Artist-in-Residence: Myrtle Beach State Park

It was such a pleasure to spend the last week as Artist-in-Residence at Myrtle Beach State Park. My days revolved around the sunrises and sunsets. I was sure to be on the beach when the sky started to change color so I could watch the sun appear and disappear. It seems so slow at first but then you realize once it’s happening, it’s happening so fast. The light changes dramatically in just a minute or two and if you look away, you will miss something good. I really enjoyed matching up my wool fiber colors to those vibrant sunrises and sunsets!

During the daytime I I explored the maritime forests, salt marshes, nearby towns, took a variety of tours and created lots of fiber art inspired by my surroundings and the creatures I met along the way. My favorite animal sightings included at least 50 dolphins on a boat tour in North Myrtle Beach, a pair of roseate spoonbills in Murrells Inlet, and getting unexpectedly close to 7 very calm deer while on a hike.

Because I lucked out with perfect weather (the first residency of my 7 with SC State Parks where it didn’t rain once the entire week!), I produced slightly less work than in the past, but I enjoyed my time at the coast even more so because I was outside the majority of the day, soaking up the beautiful scenery and taking nearly 500 reference photos to work from later. No joke!

During my week at Myrtle Beach State Park, I created 14 needle felted landscapes and 3 bird portraits, but I know more pieces inspired by my time at the beach will certainly be in my future.

All pieces are now available at www.onceagainsam.com

I hope you will enjoy this recap video!

This was my 7th residency with SC State Parks. See recaps from past residencies here.