Tim Feathers captured this image of a Porcupine Mountain stream while he was the 2013 Porkie Artist-in-Residence.
By: Adam Haynes
With 60,000 acres of towering hemlocks, rushing rivers and a breathtaking mountainscape, it’s no wonder artists from all over the world come to Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park for inspiration.
The Porkie Artist-In-Residence program, a collaboration between the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the advocacy group, Friends of the Porkies, allows artists to immerse themselves in the Upper Peninsula and their craft each summer.
The application deadline is March 31 for the 2015 program.
“The program gives the artists the push they need to come out,” said Sherrie McCabe, program director of Friends of the Porkies Artist-in-Residence. “In other cases it’s a homecoming. For others it’s a new relationship for people who haven’t seen the park at all.”
While most of the participants are from the Great Lakes region, McCabe said that participants have come from across the country and as far away as Australia and Japan.
Six finalists are selected each year to participate in the residency program from a pool of 50 to 60 applicants that include artists of all varieties. Artists are given lodging in the late Dan Urbanski memorial cabin for two weeks of secluded work time. Urbanski was the founding president of the Friends of the Porkies and an award winning photographer who inspired the creation of the program.
“Nestled in a quiet spot along the Little Union River, the cabin is a work of art in and of itself,” said Tim Feathers, 2103 Artist In-Resident. “It is the kind of place where you look around and think, ‘This is exactly right.’”
In exchange for their time spent in the cabin, the artists give a public presentation and donate one piece of art that was inspired by their time in the park. These pieces are added to the park’s permanent collection.
The DNR and Friends of the Porkies have great relations when it comes to park staff and visitor cooperation, McCabe said. “It’s one hand helping the other.”
And the artists appreciate the recognition.
“I had friends visit the park from Illinois,” said former participant Rebecca Kobos, a fiber artist. “They saw my work displayed in the visitor center. I am very proud to have been a part of this program.” Museum space may eventually be constructed to display the program’s artistic collection, Kobos said. “That would really help share what we all have done in the residency with park visitors.”
Art-in-Residence is not unique to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. Filmmaker Deanna Badini has participated in similar programs across the country. “I have been at artist in residence at national parks, including Everglades and Hot Springs National Park. I was just selected to be an artist in residence at a National Historic Place, Maitland, in Florida,” she said.
McCabe urges any and all artists interested in the Porkie Artist-In Residence program to apply. Even if not chosen, she encourages applicants to apply again.
“I know of one artist who applied four times, then finally got it,” she said.