I finished the Understory Artist in Residency program on October 5th and I’m still digesting the whirlwind of the program in all its incredibleness. As I figure out what’s next for my art, I wanted to share the highlights of my first artist residency. All in all, this was the most incredible experience and I’m forever grateful for NINE dot ARTS and Amazon for providing this opportunity!

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Back in January 2024, Samantha and Molly from NINE dot ARTS reached out about The Understory Artist in Residency program (I couldn’t believe that this was an actual opportunity at first, and they wanted me).

I was slated to do the residency from July - October 2024 with another artist, John Smither. I knew Q3 would be a busy one since Mark and I were also planning our 4 year delayed wedding reception, but this was such a huge step in my art career, I knew I had to make it work.

We were tasked to create an interactive community art component as part of our residency, so we decided to combine our mediums and create a large tree that incorporated recycled and digital elements. In June I got to work building out the large cardboard tree and on July 1st, we set up our spaces and installed the tree!

I was blown away with the many interactions I had with the people who visited the Understory. I met people from all over the world and got to speak with folks about their own creative pursuits, see their artistic creations added to the tree, and hopefully inspire other artists of all walks of life to view recycled materials in a new light. I also loved walking around the Amazon SLU campus while onsite. I was able to access the Amazon Spheres and try out a lot of new restaurants around (my favorites were no surprise, Renee Erickson’s Willmotts Ghost and Deep Dive). I drank way too many Diet Cokes from the Amazon Go Store and Oak Milk Chais from General Porpoise.

Throughout the residency, one thing became abundantly clear - the tree was not just a living art project, it was a representation of how community can be built by strangers. Most messages people left were full of hope, compassion, and positivity. We all wish for a more open, more creative, more loving, more sustainable world. We all yearn to share our experiences and be seen. This tree was bare when we started and by the time we un-installed, it was covered by people who are now part of the community. No matter how brief their stay was at the Understory, their mark was made on this collective project.

I am forever grateful to Molly, Samantha and the nine DOT arts team for their belief in me and their incredible support, Christine from Amazon who checked in on us and provided so much support, and my co-artist John, who was an amazing partner in the space. I’m also thankful to my day job employer, Omnidian for being flexible enough for me to pursue this dream opportunity. And I’m so grateful to my husband who supported me throughout this program even though we knew it would be a balancing act. And to all of my friends and family who visited me in the space - I felt so loved all along the way.