Residency Reflections: Keziah Stilwell
Can you describe your first impression of Le Moulin de Marnay and the surrounding environment?
I drove to the residency, so I got to experience the shift of light and the opening up of the valley as I got closer to the house. I noticed how golden everything was, even in midsummer. Passing a surprisingly full river and many beautiful chateaus, it had a very unique energy.
How did the residency impact your creative process or shift your perspective as an artist?
This was my first residency outside of where I live. I found that being somewhere completely new, with nothing familiar and no distractions, really opened up my imagination. I found more play within my work.
Was there a particular moment during the residency that stands out as transformative or unexpected?
I think it was the journey from my first interaction with the story of Joan of Arc to my research into other remarkable women who had lived in the region — where that took me.
What did the time away from your regular environment teach you about your needs as an artist?
It taught me how time and space can open up a different part of my creativity, and how time and minimal responsibility is so liberating. It taught me that I need to do my very best to minimise the things that get in the way of my creativity. It also taught me that my working rhythms can feel somewhat manic at times — but if I allow myself to follow that rhythm and trust it, I come out with better and much more interesting ideas and work than if I try to fit myself into a framework that doesn't sit right. Follow each little thread, and you find a whole world.
The residency is a shared experience — what was it like interacting with the other artists?
It was really lovely to sit down for a meal at the end of each day with Susan and James, to enjoy each other's cooking and discuss our day and how we were getting on with our work — time to laugh, and to learn about other artists and their ideas. It felt like a very healthy way to exist, something that I think, certainly in my life, I have lost touch with.
Is there anything you left behind — literally or metaphorically — when the residency ended?
In the physical world, I'll be leaving behind a ceramic needle, once it has been fired back home. Metaphysically, I hope I have left behind a newfound interest in some of the region's remarkable women, and opened up questions about how the past and future could be imagined and realised differently.
I had a wonderful time and am so grateful for this experience. I look forward to a continuing relationship with Melanie, Susan, James and General Assembly.