7 DAY STUDIOWORK MENTORSHIP RESIDENCY

When we hear residency, we often think of programs that offer students a space to work independently for an extended period of time, away from the distractions of daily life, mostly self-directed, with minimal or no instruction, perhaps among a group of other residents. Those are amazing and well worth pursuing. For a long time though, I’ve wanted to create a similar residency experience at my studio but with the addition of comprehensive instruction tailored to the individual student.

I’m excited to introduce the StudioWork Mentorship Residency— a 7-day fully personalized workshop program designed for students who are ready to realign themselves with their creative practice, level up their painting skills, and take huge strides forward in becoming the working artist they’ve always wanted to be.

I love the process of meeting students where they are in their practice and addressing any technical or mindset challenges that might be holding up progress and limiting growth as a working artist. I’ve done this online for years through the StudioWork Mentorship Session program which has been an amazingly enriching experience for me and for the students I’ve worked with from around the world. However, some students just respond better to in-person instruction and need to be away from their home environment and daily life to fully absorb the information and practice. I totally understand that. It’s so necessary to allow ourselves to be students—to take time and space away from our regular daily lives for the sole purpose of immersing ourselves in our creative practice—to reprioritize our daily routine and devote ourselves fully to making our work. A full week of this kind of immersion into your painting practice can fuel you in your studio for a long time, not to mention how efficiently it can help resolve recurring obstacles once and for all.

STRUCTURE

The exact assignments and workflow for your days here at the studio will be something we plan together based on a series of online discussions that are part of the application process, however, the basic framework is: 7 full days / 8 hours a day.

Morning Meetings 9-10am : Each day of your residency week starts with a morning meeting (usually over coffee or tea) where we discuss the back-end of being a working artist—the increasingly important entrepreneurial skills needed to make a living, social media strategy, website design and consultation, commission process, artist statement writing, pricing, shipping, galleries, etc.—and then diagnose your relationship with all those elements and devise a strategy to improve what is weak and build on what is strong. We can even draft and revise your artist statement/bio.

Morning Skill-Building 10-1pm :The rest of the morning is for skill-building exercises and/or paint-alongs. Skill building exercises can take the form of full-immersion fundamentals of painting/drawing exercises or simply doing the SCLA program in a one-on-one context (we’ll decide this in our online meeting before your residency).

Many students have preferred using the mornings to do paint-alongs—an exercise designed for students to match every mix and brush stroke while we paint the same subject side-by-side. It’s proven itself very valuable as a teaching tool which I’ve likened to musicians covering other people’s songs. It’s not intended to make high art, but rather a way to directly develop a sensibility for what to do and when to do it. By following my painting process from beginning to end, you’ll gain first hand working knowledge of how to mix and distribute paint, work through the sometimes difficult middle stages, then refine, and finish the painting.

Just like the online demos, I narrate what I’m doing as a guide for every step during the entire process. I encourage students to record these paint-alongs for their own future reference. (I have a tripod to fit any size phone, just make sure your phone has enough space to record and store several hours of painting).

Afternoon StudioWork 2-5pm : Our ultimate goal is to develop your singular creative voice so, in the afternoons, we’ll shift towards direct guidance on developing your own body of work. This can take the form of starting a new series, bringing in-progress work with you for us to analyze and improve, or simply working on paintings of your typical subject matter in your particular style. We’ll decide this together in our online consults before your residency. The point is, the mornings are for skill building, the afternoons are for art-making.

HOW IT WORKS

This residency program is a chance to realign yourself with your creative practice by spending 7 days in my studio immersed in completely individualized one-on-one instruction and it all begins by filling out the application form at the bottom of this page. Next, we’ll schedule a free 40 minute Zoom meeting to introduce ourselves, review your application, and discuss the goals you have for this residency. This is a great time to ask all the questions you can think of before we move onto the planning stages.

You’ll be notified of acceptance into the program between 3-5 business days after our meeting at which point you can book your residency with a deposit.

Once you’re accepted, you’ll receive a free hour online StudioWork Mentorship Session where we will finalize your program plan, make a materials list, and review any questions you might have before you start your residency.

