Residency Day 1

The day before I left, I wanted to get in a quick workout at the Y, so I stopped in for about a half hour. I arrived a nearly the same time as Justin Newhall. We talked for a while and got caught up on what the other is up to. Justin is a nice guy, a great photographer, and running into him could only mean good juju for my upcoming trip.

On Wednesday (yesterday), I arrived at the Anderson Center in Red Wing. This place is amazing! The buildings and the grounds are gorgeous! I have a private room, private bath, and detached studio in the lower yard.

My room is the left window
on the 2nd floor




It’s more of a painters studio,
but it has AC if I should need it.

So I went into Red Wing after getting (slightly) settled, and I came across a young woman riding a bike in bright red galoshes and I knew I needed to photograph her. I caught up to her, and as it turns out, she was the PR person for this big project called The Miss Rockaway Armada. To put it as briefly as possible, it is a group of about 30 NY artists that built 6 rafts out of trash and are riding from north of Minneapolis to St. Louis on the Mississippi. Crazy amazing!

The Miss Rockaway Armada

Some photos:

This one and the previous one were
taken on the morning of day 2

They were all so kind. I was offered food or liquor every few minutes: “Can I get you a beer?” “Are you sure you don’t need supper?” Finally, when I was walking on shore, someone yelled “Hey Steve!” I looked up just in time to see a can of PBR flying off the vessel in my direction.

It landed on the beach in front of me. I washed it off in the Mississippi and drank it. My first PBR. It wasn’t that good. But the day was fantastic. I headed home to get all the sand out of my gear. What a day.