Art Residency in Nepal

I held the idea of going to Nepal in my head since 2014 when I started working with The Utopia Foundation in Traverse City. That’s when I met 2011 CNN Hero Pushpa Basnet. Utopia Foundation supported causes where great leaders were working in a sustainable and brilliant way to help children get the best start in life despite often dire circumstances in marginalized communities all over the world. Pushpa founded the non-profit ECDC Nepal to provide housing, food, care and education for kids stuck in prison with their parents in Kathmandu. And, The Utopia Foundation helped to get US funding too them to construct The Butterfly House and to aid healing, survival and care during the tragic earthquake there in 2015. Ten years later, I finally had a chance to go.

I started looking for an art residency in Kathmandu in 2024 and applied to Gallery Mcube. They had an opening for the month of April 2025. I was accepted and then so many wonderful experiences came together. I was able to spend time with the kids at ECDC, connect with the US Ambassador and his wife, share time and space with other artists and have an exhibit in a beautiful contemporary gallery! Founder and acclaimed multi-media artist Manish Lal Shrestha and his wife and gallery director Nistha were delightfully welcoming into their large and accommodating home within the Gallery McCube complex which included studio space, gallery and cafe. Studio and Gallery intern, Abin Sauden Subba was helpful with everything from buying art supplies to hanging the exhibit and even tips on crossing the chaotic streets.

The residency at Gallery Mcube was a cool space for creating and experiencing the vibrant culture and artist community in Lalitpur, Kathmandu. I was joined by multi-media artist Kira O’Reilly who is from Ireland but living in Finland. Kira brought a level of intellect, spirituality and creativity to our studio and residency that was remarkable and inspiring. My work took on a contemporary narrative expression as I was drawn to the variety of entrepreneurial activities happening all around me. I decided to paint fabric patterns in all of my paintings as it was so present and inspiring. Nepal is known for their vibrant and rhythmic Daka fabrics. Plus, I was fascinated with the fabrics produced by women in Kathmandu’s largest prison. Those fabrics were also used in the sewing center at ECDC, turning the beautiful cotton weaves into clothes for the kids, curtains and bedding for the Butterfly House, and home goods to sell to the public for fundraising.

Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal

THE EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CENTER NEPAL

GALLERY MCUBE ART RESIDENCY

POKHARA AND GANDRUK

Art Residency In Costa Rica

When we decided to split up I had 30-days to pack up and vacate our marital home but didn’t know where I was going to go. We had only been married a year and a half. Covid was taxing on us and was still a concern but had a couple promising lulls. My Mom’s cancer had returned but we were hopeful she could return to the immunotherapy that had worked so well for her over the past couple of years. I needed a high ground, a positive path, someplace to pause and understand this new phase of my life. And I wanted to work on it through my art. I applied to the Mauser Eco House artist residency in Parrita, Costa Rica and made a plan for a month’s stay. My 20-year old son who was living with us packed his backpack and left for Europe. Looking back on this pivot point in our lives, it was like some undeniable force picked us up mid-stride and turned our shoulders in a different direction, leading our feet to follow an entirely different path. Among strangers from several different countries in a strange and beautiful land I gained perspective and knew that I now needed to look for love in the world and in myself vs with just one person. During this visit I was able to take a side trip to San Isidro to visit my Mom’s youngest sibling Sue Tschudy living off the grid in the cloud forest. I hitched a ride with her friend Katya Deluisa traveling from a different artist residency in San Jose. These two were just the elder spiritual feminists I needed to hang with!

Art Residency In Mojacar, Spain

We had been zoom calling every week for two and a half years. It started during COVID. Artist friend Rachael VanDyke reached out from her new tiny house community in Boone, North Carolina to invite me to join her along with a third artist, Jodi Ferrier in Washington DC. Rachael wanted to break out of isolation and share our journeys as artists via zoom. Our first discussions centered around a Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel which chronicled the lives of five important women artists who dared to enter the male-dominated world of the 20th century abstract art movement. It was relatable and inspiring— fuling enough momentum in our weekly meetings to create a habit that we carry out to this day, now almost three years. It was only natural that Rachael who has now participated in over 10 artist residencies around the world suggested that we apply to an artist residency together. We chose Fundación Valparaiso in Mojacar (Almeria), Spain for a 2-week residency this past April. We chose to travel for a week ahead of time through Madrid, Grandada, and Toledo prior to the residency adding even more visual and sensory input for our work. In short, we were super productive, professional, dedicated artists throughout this trip who created a massive amount of work, interspersed with bouts of silly fun, peaceful contemplation and shared international exchanges with artists from Finland and the Ukraine. And, we couldn’t have asked for a better host than Marie Laure Gonzalez and Fundacion Valparaiso co-founder Beatrice Beckette.

