Deepa Paulus – ദീപ പൗലോസ്

American Artist & Musician

Using elements of her Indian culture, as well as her digital skills, Deepa Paulus creates mixed media drawings. She also plays Indian drums called the tabla which she is studying professionally with a guru. Deepa chose to use her residency at Studio Faire to take a break from her usual work on the Imaging Team at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) and to focus on her two creative passions, music and drawing.

Watch a short film she made with Colin whilst in residence.

Weblink: deepapaulus.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Laurene Vaughan

Australian Academic Researcher, Writer & Maker

Laurene Vaughan came to Studio Faire to find a quiet interior space, where she could write and sketch, and a familiar yet foreign exterior space, where she could walk, observe and document moments. Her initial intentions were to create a hybrid piece of non-fiction writing incorporating both images and text. What she was drawn to in particular were the fragments of history, still visible within the walls of the building and the patterns and sounds of Nérac.

Weblink: www.instagram.com/laurenekv

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Dawn van de Schoot

Canadian Actor & Writer

The main aim of Dawn van de Schoot’s residency was to complete the first draft of her screenplay entitled Thicker than oil, an adaptation of a novel by Calgary writer Sarah Kades. The story revolves around a man, who is the CEO of an Oil Company, and his environmentalist daughter. It is set amongst the drama of the high powered oil industry and the delicacy of the northern Alberta landscapes. Dawn knew that, by removing herself from this setting and allowing herself time to focus on this story from afar, she would be able to reflect on her home environment with a more open minded perspective.

Weblink: www.dawnvandeschoot.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Camila Galaz

Australian Artist

Camila Galaz came to Studio Faire for the opportunity to focus on a film installation, which she is developing with the support of an M-Power mentorship award from the National Gallery of Victoria. Camila needed the space and time to focus on the post-production of this two-channel video installation, which is based on a 1986 French TV documentary about the MAPU-Lautaro, a Chilean student resistance group that her father was a member of, who fought against the Pinochet dictatorship. The video piece will be edited during a residency at EMPAC, New York.

Weblink: www.camilagalaz.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Amanda Adam

Scottish Artist

In 2018 Amanda Adam made the decision to embark on a 10 month journey, which took her as far as Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, before heading back to Europe to culminate this journey with a month long artist residency in Nérac. During this residency she created vibrant, abstract landscape paintings on old bedsheets, embracing the memories these sheets held of their past owners. Working in the gardens at Studio Faire not only allowed her freedom of expression with her paint work but also the contribution of the wind and rain to leave their trace.

Weblink: amandaadam.co.uk

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Siliang Ma – 马 司 亮

Chinese Photographer

During his residency at Studio Faire, Siliang Ma played with found objects in various isolated locations around the building, creating installations, which he then photographed. Siliang Ma’s photographs have nothing to do with reality, rather, they are a tool to create ‘idealised unreality by manipulating realistic symbols’. By modifying spaces and arranging objects to create installations, he implies a story, an activity, a symbol or metaphor, and the meaning of the image is left up to the viewer. See some of the images he took at Studio Faire in his collection ‘Too Shallow to be True‘.

Weblink: masiliang.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Frances Ryan

Scottish Artist

Frances Ryan was invited for a 4-week residency at Studio Faire after one of her works was spotted in Edinburgh, Scotland at the Visual Arts Scotland Annual Exhibition. Frances predominantly makes collages and mixed media works, which illustrate stories and histories. Whilst in Nérac, she was particularly drawn to the local legend of Fleurette, a young woman who had a brief relationship with King Henry IV, who soon abandoned her and she drowned herself. This story touched Frances and inspired a series of collage works.

Weblink: www.instagram.com/little_pink_dog

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Marie-Josée Poisson

Québec Writer

Marie-Josée Poisson arrived at Studio Faire with an impending deadline for the third in her trilogy of novels to be delivered to her publisher. She was in need of time and space to focus on her final edit of ‘Liées par le sang – Volume 3’ without her normal day to day distractions. She found this at Studio Faire. Also, as Marie-Josée’s novels are, in part, set in France, Nérac proved an ideal location for her to immerse herself in French culture.

Weblink: www.mariejoseepoisson.ca

Photo by Monic Richard.

Julie Weaverling

American Artist

Julie Weaverling’s goal for her residency was to really stretch her creative process, to step out of her comfort zone and take risks, to make expressive, non-objective, abstract paintings directly inspired by the colours, textures and tones of the local area. And she did! Julie painted a great number of new large scale canvases during her 2 week stay and still managed to squeeze in a few outings with Colin, Julia and the other residents to explore the local villages and soak in the colours of the French countryside.

Weblink: www.julieweaverling.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Alyse Dietel

American Illustrator

Through her line drawings, Alyse Dietel highlights the beauty of our natural world, in the hope that this will help to instil a desire to conserve and protect it. As Alyse is a self-taught artist, one of her aims for this residency was to gain a greater understanding of and involvement with the art world by immersing herself in a creative environment alongside other international practitioners. Alyse felt that she thrived in our ‘personable and easygoing’ environment, producing more ambitious works than before, with greater confidence in her artistic ability.

