Artist-in-Residence: Cheraw State Park
Time in the woods, by a lake, or anywhere out in nature is what restores me the most. Making things with my hands is what gives me energy and joy. Put the two together and I’m one happy adventuring artist! My week as Artist-in-Residence at Cheraw State Park in South Carolina was such a wonderful experience. This was my fourth consecutive residency through the Parks program and as before, each experience is totally unique and always exceeds my hopes and aspirations. I feel so lucky to be invited to these parks each time, and it’s definitely one of the highlights of my year.
Cheraw is a small town near the Great Pee Dee river in northeastern South Carolina. I’ve lived in SC since 2010 had never been to this part of the state, so I was eager to get out and explore. The park sits on 7,000 acres of lake and woodlands, and is home to a huge variety of birds and other creatures.
Each day during my stay, I watched the sun rise at the lake, then went off for several hours of hiking either around the park or within a 30-40 drive. The afternoons were spent back at the cabin, creating needle felted landscapes, jewelry designs, and paintings inspired by what I’d seen earlier that day. Then I’d head back over to the lake for the sunset and a quiet stroll before a little more creative time back at the cabin in the evening. I love this schedule - explore, create, explore some more!
Favorite Things: about Cheraw:
Hiking Trail: The Cheraw State Park Trail
Sunrise Viewing & Birdwatching Spot: The Eureka Lake Boardwalk
Park Wildlife: Fox squirrels, woodpeckers, and deer!
Plant Life: Cypress trees growing in the water and the carnivorous flowers by the beach
Daytrip Destination: Carolina Sandhills Wildlife Refuge (Tate’s Trail)
The new collection created while at the park is now available on my website. I hope you’ll enjoy this short recap video of my art-cation experience!
A huge thank you to the South Carolina Parks program for hosting these residency’s and a special thanks to the Park Rangers at Cheraw for making me feel so welcome.
If you’re interested in hearing about my past residency’s with the South Carolina Parks Department, you can find them here:
2020 Devil’s Fork
2019 Edisto Beach
2018 Poinsett
