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I consider participating in residencies a significant part of my artistic path. Artist in Residence programs are an intensive period dedicated to investigate, develop and create a body of work, usually concentrating on one concept or project. It is an opportunity for professional development, self-directed research and exploration. Professional, practicing artists are invited to submit project proposals. Artists are selected based on artistic merit and promise. They are provided with time and space to develop their chartered project. Residencies often emphasize engagement and dialogue with the local community. Presentations, workshops, exchange of knowledge with fellow guest artists and artists in the community are key aspects of a residency. The artists' artwork and creative process are exposed to the public creating a mutually beneficial dialogue in this unique setting. 
Fields Project "Bringing Art and Agriculture Together" is the theme of the Fields Project, a nine day art program that includes lodging on a working farm while creating art, in the scenic Rock River Hill Country of Oregon, Illinois. This is a unique project that focuses public attention on art, agriculture, and natural resources while creating new relationships between artists, farmers, environmentalists, and educators. I was chosen as one of four nationwide visiting artists to create a monumental Field Sculpture artwork for the Eleventh Annual Fields Project. My winning design celebrates the endangered Monarch butterflies' unique migration journey which travels through these fields. The design reflects what the butterflies stand for – beauty, freedom, hope and transformation. The Monarch butterfly is the state insect of Illinois. My original 4"x7" design was enlarged and mapped with a grid of flags onto the 7 acre field before it could be mowed into the grassland. The Field Sculpture is designed to be viewed and photographed from the air. 
In scorching heat of over 95 degrees, no breeze, and humidity levels beyond any scale permitted by law, we worked together with a group of volunteers led by Joseph Popp, the executive director of the program, and Maja Shoemacher, the head of the Fields Sculpture program. It took several days of hard work; tracking through high grassland vegetation. Covered from head to toe, trying to avoid getting skin burns from contact with Wild Parsnip, we flagged our designs into the fields. The design was then mowed by a skilled farmer driving a large tractor (thank you Marty Wittig!). It was impossible to assess the outcome of this great scale artwork from within the field. On Friday we got to fly over the fields. In his small 4-seat Piper Cherokee, Darrell Janssen enabled us to see the amazing outcome of our week's work. What an exhilarating feeling. 
I worked together with 3 great artists:
In the press:
To learn more about the Fields Project please visit: www.fieldsproject.com 
Raw Clay Crows Hand built, solid clay, soot dyed, unfired raw clay Located in scenic Solomons, Maryland, where the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay meet, Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center is a unique art institute. Affiliated with the Smithsonian, Annmarie Garden features permanent sculptures and works on loan from the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art. The two story art gallery offers rotating art exhibits on display. It is a center for public programs and a studio art school. For several weeks a year, during The Living Gallery event, the main gallery is transformed into temporary working studio spaces hosting guest artists. Residing in the artists' guest house, working in the main gallery from morning to dusk, during my residency I have created over ninety Raw Clay Crows that were installed in two designated flowerbeds in the sculpture garden.
Based on my Clay Crows concept, the Raw Clay Crows installation is a nature inspired, time sensitive, ever changing and finite outdoor sculpture that is designed to capture the natural course of change and decay any living being is destined to endure. Placed outdoors, the unfired Raw Clay Crows will weaken in their resistance. Moistening and softening in wet seasons, drying and cracking in dry weather they gradually succumb to the elements. Degrading until only a shadow of their existence, a faint footprint residue remains on the ground. They slowly turn into nothing and reunite with nature, as part of the ever-changing landscape. Raw Clay Crows respond differently depending on location and environment so it should be very interesting to watch over time how my Raw Clay Crows react to the elements in south Maryland. |
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| Copyright © 2006 by Tamar Assaf | |