Weblink: www.amilliontinylines.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Miguel Guerrero Becerra

Mexican Writer

Even though Miguel Guerrero Becerra initially started working towards a memoir of his childhood, the influence of his favourite Latino authors kept veering him towards fiction and, during his 4-week residency, Miguel focused on writing his first novel, ‘set in the nameless small town where his grandmother lives and cries at funerals for a precarious income’. His novel follows the coming-of-age story of a ‘nameless boy whose heart bursts out of his body right after his mother stabs his father in the eye and abandons him in the middle of the forest.’

Weblink: www.storyscapejournal.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Peta Berghofer

Australian Ceramic Artist

Having successfully secured a Bellmaine French Appreciation Travelling Scholarship from the University of Southern Queensland, Peta Berghofer was able to enjoy a funded residency with us. The scholarship aims to support further study and practice development whilst connecting with French culture and people. Peta decided to focus her residency on developing new design ideas for her functional and sculptural ceramic works, as well as updating her website and spending time under Colin’s tuition to improve her photography skills.

Weblink: www.petaberghofer.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Naomi Washer

American Writer & Translator

Naomi Washer focused her four week residency on completing a novel that she had already started with the assistance of a grant from the Vermont Studio Center. She describes the novel as ‘a work of women’s autofiction, written in fragments that shift between a fictional narrative and an essay on the nature of autofiction’. As part of the novel is set in France where the narrator has traveled to complete work on a book-length translation, writing this in Nérac was immensely helpful for Naomi, as she was able to immerse herself in the French language and culture.

Weblink: www.naomiwasher.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Pamela Heck

American Artist & Writer

The fact that Studio Faire offers residencies for both artists and writers was one of the main attractions for Pamela Heck, as she is active in both areas herself as an award-winning artist and a published author of memoir, short story, poetry and children’s picture books. It was the latter that she came to Nérac to work on. An alphabet book for children titled ‘Amazing Animals: Fun Facts from A to Z’. As Pamela had already written the text for the book, she spent her time planning the double page layouts and creating the illustrations. She also worked with Colin to learn a few Adobe InDesign tricks, to assist her in getting the book printer-ready.

Weblink: www.pamelaheck.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Johanna Naukkarinen

Finnish Artist & Photographer

In Johanna Naukkarinen’s current project, she draws connections between historical and contemporary images of women, in particular, looking for similarities between the hysteria imagery born in 19th century Parisian hospital La Salpêtrière and contemporary images of women in popular culture. During her 3-week residency she focused on developing this project through digital drawing, alongside collecting source material for new works using uses photography and image montage. Our black Labrador Dougie became her muse for the duration!

Weblink: johannanaukkarinen.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Caroline Kinkead

Canadian Artist

As a recent graduate from Concordia University in Montreal Canada, Caroline Kinkead was searching for a micro-residency that would allow her a short break from her daily routine as a mother of a young child, in order to continue to develop her painting skills. During her 1-week residency, Caroline worked on a small painted canvas depicting the ‘Pavillon des Bains du Roy’ in Nérac.

Weblink: www.carolinekinkead.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Étienne Pelletier

​Canadian Philosophy Student

Although Étienne is not a practicing artist, he is a talented draftsman and lover of painting, writing and reading. He applied to Studio Faire for a 1-week residency to accompany his partner Caroline Kinkead (see above), and to take some time away from the city to enjoy the fresh air in the garden at Studio Faire, whilst sketching the house and working on his doctorate project.

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Hazel Kelly

Scottish Filmmaker

Hazel Kelly enjoys creating narratives and characters, and spent her micro-residency at Studio Faire working on a piece for a stand up routine, as well as exploring the area with her camera and modelling for Jennifer Kelly’s clay bust (see below).

Weblink: www.instagram.com/hazelleekelly

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Jennifer Kelly

Scottish Artist

During Jennifer Kelly’s 1 week residency she spent time in the studio creating a clay bust of her daughter Hazel (above). With tongue sticking out and eyes tightly closed, the predominant aim was to express emotion. Jennifer’s series of clay busts are inspired by the work of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, a German-Austrian sculptor from the 18th century, most famous for his “character heads”, ‘a collection of busts with faces contorted in extreme facial expressions’.

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Gretchen Elizabeth Smith

American Playwright

As an Associate Professor and teacher of playwriting, performance studies & theatre history at SMU in Dallas Texas, Gretchen Elizabeth Smith feels it is crucial that she stays current with her own work in order to keep up with her students. Her one week residency at Studio Faire allowed her concentrated time to focus on completing a rough draft of an original two-act play.

Weblink: www.facebook.com/gretchen.smith.2164

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Jen Thorpe

South African Writer

When feminist writer and a gender equality researcher, Jen Thorpe, arrived for a 4-week residency at Studio Faire, her goal was for some dedicated time to focus on writing, as she had multiple projects already on the go. These included finishing her second novel and embarking on her third, and reading, selecting and editing a collection of invited non-fiction essays.

