Janice Mason Steeves

 Rebecca Crowell and I have just finished our month-long residency in Southern Lapland. We leave tomorrow. As a sort of wrap-up, we wrote a co-blog post about our experiences here.  I'll include a few other photos here, but click on the link below if you'd like to read our stories. http://www.crowellandmasonsteeves.blogspot.ca/2015/06/notes-from-lappland.html At Stekenjokk.  The light was gorgeous. At Stekenjokk, the highest place on the Wilderness Road that leads into Norway. The road is only open in early June because of all the snow. Look at how high the snow still is in this section of the road.

 My friend, Åsa Boström is a Swedish artist and writer.  She is also coordinating the workshop in Cold Wax and Oil that Rebecca Crowell and I will teach at Ricklundgarden , Saxnas, Sweden in May.  Åsa is collecting stories from artists about their creative process. Here is her recent interview with me: Studio Practice: Can you describe your studio practice? For example when and how you work, what you surround yourself with while working, and how you switch over to studio-mode?   When I go into my studio each morning, I begin the day with a little ritual that sets the space for my creative work.  I wrote a blog post about this last summer. I have a comfortable old chair in a corner. A couple of big stones  and a white pillar candle rest on a small table beside the chair. My morning ritual is to sit in the chair, light my candle and meditate. A wood-burning stove is in one corner, bookshelves filled with art books in another co...