhood" or "Dance is my passion." Instead, delve into the themes and ideas you explore in your work, your specific approach to art-making, the project you plan to work on while in residency. Bob Kealing, who oversees the Kerouac Project residency, told Poets & Writers , "We are most interested in people who have a clear vision of what they will do with the time."

Your work sample, then, should ideally align with this, whether it's an excerpt from the manuscript you plan to revise while in residence, or a completed piece that reflects your preoccupations as an artist and indicates where you're headed. At the end of the day, this is the part of your application that will be most closely considered, so make sure it's what represents you best as an artist.

And broadly speaking, as with any application, you'll want to make sure you follow guidelines as closely as possible; residencies get so many applications that if they can dismiss a few that don't adhere to word count requirements or recommendation letter formats, they'll likely do so.

"Have some sense of what you'd (ideally) like to accomplish during your residency before you go. Just don't be too hard on yourself if by the residency's end you can't necessarily cross off every item," Dreifus says.

Indeed, given how different a residency likely is from your everyday life, allow yourself some time to adjust. You might not be ready to plunge right into your project on your first morning, nor should you expect to work for eight hours a day if that's far more than what you ordinarily do. Keep in mind that thinking, reading, taking walks, and talking to other artists can inform your own craft and spark inspiration.

"I think noticing and working with your own natural patterns is key. A lot of times when we're in our regular lives, we're working against our nature. We may not be morning people, but we have to get up in the morning to get work done, or vice versa," Camacho says. "Once you're in a place where your time is unstructured, notice when you're most productive. Whether it's morning or evening, go with that."

VSC being my first residency, I set modest goals for myself. Knowing that I feel sharpest in the morning (it's all downhill once that first cup of coffee wears off), I committed to spending the hours between breakfast and lunch in my studio and using the rest of the day however felt right. I ended up working quite a bit more than just in the mornings, and in two weeks I wrote what would ordinarily take me a couple months to accomplish, but I was glad I didn't pressure myself ahead of time into producing a certain amount.

"It's a huge challenge not to feel like you're on the clock-I have 30 days, I have to get this done-but try not to do that," Camacho says. "Take time to explore what your process is. Allow things to happen that are unaccounted for. Notice what your natural state is and work with that, rather than against it."

Something else to prepare for: The inevitable letdown of returning to real life. You'll need a little time to adjust on that end, too. "Coming back is tough. I've figured out that for every week you're away, you need a day to adjust," Camacho says. "When I go on a residency, I feel like this is how I'm supposed to live all the time. It's just an amazing experience if the artist can make it happen for themselves."