Weblink: jen-thorpe.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Rebecca Curling

Irish Artist

During Rebecca Curling’s micro-residency, she spent time in the studio working on a series of paintings depicting views from her train journey’s ‘Leaving the city, travelling fast through the green fields and countryside. Home.’ She also spent time in the garden gathering sketchbook ideas for future use.

Weblink: www.instagram.com/rebeccacurlingart

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Jane Tolerton

New Zealand Writer

Biographer, journalist and historian, Jane Tolerton spent her month at Studio Faire digging deeply into the history of New Zealand suffragists who won their campaign for the women’s vote within a quarter of a century – in stark contrast to many other countries. She is writing a book that will re-spin the suffrage story in the light of research that has revealed that there were three distinct movements for the vote, all of which contained both women and men.

Weblink: janetolerton.co.nz

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Colin Andrews

Irish Artist

The river Baïse was the focus for Colin Andrew’s 2-week residency and he spent his days walking and paddling sections of it’s course, observing and recording life around and on the river. Following the residency, he returned to his home in Scotland to review, edit and transform his film clips and stills into a ‘poetic exploration of water, flow, level and the importance of waterways to community’.

Weblink: www.colinandrews.org

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Deborah Whitney

American Artist, Writer & Curator

Following on a project entitled “The Talkies” from 2013, Deborah Whitney’s focus during her month long residency was on developing an idea for a book project of recollection, incorporating both text and image. 

Weblink: www.deborahwhitney.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Alana Dawes

Canadian Designer & Photography Student at Studio Faire

For Canadian Web Designer, Alana Dawes, the opportunity to visit Studio Faire to develop her photography skills in portraiture and still life was invaluable. She worked with Colin Usher (our in-house Photography tutor) over the course of the week long residency, particularly focusing on studio lighting and composition. Alana spent independent time developing these new found skills in the studio, which resulted in some fantastic self-portraits.

Read more about our Residential Photography Courses.

Weblink: wildwood.studio

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Sherri Jean McCulloch

Canadian Artist

Vintage French linens became ‘canvas’ for Sherri Jean McCulloch during her 4 week residency and colour exploded in our studio. Sherri’s paintings were developed intuitively, drawing from all of her senses and clearly showing the inspirations of her surroundings here in South West France, from the fortified Bastides to the stripes of the vineyards.

Weblink: SherriJeanMcCullochArt.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Nicolette Daskalakis

American Screenwriter & Poet

French cinema has had a profound influence on the work of Nicolette Daskalakis and is the reason she found herself drawn to Studio Faire in South West France as the ideal location for her 4-week residency. She made best use of her time by completing revisions on her feature-length screenplay, making a start on a short French-language script and writing several new poems for her next book of poetry.

Read more about her residency and her work.

Weblink: www.nicolettedaskalakis.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Wendy Rolt

English Artist

For Wendy Rolt, a residency at Studio Faire meant a focused period of time to prioritise her artwork, away from her usual daily work with the charity she founded for women from difficult and broken backgrounds in East London. A time to read, sketch and paint new ideas relating ‘our internal to our external being’ and to experiment with how she might express this through abstract painting.

Weblink: www.wendyrolt.co.uk

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Victoria Negri

American Screenwriter

The main purpose of Victoria Negri’s 1-week residency was to focus on the script for her second feature film, ‘Ultra’. She sees this film as an expansion of her first film, ‘Gold Star’ (which Victoria starred in alongside Robert Vaughn and Catherine Curtin). Victoria successfully managed to push through major writing blocks she’d been struggling with, allowing her to complete her script during her short residency, much to her delight!

Weblink: www.victorianegri.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Julie Duffy

Scottish Artist

Julie Duffy spent her residency researching and drawing inspiration from the dancer, choreographer, teacher and artist, Margaret Morris. In particular, from the ‘Margaret Morris Movement’ (MMM) and it’s crossovers with her own expertise in the Korean Martial Art of Tang Soo Do. On the 23 March, Studio Faire hosted a one off event devised by Duffy, who invited two professional artists to create an improvised performance inspired by her art installation.

Find out more about her ‘Organised Improvisation’.

Weblink: julieduffy.wixsite.com/artwork

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Lilli Huttula

Finnish Dancer

Lilli Huttula is an amazingly versatile dancer, dance teacher and choreographer, primarily focusing on three different street dance styles: house, hip hop and voguing. During her 4-week residency at Studio Faire, she focused predominantly on developing a new solo performance piece, which tells a story of a personal experience through a dance performance.

Weblink: lilliyamamoto.wordpress.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Holly Knox Rhame

American Artist

Holly Rhame visited Studio Faire to experiment predominantly with paint, colour, texture and scale, and drew inspiration from her imagination and the figure. Though the works created during her residency were intentioned to be sketches to be developed into larger works on her return, she was happy with the outcome of many of these works, feeling that they could be exhibited in their own right.

Weblink: www.hollyknoxrhame.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.