Residency Planning
Hello,
To revisit my earlier post, I had briefly talked about the artists residency I would be attending in Japan in April.
When I was looking into applying for residencies and researching the ones I selected, I was desperately trying to find blog posts or any information really, about how artists (especially freelance, with limited income) can plan their finances and trips to a foreign country. For me, this would be my first solo trip out of India and that too on a limited budget/for work/not for leisure. It was mind numbing and scary as hell to be the person single handedly deciding EVERYTHING - what residency makes sense to me? What about flights? How do I find that perfect flight timing? What about stay? Food and any additional travel? How will I manage alone? What if I need emergency money? How am I going to pay for all this?
What I decided to do was write about my experience planning for this residency, document what I’m doing there and how I, as an artist, view Japan. I hope this blog will be a documentation of this big step and I am willing to share all my planning tips and advice, if you ever decide to do something like this yourself.
Why is a Residency important?
I want to talk about this because I came across the idea of artists residencies fairly late in life and I wish I had known this earlier. If you are the kind of person who hasn’t travelled or who loves travelling AND you are an artist, this is perfect for you. I think its important (any age), for a person to explore art through a different country. It exposes you to so many kinds of people, so many techniques, art forms and toughens you up.
I started travelling out of India only after I got married. Before that I didn’t consider travel to be important. I’d spend my savings on materials and infrastructure for my studio. After getting married, I did my first trip abroad with my husband and his parents- we went to Laos. His parents are toughened travellers and can really rough it out. I loved the trip and got to explore so much of the traditional arts, crafts and food of Laos and Thailand. Now the places I have visited are Laos, Thailand, Singapore, Ethiopia and Japan, and I have explored the art scene in everyone of them and I wish I had explored the idea of a short art residency earlier. Its the perfect experience to make you more self sufficient, understand your art better and be able to become a global person.
Basics: What Residency to pick?
The first question to ask yourself is what do you want out of it? Do you want a place to sit quietly and produce a body of work? Do you want a residency that offers short courses/classes/workshops? What country are you interested in? It should be a place where you are comfortable knowing (or not knowing the language) a place where you are open to the food on offer and a place you can manage travelling around by yourself. A lot of things have to be accepted when staying in a country for a long period- food and local transport being the biggest factors. There is a website called ResiArtis which is an international directory of all residencies and you can search by location, facilities etc. Some residencies offer grants, which brings me to my next topic.
Funding:
Most residencies offer grants that can be applied to, some residencies are invite only and cover most of your expenses, but there are ones like the one I am attending where you have to pay a fee since there is teaching and tools involved. For this reason it makes sense to plan WAY ahead so you have time to get your finances in place. My residency required me to pay an advance before hand to book my slot so make sure you have at least some money on hand and read the residency websites carefully.
To fund my residency I’m doing a bunch of things side by side:
- Working on whatever incoming commercial projects are there (2 children’s books at the moment)
- I started working 3 days a week at a design office for a fixed fee (salary) every month. Its very hectic since I don’t have many days left in the week to dedicate to other projects, so that means I don’t get much time off
- I’m also working on small paintings and personal projects on the side that I can sell to help fund my trip.
- Patreon is another route I am considering exploring in the coming months. Its a monthly subscription type platform where my work can be funded by those who enjoy it, for small fee every month and I send you rewards/stuff in return. I want to explore this to get some nice products and originals out to all of you.
I will update here again about Patreon. I can put in some Japan specific art/rewards if you enjoy that kind of thing.
Trip Planning:
It is important to start looking into your flights and stay details before hand. Its also recommended to search the internet for interesting things to see/do during your time there. Airbnb is a great place for local experiences/workshops and of course to find cheap stay options. I’m using Airbnb to find a place to stay in Kyoto and Tokyo. Just a simple room. I will be doing some work related stuff- picking up pigments etc and meeting some artists and I will be needing a place to crash for around 15 days after my residency.
Another helpful gem is Skyscanner. They help you in finding the cheapest flights. Always keep an eye on the timings and keep in mind that you shouldn’t reach too early/too late and be stranded out of your place of stay. If all your flights are the same airlines, check their local office in your city- they might have cheaper tickets.
Do all your research on local transportation, what you will be doing in your free time, how are you going to get around, what the local cuisine is, how safe the area is, how friendly the people are. If you can, I would recommend taking a few extra days after the residency to go check out the local museums, art supply stores, book stores and smaller galleries. Its worth that extra few days to get a taste of the art scene of a new country.
TIPS:
To help with organising info, I noted down everything in a spreadsheet. I used Google Sheets so I could edit it on any system. I made different tabs for: expenses on hand (how much money you have at the mo), how much more to save, residency itinerary, additional travel plans, any other important notes. For example, my residency requires a health certificate so I remember to get that done too
Make sure you have some basics in place like a 6 month (minimum) valid passport. For a Japanese visa I needed 3 years income tax returns and a good bank statement with sufficient money. It also helps to have a fixed amount coming into the account (like a salary for example) so you are more financially stable. Check the visa requirements before hand so you have enough time to prepare. Even if you are not a salaried employee, make sure you have good balance of credit/debit transactions in your account, this helps when applying for a visa.
Check the rules and attitudes of the country you are visiting. Make sure you follow the culturally acceptable dress code and behaviour.
Account for expenses such as buying important art supplies and materials. Most residencies expect you to buy your own or buy it locally. So if your residency is in a village in the middle of nowhere, make sure you take a day to go to the nearest city and buy supplies or take it beforehand. Also stock up on any personal items which are not available at the residency. Since its a solo trip, you should be prepared with all medicines, food and personal items.
