Watson Fellowship 2004-2005

After graduating from Carleton College in 2004, I was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to travel around the world for my project, “Ties to the Land, Exploring Remote Regions through Art.”

My adventures began with six weeks in French Polynesia, where generous locals hosted me and sailors and fisherman gave me lifts between islands. From the tropical islands, I headed for China with stop in Japan to visit my amazing brush-maker friend, Sakuma-san. In China, I traveled to the high Tibetan plateau and explored the region with my sketchbook in hand. I walked the pilgrimage of the sacred Mt. Kailash, visited Mt. Everest Base Camp, and trekked through Amdo. From Tibet and China, I headed to Mali, West Africa, where I immersed myself in the desert. For nearly three months, I lived with semi-nomadic Toureg families (many members of the musical group Tartit) in the region of the Sahel between Bamako and Timbuktu.

From the hot desert, I made an abrupt change in climate by traveling to Greenland in the Arctic. In Greenland, I had the opportunity to spend a night at Summit Station in the middle of the icecap, visit the camps of prospecting diamond geologists, and explore the coast where I spent a wonderful six weeks as artist-in-residence with the Upernavik Museum. Finally, after nearly 13 months away, I made my back home to Seattle in the lovely Pacific NW. Despite my affinity for stark polar and alpine landscapes, the Pacific NW with salt-water, rain-forests, and mountains is my true home.

Polynesia

Tibet Host

Kailash

Mali

Tuareg Hosts

Upernavik

C-130

Summit