Anna Tregloan

Australia Artist

Anna Tregloan has worked in both costume and scenography as well as intervention and installation for galleries and museums. She is in the developmental stage of a new work ‘Tending to the ice’ and it was this that was her focus at Studio Faire. Anna was writing and thinking about ice, whilst strange frozen installations were melting in the outbuildings and garden, their transformations caught on camera for further development in the future.

Weblink: annatregloan.com.au

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Shanna McNair

American Writer

Shanna McNair is Founding Director of The Writer’s Hotel writers conferences, and works with writers to develop their craft, find an agent or editor and market their work. She is also the Founding Editor and Publisher of The New Guard literary review, which publishes emerging and established writers from the US and abroad. But Shanna is also a writer in her own right and, whilst in residence, reworked and completed two novels that she had been developing and laid out and edited her poetry collection.

Weblink: www.writershotel.com and www.newguardreview.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Debra Weiss

American Fibre Artist

By manipulating fabric through stitching, knotting, appliqué, knitting and layering, Debra Weiss creates intriguing textile works of art and original garments. During her short residency she worked for many hours incorporating individual embroideries and knitted elements, which she had been working on for several months, into a large scale work (detail pictured), giving us a glimpse into some of her thoughts and experiences.

Weblink: www.specksandkeepings.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Isabella Welch

American Writer

Isabella Welch is a writer, editor, and producer based in California. She has also just completed her first novel! Time at Studio Faire was spent reviewing and editing her manuscript, along with taking the time to concentrate on sending a section of it out to selected publishers, before heading back to San Francisco to continue her creative editorial work once again.

Weblink: www.isabella-welch.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Jess Dunn

American Screenwriter & Director

All Jess Dunn needed in order to focus on her new film pilot was a room with a view, a breeze on her face and a little time away from her busy life in Brooklyn, New York. She found this in the Bureau, where she worked long and hard on reviewing the new script and season story arc. In addition to this Jess managed a complete redesign of her website during the residency, which you can view by following the link below.

Weblink: www.ajobwelldunn.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Jocelyn Benford

American Artist

Painting every day, no matter where she is, is the commitment that Jocelyn Benford has made to her art. Her abstract works, primarily in watercolour with mixed media elements, focus on three main themes, which she names: Balance, Buoyancy, and Bloom. It was the landscape, foliage, and colours that inspired her most during her two-week residency in South West France.

Weblink: www.instagram.com/jocelynbenford

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Megan de Guzman

American Screenwriter

An emerging screenwriter based in Brooklyn, New York, Megan de Guzman arrived in France with a notebook full of film ideas, and personal permission to experiment, play, and let go! She felt that having the opportunity to exchange ideas on a daily basis with other creative practitioners, who were not purely writers and screenwriters, was of great value and she left feeling that her time at Studio Faire had been extremely productive.

Weblink: www.instagram.com/megan.deguzman

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Allison Kingsbury (Ali Seegar)

British Writer

Allison Kingsbury, or Ali Seegar as is her pen name, took a short break from her life in Luxembourg in order to focus on her new Young Adult novel series, ahead of starting an online course with London based creative writing school, Curtis Brown Creative. Writing for this age group is a new venture for her, as her first two novels (about a boy named Tommy Turner) are aimed at a much younger crowd, so having this dedicated time to work on the plot and character profiles was invaluable.

Weblink: aliseegar.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Emily Adele Williams

Australian Musician

Emily Williams is a cello player and improviser, who spent time in residence devising new work using an amplified and effected cello with laptop to create sincerely moving, ambient, atmospheric soundscapes. Emily has a particular passion for performing in caves and, during her visit to France, played in the caves at Bédeilhac and Presque. She also performed twice in Nérac, at the Salle des Ecuyers under the château and at La Taverne d’Henri, accompanying visuals created by Artist-in-Residence Grace Marquez.

Weblink: www.emilywilliamsmusic.com

Grace Marquez

Canadian/Filipino Artist

Grace Marquez’s art works are inspired by the underwater world and she prepared for her residency (a designated time to develop new paintings) with a prior trip to the Célé and the Lot valleys, where she gathered video footage whilst diving in various caves. She created several paintings inspired by this footage and shared these, combined with some of her film footage, at a public event in Nérac, with cello accompaniment by fellow resident Emily Adele Williams.

Weblink: gracemarquezstudio.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Charlotte Paillieux

French Writer

Usually writing scripts for French films, TV movies, and live action (Canal+), Charlotte Paillieux longed for time away from her jobs to develop ideas for a very personal memoir, which was initiated by a past traumatic experience. All she required was a private and secluded room with a view, in a supportive environment away from her busy working life in Paris. She found all of this, along with new friendships, during her four-week residency at Studio Faire.

