My residency at AARK has been filled with opportunities for community engagement with the locals. This week for example, I had the privilege of attending my friend Jan’s art classes with Art-Dur Musik- och Bildkonstskola, one in Nagu the other in Korpo, and painting with the kids. They aged in range from 9-14 years old, they were great kids, absolutely hilarious, and a joy to work with. It was the last class before their summer break, and yet they were all ears, had a genuine interest in what I was saying, and were ready to paint. We actually did these paintings in about 40 minutes working from the same reference, and it gave me such pleasure to watch them working their way through them. Along the way, we shared all kinds of stories, and an abundance of laughs (the wit of these kids far surpassed their years, perhaps the language too 😆).
This is just one example of what has made my stay at AARK Archipelago Art Residency in Korpo so amazing.