In a spontaneous decision to accept an invitation from the Keweenaw Land Trust (KLT) to be its very first artist-in-residence on Silver Island, local poet Laura Smyth spent her 66th birthday week blissfully writing in solitude. 

“The whole thing was amazing,” Smyth said. “There was this feeling that all the hours are mine. That’s what this was about. I never experience that — there’s never a situation where all the hours are mine. You don’t have to rush through it. Experiencing it for the first time was like an exhalation, and the thought was, ‘oh, my god. Oh, my god.’”

The solitude was wonderful, Smyth said, though not as complete as expected.

First, there was her nocturnal roommate, an active chipmunk or squirrel or some other rodent, perhaps living in her cabin walls. Second, there was boisterous Lake Superior that surrounded Smyth’s temporary island home one week in August. In that vein, nature provided ceaseless companionship.

“The water is never silent,” Smyth said. “It roars.”

B Lauer, community program specialist with KLT, said that connection to nature is exactly what she hoped would happen.

“First, I think the residency is an amazing way for artists and nature to come together. We want to foster that interconnection,” she said. “Second, we want artists to have the freedom to create or even not to create while they’re on the island—they can find inspiration and do what feels right to them. It’s about fostering the creative mind and the creative process.”

KLT was granted $2,500 from the Land Trust Alliance, a national land trust consortium, to support the new artist-in-residence program. The money is to be used in 2024 to support maintenance work on the island’s cabin and sauna, as well as providing a stipend for each artist. Two other local artists, Bonnie Loukus and Tom Oliver will spend time on the island this fall.

Silver Island is between Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor, a mere 300 meters off the coastline, visible from the home of Bill and Nano Rose, who donated the land to KLT.

Smyth was inspired to create. The first poetic words she wrote during her visit were with a black Sharpie on one of the cabin’s walls, a tradition she and Lauer hope other artists will practice — leaving a piece of their artistry behind.

She wrote, 

“My thought was, whatever comes up, I wanted to be open to it. Cliffs overlooking Lake Superior, the sand, everything,” Smyth said.

That included the shifting moods of the lake itself. 

“It was like glass going out and two-foot waves with white caps heading back a week later,” Smyth said. 

For now, the residencies are invitational only while the program gets underway, but artists interested in the experience can contact Lauer by emailing B@keweenawlandtrust.org

Smyth’s next book of poetry, Fox Dreams, is expected to be released in early November. Her poetry inspired by her stay on Silver Island is in progress under the working title, Silver Island Poems. For more information on her poetry, go to smythtypedesign.com.

There will be a showcase event with all three artists in October — the exact date and time to be determined.

For every kind of artist seeking a nature refuge, there is that opportunity in the Keweenaw and nearby counties.

Ontonagon, Houghton and Keweenaw counties host a number of artist-in-residency programs including:

Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw County

Isle Royale, one of the United States’ most remote national parks, offers artist residencies each summer, with three to four artists spending two to three weeks on the island.

Artists are required to donate a piece of work inspired by their residency within a year of their experience.

Isle Royale also offers a teen-artist exploration. Visual and performing artists from 13-18 years old may participate.

The Isle Royale Teen Artist Exploration is for all aspiring teen artists who want to develop their art through experiencing wilderness. It is open to all visual and performing artists, writers, and composers ages 13 to 18 at time of participation.

Isle Royale National Park summer 2024 artists-in-residence:

• Jennifer Manella (Philadelphia, PA, printmaking)

• Sofie van Doorn (Austin, TX, dance)

• Teagan White (Portland, OR, watercolor, gouache)

Five alternates:

• Amber Dietz (Detroit, MI, photography)

• Brandon Hansen (Long Lake, WI, writing)

• Holly Haworth (Winterville, GA, writing)

• Carrie Koffman (West Hartford, CT, saxophone performance)

• Nicole Simpkins (Minneapolis, MN, printmaking)

Teen Artist Exploration include:

• Caroline Huang (Santa Rosa, CA, acrylic)

• Adeline Mulder (Traverse City, MI, colored pencil)

Five alternates were chosen:

• Coraline Bond (Blacksburg, VA, clay)

• Elsa Carter (Benzona, MI, oil)

• Jaqueline Daphnis (Silver Spring, MD, acrylic)

• Lillian Godleske (Wausau, WI, pen)

• Anna Rayhorn (Marquette, MI, printmaking)

Rabbit Island, Houghton County

Rabbit Island, also known as Traverse Island, is a largely unoccupied space 3 and a half miles off the coastline in Lake Superior. Artists live on Rabbit Island for two to four weeks during the summer months.

The Rabbit Island’s 2024 artists are: 

• Ale de la Puente

• Alyssa Songsiridej

• Moheb Soliman

Each residency is supported by an unrestricted honorarium of $3,300, made possible by grants and donations.

Porcupine Mountains, Ontonagon County

The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is open to artists inspired by the wilderness setting. Artists will each provide a presentation demonstrating their art.

2024 artists

• Molly Carroll, soft pastel, Maumee, Ohio

• Justin David Gustafson, oil painting, Ludington, Michigan

• Laura Annis, skill saw artist, Baraboo, Wisconsin

• John Dempsey, landscape painting, Hillsborough, North Carolina

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