Your residency will include:

• 56 hours of personalized instruction. 8 hours a day for 7 days of undivided attention (there will be no other students or projects during your time here)

• live painting demos and paint-alongs

• access the first floor workshop room where you can set up your own studio space to develop your work without interruption

• after-class-access (5-9 pm) to the workshop room

• comprehensive critiques on both technique and mindset

• A Moleskine StudioWork Journal for daily writing exercises and note-taking

• guidance with artist statement writing

• website design consultation social media strategy

• access to all the latest SCLA class recordings to review pre recorded demos

• 2 post-residency Mentorship Sessions— 30 minute Zoom Check-Ins

• plus all the free water, coffee and snacks you could ever want

Your residency does not include:

• Room and Board Accommodations - there’s a list of hotels within walking distance of my studio below as well as an ever-growing list of AirBnb’s

• Meals - someday I’ll grow this program so big that I can hire a Studio Chef who will have all three daily meals ready for students as soon as we break from painting…but alas we are not there yet. You’ll have to provide your own meals although I do provide bottled water, coffee, tea, assorted sparkling waters, and for our morning meetings, pastries, muffins, and fruit. There are so many delicious restaurant options available within a 5 minute or less walk. Also, a great option that saves a lot of cost is to order groceries or ready-made meals from our beloved Wegmans . I’m happy to take students shopping on their first night in Easton or order with Instacart.

• Transportation - My suggestion for students who are flying here is to stay downtown in either of the hotels or AirBnbs so you don’t have to rent a car. My building is in the heart of downtown Easton and an easy, short walk to anything you might need. I’m happy to drive students to the art stores or grocery shopping. If you drive here, there are two large and reasonably priced parking garages within a short walk from the studio.

I take mentorship relationships seriously and approach the choice of who I work with mindfully. I have a genuine investment in the creative well-being of all students I work with and sincerely enjoy supporting working artists of all skill and career levels in finding their singular creative voice, providing time and space to listen to mindset issues that every working artist encounters and struggles with, and doing so in the context of building a body of work

I am so thankful to have worked with students from all over the world as a mentor/instructor over the past few years and you can count on my wholehearted investment in our time working together. That said, candidates for this program should be equally invested in the experience of developing their skills, technique, process, and mindset. A week of working together 8 hrs a day for 7 days is kind of intense. It’s not ‘bootcamp’ because that’s not my teaching style and I just don’t have that militant kind of personality. But it’s also not like one of those vacation retreats where people just paint a few hours and then sip wine and shop the rest of the day. Those are fun but this is not that experience.

Instead, I consider this an intensely rich learning experience for people ready to immerse themselves in their creative process holistically—giving equal attention to the the analytical AND intuitive aspects of a creative practice—to immerse themselves in skill building exercises while at the same time being open enough to examine and overhaul their mindset.

The StudioWork Mentorship Residency is perfect for you if you’re ready to:

• immersive yourself skill-building exercises

• learn more about how different your skills are from your technique

• unlearn patterns that have kept your work stagnant

• plan & create a coherent body of work in your own voice

• develop and optimize your process & studio workflow

• plan a new series of work for an upcoming exhibit or online sale

• work through artist’s block or any mindset issues related to your practice, process, plan, and path forward using writing prompts and writing assignments

• move from student level to professional working artist

• develop art business/entrepreneurial skills

• write about your work, your process, and your self as a working artist

• build your web presence and/or autopsy your website and social media

• navigate mindset challenges like self-doubt and develop a strong creative voice

This residency is designed to work as both a one-on-one experience and as a program for small groups of between 2-4 people. If you have a friend, group of friends, or a painting club interested in a small uniquely tailored week-long residency workshop or a private SCLA class, please feel free to apply, just mention the number of participants in the application below.

Some of the best workshops I’ve hosted have been made up of pairings of friends as painting residency partners. Having the built-in support and shared experiences of connection through creative practice can be profoundly beneficial as individual artists. (And practically speaking, some students have chosen this option as a way to cut accommodation costs in half).

