KOTA Territory NewsArtist residency program offers peace of Wyo. wilderness

Artist residency program offers peace of Wyo. wilderness

KOTA Territory's beautiful scenery draws many people to the area.

And the combination of ranch-land and cities in close proximity provides a unique experience for visitors.

About six miles down a dirt road in Banner, Wyo., you'll find something you probably wouldn't expect on a Wyoming ranch: four artists and two writers living together, some from as far away as Florida and New York City.

"I've heard so many wonderful things about the place that I decided, well, how could I pass up the opportunity?" said visual artist Lisa Buchanan from Seattle.

The opportunity was a month in Wyoming with nothing to do but paint.

Executive director of the Jentel Artist Residency Program Mary Jane Edwards called it "a wonderful gift of time and space."

It was a gift from local artist Neltje.

"She's what I think everyone dreams of," Edwards added, noting that Neltje financed Jentel completely.

It's simply a chance for artists and writers to get away from cities and focus on their work in the solitude of the Wyoming wilderness.

Six people are chosen each month for 11 months out of the year.

"It's been a great opportunity to just detach myself from the busyness of normal life," said Nashville, Tenn. writer Lorraine Lopez. 

"I absolutely love it," said Rachel Meginnes, a fabric artist from San Francisco. "I'm trying to figure out how to move here."

New York City writer Jennifer Baker-Henry agreed. "It's just kind of like, I don't want to go home. It's so gorgeous."

But it doesn't stop at gorgeous. The artists called the environment inspirational.

"Everywhere you turn is just a beautiful landscape," said Joyce Ely-Walker, a Palmetto, Fla. painter.

"It just really inspires me," added Missoula, Mont. artist Karen Shimoda. "It inspires my spirit, which I'm hoping is coming out in my art."

"What can you say? You've been given a gift," Buchanan said. "That's what it feels like. So that, in itself, is an inspiration."

The artists' month-long stay on Jentel's 80 acres is completely free.

Residents have to pay only for supplies and transportation to and from the ranch.