Chelsey Pettyjohn, 13 – 27 April, 2024
I went into this residency with the goal of ‘input’ rather than ‘output’. I knew I needed to fill my cup, so to speak, as I was drained from the last year of teaching and deadline-based projects in New York. Cornwall was a dream location for me since I was young, and my work is heavily rooted in European folklore, fairy stories, and Celtic myth.
I felt that this chance to take time to absorb and connect with the land should take precedence over a ‘production’ mindset. For week one (of two), I just did that – spent time on hikes, at local gatherings (including a talk on holy wells), visiting Cornwall-based painters (like Samuel Bassett and Jesse Leroy Smith), pagan sites, and overall just allowed myself be swept up into the magic of the landscape.
For week two, I was able to take these impressions and start nurturing them into artworks – small paintings, sketchbook drawings, a bit of plein air dabbling with paint sticks. Throughout it all I was also reading from books on British myth, and making notations for elements and stories I’d like to consider for future paintings and sculptures.
In general, I was there to gather inspiration and reinvigorate my multidisciplinary practice. Though I work in sculpture, I knew I wouldn’t have access to ceramics facilities, so instead I focused on gathering concepts for pieces I could begin once I returned to my Brooklyn studio. Once I returned, I was quite excited to put my sketches to life and have had a busy production period of sculptures; some, coincidentally, for a current exhibition in West Cornwall, CT (the other Cornwall!).
But I also made specific work with the portable supplies that I brought with me to Brisons -watercolor paper, gouache, paints. I was able to start planning and make preliminary studies for a larger, long-term project: illustrating and producing a Tarot/oracle deck. I want the imagery to take inspiration from my time in Cornwall, and felt my second week there would be the perfect time to begin. Of course, I also brought my travel-sized Tarot deck, and had the pleasure of several meaningful readings.
Though I work as an arts educator with both children and adults, my own work is intended for anyone and everyone who may feel a resonance or connection. For my particular project, I find that the history of hand-illustrated Tarot decks fascinating; but it can feel esoteric/intimidating for those who are not familiar. I want to provide a connective bridge to anyone already interested in my work, who may be curious about the imagery and archetypes found in oracle decks. There is something dynamic and universal in the iconography of these cards; they communicate the human experience – something I seek to do in my own work.