Always ask your residency hosts all the questions. Some will guide you before-hand about the food, local transport and schedules of your time there. Mine was strict in informing us that we have o be housed at their residence and classes are compulsory from morning to evening. They informed us that weekends are free, so I know I can plan for a short trip around the area. They informed us that a local lunch box delivery is available and that there is a kitchen in place for us to cook. These things are important to note. I found that in Japan restaurant and 7-11 food is inexpensive but buying veggies from the farmers market is expensive. It also helps to ask if they have a cycle/bike/car rental system in that area so you can explore on your own.
Always keep minimum 1/3rd amount of your day to day expenses as “extra” money in case of an emergency. Example: if your daily food, commute etc for the whole trip is coming upto 1,50,000, then keep an extra 50,000 as backup. Its always useful incase you have some unexpected expense, such as an emergency train ticket, additional day’s room rent or any medical emergency.
Always keep a family or friend informed about EVERYTHING, especially if you are going solo. Let someone be aware of your flights, stay details, itinerary and let them have access to send you money if you are in an emergency. Karnataka Bank has a travel debit card that can be recharged from here by anyone with access. So if you run short, someone can put money in the card from here so you can withdraw from there.
Hope this little write up helped you if you ever plan to go abroad solo or attend a residency.
Artists Residency
Hello,
Its been awhile since I wrote a blog post, but I thought this would be the best medium to update you all on what is happening at my end, especially since I haven’t had the time to keep my Instagram updated (does anyone even use Facebook anymore?).
To start off with, I’m definitely not dead, inactive or gone off the rails. I have been here, working from my home studio, making paints for my brand Pigmenta and I have been planning a lot of travel for 2019.
Lets start off with the most exciting bit of news: I’ll be going to Japan in April 2019 for a month long art residency. For those who are unfamiliar, an artists residency is a place (usually a foreign country) where an artist can stay for as long as decided and work on a personal project or body of work. Most residencies have to be applied to, and most residencies ask you to pay for your board and studio facilities. There is usually an exhibition in the end, organised by the residency themselves. Its basically a place for a bunch of artists to live together, create a body of work and travel and explore that country.
The residency I applied to and got selected for is called Mi-Lab Artist-in-Residence in Kawaguchiko, Japan. This residency is super special and unlike any other because this is a residency where I will be taught Japanese Woodblock printing (Mokuhanga) during my stay there. I was selected for the Beginner’s course and I will be there from April to May learning this new (to me) but ancient printing technique.
Why Mokuhanga?
I decided to learn this new technique for a bunch of reasons.
Firstly, it was the first illustrated-anything I ever came across as a child. It was thanks to my grandfathers collection of books on Ukiyo-E prints and a book on Van Gogh, that I got into creating art in the first place. As a kid I would recreate Van Gogh paintings in colored pencil, and paint images of the beautiful Kimono-clad girls from Ukiyo-E prints.Japanese woodblock printing is super special for a bunch of reasons: you can be a print maker without a huge studio or any heavy duty machinery. All prints are made by hand and the materials are fairly simple.
Secondly, the art that can be created through this process can have a very illustrated feel. Traditional Japanese prints can easily be mistaken for modern illustrations because of their beautiful use of outlines and gradients. Using the same techniques, an artist can also incorporate embossing, gold-leaf and other metallic affects on their prints.
Wood carving techniques illustrated in the wonderful book by April Vollmer “Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Art of Mokuhanga”
Thirdly, every block of wood is carved by hand, by the artist. If anyone knows me they know I like struggling with hand-done difficult work and I always wanted to learn wood carving. This would be the perfect blend of art making and wood working.
A ukiyo-e print showing various techniques, including the paper marbling and repeat patterns on the kimono
Fourthly, every print is colored/tinted by hand. The inks used are not the horrible, sticky and smelly oil based inks of Western print making. Instead they use beautiful powdered mineral/earth/plant pigments that are mixed by hand to create watercolours. Yes, prints are made with watercolours. Since I make paints as a business, exploring how the Japanese artists mix and create with their traditional pigments is something I really want to explore.
A print by April Vollmer, showing how any visual style can be made into beautiful woodblock prints
I will write a bigger post dedicated to this form of art soon.
So to conclude this section: I want to explore a traditional art form, which can still go hand in hand with my illustration style and aesthetic. I have always been fascinated by Japan and its traditional culture and its been the biggest inspiration for me growing up (I don’t mean Anime). It would be a dream to learn this technique and explore the country some more. I will be travelling around Japan after my residency and will be back only in June. I have lined up meetings with some of the most important woodblock print (Mokuhanga) artists and a Japanese painting (Nihonga) artist while I am there and I’m exploring options of furthering my knowledge on this technique.
If I have missed out on one thing, it is studying a fine art technique. Graphic design and illustration is a wonderful option for earning an income but, as an artist I long to involve myself with a medium that lets me explore a more personal and artistic side. I plan to use this technique in some sort of mixed media-style and create some blend of illustration, painting, printing and other techniques.
To reach this goal I have been planning and working my butt off since March. I plan on writing a few more blog posts around this topic. I would love to give you an insight into how I have planned for this solo adventure and how I am trying to make this happen.
My next few posts will explore topics on how someone can plan for a residency, some more information about Mokuhanga and maybe some in-depth looks into my trip planning. Once I finish the course, I plan to document it here.
If you are personally interested in Japanese culture/arts/travel you can send me a request to write about anything you would like to know.
I would eventually like to maintain a blog on how I see Japan as an artist. Let me know if that interests you?