MADRID, TOLEDO, GRANADA

FUNDACION VALPARAISO, MOJACAR, ALMERIA

The Making of Studio Y

VISIONING A NEW STUDIO

The vision I held was of an old cement commercial or industrial building in need of repurposing. I saw freedom in that. A spacious, bright place that had seen hard work, and tolerated messes. And somehow would be affordable with a living space in the back. That vision gradually came into focus beginning Valentine’s Day 2023. That’s when I found my blighted building project to love—The old Yuba Trading Post. It sat looking more forlorn than ever compared to the newly renovated one-room schoolhouse across the street. These two buildings are the only buildings in downtown unincorporated Yuba, otherwise known as the “Yuba Hole” due to a 30 second lapse in cell phone coverage as you drive by on US 31N. I’d been by it so many times driving back and forth between Elk Rapids and Traverse City. It was a place we all new in the 70’s as a little mom and pop minimart before minimarts were a thing. A place we could buy Annie Greensprings, Boone’s Farm Strawbery Hill and Mad Dog 20/20 on our way to beachfire and farmfield parties (drinking age was 18 back then and we were close enough!). But that day I saw it as something else. I stopped, peeked in the windows, and realized it had been empty for a very, very long time. Empty—except for a foot of snow. But, I called the phone number listed for the excavating company that owned the property because, well because I am an artist who plays with possibility. Yes, it could possibly be for sale.

IT PAYS TO BE NICE TO PEOPLE IN HIGH SCHOOL

Turns out, people I knew in High School were the tradesmen and architect with trusty hammers and sharp pencils I relied upon to help me through this process. Plus a few new people I met along the way who really came through for me. The line up: Aaron Wosek, The Spicer Group; Randy and Rick Clark, Clark & Sons Plumbing; Mel Hill, Oak Hill Electric; Brian Derusha, Geo Furnace; Carpenters Chris Tocco and Rob Chudomelkā, Bellaire Customs; Digiovannni Masonry, Gary Digiovanni; Alan Martin, Martin Land Improvement; Duff OShaunessey and Kelly Peck, Northern Building Supply; Jordan Burry, Burry Drywall; Butch Strait Well Inspector; Dennis Spayth, flooring; Tucker Hogarth, tile; EJ. siding; Joseph Wagner, Septic; Assistant Sewer and Water Inspector, Jake the weimaraner; James Halek, roofing; Alpers Insulation; Northernskylights; son Duke Bishop, general labor and daughter Olivia Bishop, branding advisor.

PAINTING EVERYTHING AT STUDIO Y

As I am rounding the corner on finishing what is now to be called “Studio Y”, an art studio and residence, I’m painting every inch of wall space and repurposed furniture myself. One, because I like painting and, two, because it is most affordable to do it myself. Alas, it is putting me in touch with color and brush strokes as I churn to return to canvas soon.

INTRODUCING STUDIO Y

Named to celebrate the town in which it resides as well as the link between curiosity and creativity, Studio Y is now a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom residence and vacation rental with a separate 600 sq. ft. studio/commercial space on an acre of agricultural land along US 31 N between Elk Rapids and Traverse City. The finishing touches are still in the works, I’ve moved into the residence and am excited to get back to work in the studio this week! Wow, from roof caving in and walls rotting to a lively renovation in 6 months. Now you know why I’ve been a bit MIA. But now, I’m back and excited to share it with you. Studio Y will be open for studio visits by appointment beginning November 1, 2023.

3 Murals Half Way Around The World

Spring of 2018, my son Duke and I traveled to the Western Cape of South Africa to participate in a global art project to help the small town of Melkhoutfontein affected by the vestiges of apartheid. Working through Dreamcatcher Foundation South Africa, our goal was to use the common language of art and Duke's sport of parkour to connect with people of the village and join them in their effort to develop economic opportunities through tourism. The mural project now includes over 15 works on homes and public spaces. Each of the murals depicts a story from a significant point in history about the people of Melkhoutfontein. Painted by artists from around the globe, the murals enhance the town’s vibrant awakening and opportunities to provide an enriching rural stay experience for travelers looking for authenticity. Duke's first painting ever was the mural he created with the input and approval of residents of the house he worked on. And, he had a parade of kids following him wherever he went, begging a parkour stunt.