Day one: Pulled up to Stove Works’ brick buildings in Chattanooga, TN, a couple of hours before our orientation dinner was to begin. Turning off Holtzclaw Avenue and onto 13th, over a set of train tracks that hugged the edge of the property and likely served the buildings when they were still factories, I found a spot in residents’ parking. Starting out from Oregon, with long stints of driving, I’d made it to the East Coast in just five days. I saw a change through the cracked windshield of my air-conditioned bubble around the third day, the air in the East is more visible than in the West (excluding, of course, the months of wildfire haze). When I got out, I could feel it, the humidity makes the heat hotter. I wandered to the front of the gallery, where I found a staff member who showed me where I’d stay for the next month.
A few hours later, after eating a shared meal and reviewing some informational handouts, most of the residents and staff were on the porch off the shared kitchen, having drinks in the surprisingly temperate August evening. We learned that the Founder/Director, Charlotte Caldwell’s grandfather, had run Tennessee Stove Works on the site in the fifties; before that it had been Tennessee Coffin and Casket Company. Apparently, there were ten ghosts on the site. Three ghosts in the building where the residents stay and seven in the workshop area, according to the region’s paranormal society.1 The ghosts were reportedly indifferent when asked about Stove Works.
Discussion bounced around as we got to know each other; what kind of work we made: Dylan Ahern, Kayla Jones, Jorge Palacios, make sculptures, with melted foam, bowling balls, and kudzu leaves, respectively; Helen Jones, me, the photographer of the bunch; Nicky Tavares experimental filmmaker; Anastasia Kirages, collage artist and zinemaker; Jaclyn Lewis, illustrator, zinester, gogo dancing researcher. Where we came from and where we had lived before; Texas, Virginia, Oregon, Iowa, California, New York, and Boston were among them. And a local in the mix to recommend the best hikes and watering holes. We found some overlaps and many near misses in our connections to various cities and places. Did we teach? Previous residencies? From tattoos, to dogs, to the possibility and aesthetic value of keeping a pet centipede. We tried to remember our answers to some tangential, but perhaps telling, questions particular to a Stove Works application: “What is your karaoke song? Are you a bird, a horse, or a muffin?” We had several birds, at least one muffin, and perhaps no horses.
Week one: Looking for vistas, settling in, and exploring the “scenic city” here in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians. Drove up Suck Creek Rd; stopped at pullouts searching for the best formation of kudzu, wondering what was hiding under the mysterious southern blankets of green; walked the Blue Blazes Trail, and looked down at the Tennessee River from Sunset Rock. Starting in Knoxville at the confluence of the French Broad and Holston, it travels down past Chattanooga and on into Alabama before looping back up through the western side of Tennessee and joining the Ohio River in Kentucky. I love thinking about the paths rivers take, alternating erosion and sedimentation cause a river to ‘meander’ as water follows the river’s course, it carves out one bank while building up the other, curving and snaking while it etches itself deeper into the landscape. Made some photographs. Spotted a Dolly license plate.
Things to do: Monday, orientation for the wood and metal workshops, a tour of the Chattanooga public library’s maker space, they have all kinds of things from printers and laser cutters, to button makers and looms. Wednesday, the People’s History of Chattanooga walking tour “The History of White Supremacy and Anti-Racist Resistance in Chattanooga” programmed in conjunction with the Stove Works exhibition, An Invisible Current: Engaging with History. Thursday, Blah Blah Blah, ten-minute public talks from all the current residents. Ending the week with a Birdwatching Walk. Some residents chose to lead workshops during their time at Stove Works; they are free and open to the public. This month we watched birds and made zines.
Week Two: Residencies are a chance to try new things, spread out. Made some prints and started filling my walls, experimenting with methods of display. Created a cluster of photographs inspired by the ghosts of the building. I’d ordered a photogravure plate, wanting to make use of having the print shop. Got some nice paper. Tuesday, with all my materials at the ready, I tore down the paper, soaked it in my bathtub, and wrapped it up for the night so that it would be just damp enough to drink in the ink. In the meantime, Chattanooga was getting drenched, there were flash flood warnings, highways were covered with water. I spent the second day of storms in the print shop and made my first gravure! Wednesday, as the rains subsided, we visited Wavelength Space. Friday, Art-a-Nooga, a presentation variety hour, and Noise Night, a monthly showcase for experimental music, hosted at Stove Works, both seem to be local favorites. Thursday, studio visit. Saturday, prepare to open your studio to the public! Locals came to see what everyone was up to. We talked about art, met new people. Two kind folks re-enacted one of my photographs, posing as rocks awkwardly leaning against each other. This felt like a high honor, particularly because in my mind the rocks are so bodily. We visited each other’s studios too.
Week Three: The crunch. Stove Works does not require any specific production goals from residents. You can spend your time hiking, meticulously building frames in the woodshop, painting one massive canvas, reading, or resting. Of course, it is hard not to make lots of plans.
At the writing of this letter, week three has started, and I can’t believe my time here is more than half over; there are so many more things to do. Time is tricky and inconsistent. What is a month?
1. Stones River Paranormal Society. (2017, September 16). Certified Haunted Location.
Join Burnaway on Tuesday, September 16 at 7PM ET for a virtual panel on artist residencies in the South. Our Editor and Artistic Director Courtney McClellan will be moderating a conversation between Asa Jackson, President/CEO of McColl Center, Sarah Swinford, Director of Loghaven, and Heidi Gruner, Director of School of the Alternative. We’ll hear about what it’s like to run artist residencies in the South, their importance in arts ecosystems, the offerings and challenges of running a residency, and how to best serve local, regional, national, and international communities. They’ll also discuss what it’s like to bring artists from around the world to the South.
