The Driveway Residency and Exhibition

It was in Mexico that I received my first round of rejections to the artist residencies I had applied to. This bummed me out as it would anybody, but I didn’t let it discourage me (for too long) from continuing to focus on my practice. So hot off the heels of traveling all around Mexico, I came back home to Maryland with the desire to be still for a little while and focus on my work.

I decided that if I couldn’t get into a residency just yet, then I would make my own at home. From that idea came The Driveway Residency.

For three weeks, I parked The Goobsmobile in my Grandma’s Driveway and devoted myself to reading The Artist’s Way, painting as much as I could, sewing as much as I could, and organizing my photography portfolio…as much as I could. In that time, I completed several works, including Ruff Stuff and Places & People.

I sewed several pieces of clothing using upcycled corduroy obtained from thrift stores and my own closet to make what I dubbed “The Corduroy Cowboy” outfit.

I put together a photography portfolio to submit to several photography contests. I did not win any of these contests, but writing about my photography helped me to identify my favorite shots from the past few years and define what photography means to me.

After spiritually reaching the end of my Driveway Residency, I got the idea to host a full-blown exhibition of the works I completed. I whipped up a poster, baked some cookies, set up some chairs, and then invited the city of Baltimore as exhibition guests of the Driveway Exhibition.