I’m an interdisciplinary visual artist and musician currently residing in Seattle, Washington. I’ve been to most states in the US, as well as to 16 other countries, and I still hope I can say I’ve only just begun to explore our beautiful planet and to humbly engage with and/or learn about as many cultures as possible. That said, after all the time I’ve spent on the road, both as a curious wanderer or on tour, I have never been anywhere quite like Finland.
There is a connection between Seattle and Korppoo that seems to strengthen with every passing year. And provided that, my interest in AARK was sparked by hearing stories from other Seattle artists about “this magical place” on an island two hours outside of Turku. So I applied and as my joyful fate would have it, I was accepted.
A few people in the states thought it was odd that I opted to live in Finland for the month of February, but I wanted this immersion into the Winter Season to coincide with a concept album trilogy I’m working on; one which deals with life and death and the cycles thereof. I had a few goals in mind with my music and visual art, but I wanted to give myself space to open up and allow new inspiration to take hold. And it certainly did. I brought my Canon EOS camera, my guitar, paper, pencils, and paints. For the last week
I was also lent a keyboard so that I could work on some piano pieces. During my stay, I spent a significant amount of time simply observing; I went for walks and hikes every day and noticed the way the ice changes with temperature, the texture of snow both as it falls and the way it lands, the rocks and boulders shifting with the sea level, the way islands seemed to move depending on where the light hit the frozen Baltic Sea or where the fog was at any given moment… and as I saw the land shift and morph, I could feel something shift within me, as well.
When I arrived at AARK, I was emerging from an unexpectedly tumultuous period of time in my life. While I was there I had the gift of meeting several new people, I learned about other cultures and languages and how to navigate snow, I walked on a frozen lake for the first time, learned to ski, took photographs, recorded a ton of video, created some new work I had hoped to make, and I stumbled into various styles of sonic and visual expression I hadn’t expected. When I left AARK I felt peace in my breath, in my bones, and in my movements as I wandered on to the next place. What a gift this place truly is.
