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Lovely Sandra Turner came to stay and left a sweet review and many paintings and drawing for the village calendar. My Año Asites Art Residency
By Sandra Turner My solo art residency in Año Asites took place in October 2025. My goal in attending was to visually represent the rural culture and countryside of the small Greek village of Año Asites, where I would be staying for 10 days. This area was similar to that where my grandparents were born and raised before their immigration to the United States. I stayed in the village apartment that is well maintained. Early mornings I enjoyed the sun on the terrace sipping a coffee and writing in my travel journal. The rest of the day was spent painting and sketching outdoors. The owner of the house cooked traditional Greek food for me daily (enough to have for two meals) Mathew the head of the program was very helpful in arranging his schedule so that he could accompany me to and from Heraklion via bus. He was always attentive to any questions or concerns I may have had. I enjoyed the group get togethers that we had with other artists from the mountain hut and also in Heraklion where we met two of the artists from Germany who were part of the city residency that Mathew also maintains. Immersing myself in this culture fostered daily discovery; I wandered roads and pathways, my backpack filled with art supplies, ready to paint or pause and sketch along the way. I worked outdoor in oils using a pochade box I had specifically crafted for traveling abroad. I also completed pen and ink drawings with watercolor washes. The completed art may be used by the town for their 2026 calendar. I will incorporate what I have accomplished during this residency into the larger, body of work that I have been developing over the past two years. This experience was an extraordinary opportunity to connect with a culture similar to that of my ancestors, and that of my remembered youth, providing a lasting influence on my project both artistically and personally. Sincerely, Sandra Turner https://sandra-turner-artist.com [email protected]
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Gelsey and her partner came to stay in the mountain hut but wanted to paint a mural in the village. Together they created this fantastic artwork. www.gelseyamelia.com/about  Diane came to the village in 2024 with a tour group and fell in love. She asked locals if there was somewhere to stay as she wanted to return alone in 2025. She was very happy to find out that there is an artist residency here. Here are some of her paintings and drawings. Aisha sent a photo of herself totally enjoying the mediative experience of staying in the mountain hut. She normally has trouble sleeping but in the hut she was so relaxed it came without any problem. As Aisha is a writer there are no photos of her work to capture.  Australian visual artist Ann had been to stay at the city residency a few years ago but this time she wanted to have the village experience. She spent two weeks in the village apartment and finished with two weeks at the mountain hut. Ann said she could live in the hut forever :) Here are some photos of Ann at work in the hut. Yen-Cheng from Taiwan made a small art project in the kafeneon. He offered to give away free portraits to anybody who wanted one. The locals being a bit shy were hesitant to sit for one but we had enough takers to keep Yen-Cheng busy for a few hours. It was something new and fun. Many of the locals kept sending us small carafe's of raki which left us with blurry heads the next morning. Eleni who is a local is happy to cook lunch for artists who stay in the village apartment. She charges a small fee and normally makes so much food that the leftovers are good for dinner as well. Here she is cooking for our Taiwanese artists. Fang Yu the wife wanted to watch her cook to get some tip. Often the city residency artists want to come up to see the village to decide if they would like a second residency there. They always do. This time I had two Taiwanese artists and one German. The Taiwanese will return in a couple of weeks to stay in the village apartment. Olivia from Singapore came to stay in the village apartment for three weeks this March. With her was Kinjal Johri a screen writer. While Kinjal spent her time writing in the apartment or at Oscar kafeneon down the hill, Olivia painstakingly painted this lovely mural. After a week in the village their main impression was how lovely and giving the locals are. The mural is a reflection of their hospitality. It is painted across from the Historical Museum. Lorien from New England, America came to work quietly on her paintings cherishing her time alone to create. On being asked if she would like to paint a mural she jumped at the chance. It's always tricky in the village to paint a mural that fits well into the surroundings but is also not too kitsch and remains contemporary art. Lorien met the challenge perfectly with her painting of a mother showing her child how to plant something. Plus other references to village life. |
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November 2025
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