Umela Artist in Residence 15-30 May 2026

In May 2026, I travelled to Prangli, Estonia, to be the inaugural Artist in Residence at Umela, located within the storybook forest home of Kalli and Ove Kalde. The residency lasted an all-too-brief two weeks, but I was able to take advantage of the etching press and springtime flowers to work on an 'edition' of botanical prints, inspired by local folk costume traditions. Each morning, I would pick fresh flowers from the garden, forest and country lanes, then run them through the press to release their natural dyes onto Japanese washi while being serenaded by birdsong. I had pretreated the washi with alum (aluminium sulphate) prior to travel. The residency concluded with a sauna party in Kalli and Ove's ancient sauna, complete with plunges in their private lake, and a pop up exhibition in the studio, including work that I had retrieved the previous day from my exhibition at the Estonian Literary Museum and Folk Archive the previous day. 
Suur tänu Kalli ja Ove for making me feel so welcome in your beautiful home and enabling such a dreamlike residency experience. I will definitely be back!