A Vast Land - Wyoming

This April, I had the chance to spend a two-weeks period as artist-in-residence at the Ucross-Foundation in Wyoming. Artist-in-residence programs offer artist living and work space, sometimes meals, exchange with other artists and thus a space to perfectly concentrate on the art work.

Times like this are very intense and fruitful, a wonderful gift.

Ucross is located in a very remote area, surrounded by mountains and rivers. It's a wide, wild and lonesome landscape.

During the first days, I went to the river and painted, with the idea of simplicity and something not-spectacular.

When I came to know the landscape, I started to work on woodblock prints. Compaired to creating a painting, painting a print design for me a more stringent process, as I paint only relevant areas like outlines or small details. It is easier this way to keep my energy level high.

Most of the mountains at Ucross are rather flat. As soon as the sun is rising higher, the mountains look like a big homogenious mass, which is a difficult thing for me as a woodblock artist. So I went with my byke into the mountains before sunrise to look for a place with striking shadows.

There I painted a design, surrounded by many chirping, but unvisible birds (Wyomings State bird, the Western Meadowlark, as I was told later. It is a happy occasion when it is back, as this means Spring is starting).

In printing I played with several colour variations...

The team at Ucross took care so kindly for me and my colleagues. Thank you so much!

April 2011

PS Travelling from Berlin to Wyoming and Washington in April 2011 caused 6840 kg CO2. I offset these flights at www.atmosfair.de.