Weblink: www.imdb.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Claire Murray

British Artist

Travelling by train from Yorkshire to Nérac gave Claire Murray the opportunity to begin her research for her residency before she arrived and she spent the journey and her first few days at Studio Faire observing the local landscape and thinking about our environment, climate change, freedom of movement, borders and political concerns. The harsh, hot summer had left its mark on the land, which looked scorched, barren and dusty, the colours bleached, pale and brittle and this became a focus for inspiration for her paintings.

Weblink: clairemurrayart.co.uk

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Jessica Cuello

American Poet

Multi-award winning poet, Jessica Cuello spent two productive weeks as writer-in-residence at Studio Faire. As a mother of two and a full-time public school teacher of French, Jessica Cuello finds it crucial to take time away from her busy life in New York to focus on her written work. What better place for her to come to write and to speak her favourite language every day?

Weblink: jessicacuello.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

April dela Noche Milne

Filipino/Canadian illustrator & Writer

Inspired by grief and memories, everyday narratives and issues of identity, April Milne’s creative challenge during her residency at Studio Faire was to begin to develop a travel memoir in the form of a graphic novel, based on her visit to the Philippines with her family shortly after her Filipino mother died.

Weblink: www.aprilmilne.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Kate Henderson

Scottish Glass Artist

Though Kate Henderson’s usual media is Stained glass, she used her time at Studio Faire to observe, record and draw, to simply enjoy the experience of making once again, without the expectation or deadline of a commission or exhibition. She left with a rich resource to draw from for future works. Kate was grateful to receive funding from VACMA (Visual Artists and Craft Makers Award) through Creative Scotland to support this residency.

Weblink: www.katehenderson.co.uk

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Lien Cornelissen

Dutch Musician

Lien Cornelissen’s career took a massive change in direction from Lawyer to Songwriter and Performer about five years ago and she’s never looked back! Hiring a keyboard for the duration of her residency, Lien filled the studio with her powerful voice and joyful piano, as she composed new lyrics and tunes for her third album and musical theatre production, drawing inspiration from the physical body and associated vocabulary in both Dutch and English.

Weblink: lienofficial.nl

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Sheila McGrory

American Writer

With a lifelong love of writing, language, and literature, along with a passion for working with young people, Sheila McGrory spends most of her time focused on her work as an English Teacher and Dean at The Madeira School in Virginia, USA. However, a 2-week residency at Studio Faire proved to be the ideal space to encourage her emotive poetry to flow from her once again and she found her time in residence to be ‘incredibly productive’.

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Natalie McIlroy

Scottish Artist

Natalie McIlroy took a short break from her current life as mother of two little ones and administrator for the Central Scotland School of Jewellery in Dunblane, to return to her life as a visual artist whilst in residence at Studio Faire, taking advantage of the French sunshine to explore ideas through cyanotype printing. Natalie’s work spans many mediums from film/installation to artists books, however ‘site’ is always her first consideration, thriving out-with the traditional white cube gallery space and delighting in celebrating previously unrecognised or hidden spaces.

Weblink: nataliemcilroy.squarespace.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Nora J. Bonner

American Writer & Musician

Nora J. Bonner is a storyteller and singer/songwriter, and during her residency, mornings found the garden filled with her compositions for voice and guitar as she worked on her one-woman musical. Nora teaches composition at Georgia State University, Creative Writing at Agnes Scott College and Literature and Composition for Life University’s the Chillon Project, at a maximum security women’s facility in North Georgia. This residency provided a welcome break from her teaching work to focus on this creative project which has been bubbling inside her for quite some time.

Weblink: norabonner.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Ellen Bleiwas

Canadian Artist

Fundamental to her practice as a mixed-media Artist is Ellen Bleiwas’ prior training in architecture, which underlies her artwork through an appreciation for the ‘experiential potential of space’ and has led to such works as giant sculptures created from industrial felt which immerse the viewer in their maze like form. While in residence at Studio Faire, Ellen’s goal was to ‘delve into slowness’. This developed, in part, into a photographic, hourly documentation of the sky over a 12 hour period.

Weblink: www.ellenbleiwas.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Sophia Lengle

Canadian/Dutch Textile Artist

Sophia Lengle arrived with an open mind and a metaphorical blank canvas, her only rough plan was to make a series of wearable pieces. Initially turning to painting as a way of gathering colour and shape inspiration and pattern drafting to consider how the pieces might sit on the body (including such considerations as weight, texture and restriction), Sophia then embarked on a series of meticulously and laboriously hand sewn collars and a bright orange cotton dress to complement and set them off.

Weblink: www.sophialengle.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Berna Mason

American Writer

Berna Mason’s residency at Studio Faire was spent weaving together hundreds of pieces of existing writing to produce a memoir. Telling her rich and varied stories of her upbringing, her time as a midwife, and her time now, fighting for sexual and reproductive healthcare in Texas. Her skill is in writing poems and prose which are accessible and hook a reader quickly by tapping into ordinary experiences that can feel singular, tender and beautiful.