Easton is an amazing community and I love it here for so many reasons. One of the biggest reasons I love our downtown so much is how accessible so many things are in relation to my studio building. There’s lots of restaurants, great little shops, a huge historic hotel, a lovely new boutique hotel, the fantastic Easton Public Market, and the convergence of the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers all within walking distance. For a comprehensive list and map of all the downtown shops visit shopdowntowneaston. Below are some of my favorites that make up the heart of this city.

Hotels
The Grand Eastonian - Lovely big hotel within an easy five minute walk from my studio. Most students who come here for residencies stay here—several groups have saved a lot by rooming together or booking once of their large suites.
Townly House - Gorgeous boutique hotel - less than a five minute walk from my studio. Amazing interiors, amazing bar/restaurant, (but a bit expensive for long term stays)

AirBnB
Tree House Twin in Downtown Easton - this is a cute place within walking distance. One of the only airbnb’s within walking distance (that I would stay at).

Food & Restaurants
The Easton Public Market - our beloved market that breathed so much new life into downtown. We’ll be going here for lunch the first day! Fun fact: their grand opening several years ago was the first day of my first plein air workshop in Easton!They have some of the best vendors around. Here are my absolute favorites:
Mr. Lee’s Noodles - amazing Ramen. Chef Lee is James Beard Award winning chef and has several other restaurants including nearby Bolete (another fun fact: I was super honored to be asked to furnish Bolete with paintings when they first opened years ago. It’s my favorite restaurant for many reasons but it has a special place in my heart because they gave me a chance to show my work back then). Anyway, the Ramen is spectacular and I’m happy bringing visitors there all the time.
The Modern Crumb - The croissants from this place are perfection…Everything is really. (Our first morning meeting will have some treats from here)
Green Vida - So many great fresh juices, vegetarian options, and one the best breakfast sandwiches ever.
Sette Luna - Rustic Italian with excellent wood oven pizza. It’s one of my favorite places for group dinners after workshops.
Ocean - Exquisite tapas and dinners with a great bar—Home of my favorite ever espresso martini!
Kabinet Wine Bar - Gorgeous new wine bar with garden space coming soon.
Mesa - Modern Mexican with some of the best guacamole around.
Third & Ferry Fish Market - Fresh fish dishes and a hearty fish n chips dish.
Aman’s Artisan Indian Cuisine - delicious Indian dishes and a new outdoor dining courtyard
Tokyo Sushi - take out sushi right up the street from the studio

Coffee and Ice Cream
Three Birds Coffee House - The best coffee shop! And it’s only steps away from my studio. They have a satellite shop called Nest in the Easton Public Market.
Bank Street Creamery - Sweet little ice cream shop down one of the cutest Easton alleys

Fitness (Just in case you want to get some workouts and/or yoga in while you’re here visiting)
Easton Yoga - Award winning studio with lots of classes and instructors and right up the street
The Valley Om - Another award winning yoga studio in Easton. This one isn’t quite within walking distance but only about a five minute car ride.

Shops
For a comprehensive list and map of all the downtown shops visit shopdowntowneaston
Mercantile Home - artfully hand made home accessories…(go buy a squirrel!)
Wegmans - the best grocery store and only about a ten minute-ish drive or you can instacart it if you’re staying at an airbnb.

GETTING HERE

Flying to Newark definitely gives more options and costs a bit less, however, I would look into finding a short flight to Lehigh Valley from either Newark or Philadelphia. If you can do that, I will be happy to pick you up. If flying to Newark or Philly is the only option, Uber and Lyft rides are about $100 to Easton.

There’s a Blick store about twenty minutes away and the amazing Vasari Paint Store 5 minutes from here. I’m happy to take you there to purchase materials for your week. Many students choose to travel here with only their brushes and either ship their paints and canvases or else buy them here and then ship them back home when the residency is over. I’m happy to provide boxes, help pack, print labels, and schedule fed-ex pick up from the studio. You won’t need to ship or purchase any solvent or mediums because I have them here for students to use.

Daily food delivery can also be arranged however there are many great restaurants within a 5 minute or less walk. I’d recommend getting accommodations that are within walking distance so you won’t need to rent a car. I’m happy to drive anywhere you need to go while you’re here.