Show and Tell
Artist Residencies for Students and Teachers by Roxie Mitchell Art Educator, Durango High School
I did my first artist residency at Willowtail Springs in Mancos, Colorado, which was not far from where I lived but felt like a world away. Being alone in this strange place by myself for a week made time slow down, activated my creative thinking, and forced me to make a ton of art. When I returned home, I felt like I had drunk the artist-residency Kool-Aid. I wanted that same experience, that same artistic high, and I wanted the dedicated time to get lost in my process again and again. One night during my residency, the owner invited me up to the porch of their home for a glass of wine as the sun set. During our conversation, we
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hatched a plan that we both loved: bringing high school student artists to Willowtail Springs to do residencies. The idea grew out of the problems that art teachers and students experience because they are forcing art making into the school structures. We wanted students to have the time to dive deeper and be free from the schedules and standards that confine art making at school. For the first residency, I was able to get a grant for $2,500 to bring six high school students for three days and two nights. We decided to keep the group small because it was important that students could find their own physical and mental space during
