My experiences at the Big Ci reminds me of the following quote and explanation by and about the poet Walt Whitman.
“I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.”
Walt Whitman
“Walt Whitman’s nature quotes, often found in Leaves of Grass, celebrate the outdoors as a divine, grounding, and necessary escape from modern life, emphasizing raw sensory experience and simplicity over intellectualism.”
This explanation of Leaves of Grass mirrors my many experiences of escaping from modern life to immerse myself in nature and be creative at the Big Ci.
I have been on studio residencies at the Big Ci in Bilpin in the Blue Mountains quite a few times and I think this is my seventh visit.
I keep coming back for many reasons including that I don’t have a studio of my own so the big studio space at the shed means I can work on ambitious large-scale projects.
Also, the owners who run the studio project are Rae and Yuri Bolotin and they are very kind and I love it when Rae gives me feedback on my art as she is an artist too.
Yuri is an avid bush walker mainly in the adjacent Wollemi National Park and he has written many books on this topic.
I also enjoy the social aspect with dinner parties with other artists musicians, writers and filmmakers.
Each time there is a different dynamic with the social aspect but it’s always interesting and we always help each other with our work with positive critical feedback.
It’s particularly great to meet international participants and I met the amazing artist Beni Altmülleron my first residency from Austria and when I was in Europe several years ago we met up in Vienna and he took me to a big art museum called the Leopold Museum with his partner and we saw many amazing Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele paintings and drawings.
During my many residencies at the Big Ci I slowly made more ambitious art with each visit in a way that I hadn’t done since my days at art school (COFA) in the early to mid-nineties. I think my most interesting works were installations that included big drawings, video, sculpture and in my last visit a medium blue compassion neon.
In conclusion I thoroughly recommend a residency there for any Australian creative and even more so for creatives from overseas. Also, the proof is in the pudding as the residency is booked out for this whole year of 2026 and until the end of February in 2027.