Weblink: twitter.com/Reproaccesstx

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Kimberlea Bass

American Artist & Photographer

Kimberlea Bass took a break from her work as an Art Teacher in Texas for focused time on her own creative practice. During her residency, her works took the form of collages and reworked found objects, found by combing the local junk shops for hidden treasures. The foundation of her work is often based in photography as a broad concept, using the mechanics of a camera to inspire shape and form, and photographic film to recall memories, Kimberlea weaves and layers mixed media to create new textural pieces.

Weblink: sites.google.com/view/kimberleaartistry

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Gaylord Brewer

American Writer & Poet

Gaylord obtained a Ph.D. from Ohio State University and has since been a professor at Middle Tennessee State University. Taking regular breaks away from his lecturing work to undertake writing residencies has become a way of life for Gaylord and it is during these periods that he finds time for his own creative voice through his non-fiction and poetry writing and this was certainly the case during his month at Studio Faire where he wrote over 20 poems!

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Catherine Butterfield

American Playwright

How could Catherine Butterfield have predicted how enormously she would be influenced by the history of this region for her next creation? Fascinated by the story of Margaret of Valois, the first wife of Henry IV of France, whom he married in 1572, Catherine set about learning as much as she could to unveil her truth and retell her story with great wit and affection. Catherine wrote the full outline for a new screenplay in just two weeks, directly inspired by the experience of being in this royal city of Nèrac.

Weblink: www.catherinebutterfield.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Erin Cross

American Artist

A dedicated month to travel to the South West of France from Lincoln, Nebraska, gave Erin Cross a break from her work as assistant professor of art at Doane University and the time to focus on her own creative ideas. Gathering visual research from the local landscape, architecture, markets and churches, Erin worked up sketches and collages, which she then developed into large colour filled drawings. She left with the confidence that her sketchbooks were teeming with inspiration for many future works.

Weblink: www.erinmcross.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Cassandra Shier Hasanov

Canadian Artist

It was the French sunshine that first drew Cassandra Shier Hasanov to a residency at Studio Faire, as she was searching for a suitable space to create Cyanotype prints for an animated section of a music video she is creating for the Japanese/French musician Narumi Omari. Fortunately, the sun didn’t let her down and, due to her commendable productivity and dedication, Cassandra created four times as many prints as she had initially aimed for.

Weblink: cassandrahasanov.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Jerry Sticker

American Writer & Filmmaker

A two-week residency at Studio Faire was an ideal amount of time away from his busy life and day job in Brooklyn, for Jerry Sticker to focus on the final draft of his latest novel. Jerry found the perfect balance between hours of intense concentration, exhilarating daily runs by the Baïse river and sharing a laugh and glass of wine with other residents in the garden.

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Alexander Roberts

American Actor & Writer

In 2008, Alexander Roberts’ grandfather chose to be euthanised because of a terminal cancer diagnosis and an allergy to morphine. Fascinated by this decision and the impact it had on his family members, Alexander has been gathering personal stories surrounding this event and, during his time at Studio Faire, he set about writing a feature film about the drama surrounding this decision.

Weblink: www.iamalexanderroberts.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Shanti Nelson

American Writer, Illustrator & Graphic Designer

For Shanti Nelson, a residency at Studio Faire offered up a designated period to focus on a written manuscript. This novel draws on a personal glimpse into a very private and often misunderstood corner of the world, the Emerald Triangle: the heart of Humboldt County and the Northern California marijuana-growing region.

Weblink: shantinelson.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Scott D. Peterson

American Writer

Scott D. Peterson is an interdisciplinary artist and scholar with a passion for baseball! During his residency at Studio Faire he spent his time focusing on two very different texts, one a creative piece of fiction and the other a scholarly project. The opportunity to immerse himself in the experience of living in a small French town, provided ideal research for the former, an historical novel about ex-patriot American artists living in France in the 1920s.

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Rachael Van Dyke

American Artist

Fine Artist, Rachael Van Dyke spent an incredibly productive two weeks in residence at Studio Faire. She spent time walking the streets of Nérac and the nearby villages, and cycling through the landscape observing and absorbing the colours, textures and shapes of the region. She returned each day to her studio, fully inspired and ready to put her energy into gestural abstract paintings, full of colour and life.

Weblink: rachaelvandyke.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Michelle Lewis

American Writer

Within her writing Michelle Lewis aims to challenge and ‘explode’ traditional poetic form and, during her month long residency at Studio Faire, she drew inspiration from her surroundings, as well as her personal past experiences and observations, to inspire new poems, which will form part of her third book.

Weblink: whitechicken.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.

Julia Feld

American Ceramic Sculptor

Julia Feld’s patient and observant nature was seen reflected in her work whilst in residence at Studio Faire, creating drawings to be later transferred onto her ceramic sculptures. She observed the development of Spring through photography on her daily walks around the town and experimented with different drawing and watercolour techniques. Using her time with us for experimentation and new developments.

Weblink: www.juliafeld.com

Photo by Colin Usher at Studio Faire.