To lay the foundation for a vibrant artist residency program that celebrates Clinton County Conservation lands and creates a space to to attract other artists to discover Clinton’s beauty. The ultimate goal is to make Clinton County an arts destination that can support a vibrant cultural life.

Acrylic and latex paints are not only toxic to my body but to the environment. During the spring and summer of 2023, I will work with Jessica Steines to collect the flora of Clinton County parks to create natural dyes, pigments, and inks.

An Artist-in-residency at Miss Elk-ton during which artist, Gabi Torres, will create a body of work based on time spent on location that will then be featured in an art show at Rock Creek and later as a public installation at Conservation parks. All paintings will be made on raw canvas using earth pigments and natural inks and dyes made by using materials such as clay, rocks, berries, plants, and wildflowers foraged and processed from June-November.

In November and December 2023, I will live in Miss Elk-ton to create a body of work. This will turn into an annual or biannual artist residency for Clinton County.

The entire process will be documented to create living artifacts of the experience. A documentary on the procurement, creation, and public shows will turn into a piece CCC & myself can use to create a legacy for this project.

In February and March 2024, I will have an exhibit at Rock Creek in Camanche. The pieces will then tour multiple county parks. Providing access to all of the county. There will be multiple artist talks. In addition, I will teach CCC naturalists how to make dyes which they in turn will pass along.