Image: Cathy Clark Cathy ClarkDates of Residency: March 8-22, 2019As a geologist by training, Cathy Clark perceives her surroundings in layers. Grass and trees over soil, over layers of rock strata, each layer laid down over eons of time. The plants and animals living today are just the latest snapshot in the album of life on this Earth, sometimes recorded as fossils. As a fiber artist, she uses fabric and thread as other artists use paint. She especially enjoys fiber art—art quilts—because of the texture created when she sews through layers of fabric and batting. Some quilts involve cutting down through the top fabric to reveal lower fabrics, similar to the geologic process of erosion cutting through the layers of soil and rock. Cathy says, “Artistically, I see the three parks as a fertile source of ideas for future quilts. Montezuma Castle reminds me of a gem-filled geode. I love the contrast of the craggy limestone cliff with the smoother planes of the plastered dwellings that fill the alcove. My project for the residency celebrates the architectural wonder of Montezuma Castle and the master weavers of cotton who lived there.” Cathy lives in Show Low Arizona with her husband Chuck and two rescue cats. Their two daughters and their families live in Chandler and Show Low. Besides landscape and portrait quilts, she also creates art quilts for her church. 
Image: Darius Nabors Darius NaborsDates of Residency: March 23 - April 7, 2019
It was during this trip that Darius became a photographer. He posted 360-degree photos of the parks on Google Earth, and soon discovered that those photos had tens and hundreds of thousands of views. As a former 4th grade teacher, Darius thought about how he could use the pictures to virtually transport people to visit these beautiful places. He is inspired by the fact that 360-degree photography can help all people experience our National Parks. When Darius is not in parks taking pictures he is out giving presentations to schools, elderly homes, children’s hospitals, law firms, churches and retail locations.
During the 2016 trip, Darius recruited his friend, Trevor Kemp, to visit all of the parks. They drove 55,000 miles, hiked 2,000 miles, and flew to Hawai’i, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands. They ran into bears, narrowly avoided moose, and were chased by a rogue marmot in Glacier. They hiked the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier, summited Mauna Loa in Hawai’i Volcanoes, and rafted 225-miles down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. They met Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson after their infamous Dawn Wall Climb, shared a sunset with John Muir impersonator, Lee Stetson, and were seen wearing American flag onesies by President Obama in Kotzebue, Alaska. The story was picked up by PBS NewsHour, NPR, Good Morning America, and Darius additionally wrote an article that was published in American Way, the American Airlines in-flight magazine. 
Jim SchlettDates of Residency: April 8-19 Jim Schlett's interest in photography began with a graduation gift of a Polaroid camera from grade school in New Jersey. He later obtained an AA degree in Photography and Art. He obtained his MBA in 1982 and was employed by the US Postal Service as an Executive in the Law Department for over 30 years in Washington D.C. In 2011, he “refocused” on his love for the National Parks and photography. He is a long-standing member of the Reston Photographic Society (RPS) and the former President of the League of Reston Artists (LRA) (2012-17). Jim has a great love of travel and his photographs include many images of our National Parks, (having visited over 150 National Park sites), cityscapes and nature in nearly all fifty states. 
Image: Leah Bee Leah BeeDates of Residency: April 22-30, 2019 Leah Bee has been a lover of sound and nature since she was a small child. From the echoing cry of her silver flute through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to her modern interpretations of world music, Leah has always found music to be her refuge, inspiration and source of timeless study. After taking a few courses of herbal medicine in college in the Pacific Northwest, she began to bring her guitar deep into the wild places, listening for melodies, hoping to give voice to the long quieted song of the earth. She began dedicate her music to the earth's healing and hopes to bring awareness to the environmental needs of the planet at this time. Leah's writing has also been featured in a few publications, such as the Noise in Arizona, Mi Casita Press and a small online poetry collective based out of Denver, Colorado. She writes poetry, prose and satire. Born and raised in Colorado, Leah adores the wild expanse of Arizona, always seeking out greater quietude, deeper arroyos and more mysterious waterways to fuel her musical expressions. Montezuma's Well was the first place Leah ever visited in Arizona and she looks forward to expanding its magic through music and poetry. |
Last updated: March 14, 2019