Baton Rouge Gallery

LSU Vet Med Artist Residency Journal 5

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After I made the pinch pots, I refocused on some of the paintings I had in progress. I prioritized working on my mosquito painting, as since it’s a work on paper it will need to be framed, and framing it for the exhibition here at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine would be more impactful if the timing allowed! I also continued to visit different areas - primarily large animal and wildlife - to see if any new patients might make their way into my work. I attended the release of a wild black vulture who I’d had a chance to observe several times through the healing process. Wildlife releases are such meaningful moments, and I don’t think I’d ever get tired of participating in them.

July 4th was a Monday, and though it was a federal holiday, captive animals still need food, water, clean habitats, and/or treatments! This meant that I was invited to take a look at several endangered Louisiana pine snakes while they were undergoing routine veterinary testing and care. Later that week, I attended the July exhibition reception at the Baton Rouge Gallery of four different members’ work.

That weekend, the Baton Rouge Orchid Society hosted their annual show and sale, and I oohed and aahed over the specimens on display and purchased several new-to-me orchids. The event was held at the LSU Burden Center, so I also wandered their outdoor gardens until the heat drove me back to the studio! Then that evening I attended the LSU Glassell Gallery’s Bloom opening reception in the downtown Shaw Center for the Arts.

It is really exciting to get to see a variety of contemporary artists exhibit work regularly; I love that Baton Rouge has a sufficiently large artistic population and gallery presence to provide the opportunity to attend this many receptions during my time here.

Below is a photo of a live oak outside of the Baton Rouge Gallery festooned in ferns, lichens, and just being its own little ecosystem - I absolutely adore these trees, even though I’m also allergic to them! They’re iconically southern and also remind me of my grad school days. Then all the subsequent images are from the orchid show and the Burden Center!

LSU Vet Med Artist Residency Journal 1

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When I agreed to do this new artist residency at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, my initial assumption was that I’d fly down. However, upon deeper thought, that seemed like it’d be very expensive in that I’d then need to rent a vehicle for two months. I decided I’d instead drive down to Baton Rouge, which is approximately 16.5 hours away from my home in Sioux City.

I broke the drive into three days - on the first day, I finished packing and loaded the car up and then went down to Leavenworth, KS, to visit my very good friend, former colleague, and amazing artist Susan Nelson. The following day, I drove down to Benton, AR, where I had booked an AirBnB ahead of time. Then the final day I made my way to Baton Rouge, LA!

Some observations: It was extremely windy when I left IA (in fact, it was under a tornado watch) and it remained windy until I got south of the KCMO metro. In terms of roadkill, the main species in IA, KS, and most of MO were raccoon followed by possum. Then in southern MO through AR and LA, armadillo was the most common.

I arrived on a Tuesday evening and I met my host: the talented artist Rob Carpenter. He’s a retired art professor from Nicholls State University, and he graciously offered to house me for free in his “auxiliary dwelling unit” or “microtel” as he describes it. It is the smallest space I’ve ever lived in, so it is a novel experience for me. Rob and I then were treated to dinner with Sandy Sarr, the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s Communications Coordinator and my initial and primary point of contact.

That following morning, I arrived at LSU Vet Med to get onboarding processes begun and receive some orientation. The next two days were filled with meetings - I met a neuroscientist, an equine surgeon and an equine internal medicine clinician, a DNA researcher, and a clinical pathologist. As a part of these meetings, I explored several laboratories, became relatively familiar with the large animal (equine and farm animal) hospital, and met possibly the world’s cutest two-day-old baby Nubian goat.

In addition, I attended a Baton Rouge Gallery opening for their current exhibition of four members’ work: my host Rob Carpenter, Mary Ann Caffery, Theresa Herrera, and Brian Kelly. It was a hopping reception with a live jazz band, food and drinks, and lively conversation. I had decided to walk there as it was only a 20-minute walk from Rob’s house, and I was reacquainted to the fact that a lot of neighborhoods in Baton Rouge do not have sidewalks.

I also met with the LSU Museum of Art store manager, who looked over the originals and prints I brought down with me, and selected 49 reproductions they’ll put up for sale. While we were doing so, it began do downpour (I forgot how frequently it rains in BR!) so I popped upstairs and checked out the museum itself. By the time I was done, the rain had temporarily ceased and I was able to load back up without getting everything wet in the process.