Elspeth Slayter participates in an artist’s residency at Rose and Rosano Studios in Tucson, Arizona

Rose and Rosano Studios’ metal shop at sunset facing the Catalina mountains near Tucson, Arizona

Spending a chunk of time with no responsibilities other than engaging in one’s art practice is a precious and sacred commodity that likely makes artists swoon! Angela Rose of Rose and Rosano Studios in Tucson, Arizona, has just begun the process of designing just such a residency bases on similar programs she attended in both France and Spain during college. Housed at the The Rose and Rosano Studios compound, artists live in a lovingly hand-crafted adobe compound carefully hidden away in the deep Sonoran desert. Creating a space that is part sculpture garden and part botanical/wildlife sanctuary, Angela Rose and Aureleo Rosano lived and worked here for over three decades making and sharing art with the community. The pair created a panopoly of works that are housed on the site - metal sculptures, mosaics, ink drawings, furniture, gardens and paintings.

Rose’s program is designed to allow artists two week visits to immerse themselves in the smells, sights and sounds of the desert with a sole focus - making and sharing art. There is room for two artists and one chef to be in residence at any point, each with their own well-appointed bedroom and a shared bath. Deer, quail, hooting owls and javelinas are regular visitors as well. Lovingly-prepared vegetarian food was offered by the chef in residence at breakfasts, lunch and dinner, with a commitment to using fresh, local ingredients including Meyer lemons, collard greens from the garden, bread made from local ancient grains, and so much more. One highlight was blue corn flour waffles with quince jam and pomegranate seeds. The property has a large indoor studio with a slop sink, a welding studio, a mosaic studio, indoor sitting rooms and outdoor patios and of course ten acres of opportunities for plein air painting or drawing. 

I chose to focus my residency on thinking about local motifs related to how memory is stored in place and space - a continuation of my “memory buoy” series from Cape Cod now re-focused on a part of the world with which I have different roots. The motifs that spoke to me the most were the gentle and strong small birds, ancient saguaro cacti towering with wisdom and the in-season pomegranates, heavy with ripe seeds and juice. I approached my residency with an emphasis on slowing down to notice the rich and vibrant colors of the desert that are there if you can tap into them: the maroon of the chiolla, the pineapple yellow of the barrel cactus flower, the lavender of the prickly pear, the silver blue of the eucalyptus tree and of course the start bright cobalt blue in the sky most of the days. Some of my color studies are in the gallery below - I’m still working on getting the colors where I want them to be, but what a joy it was to just stop and dip into process for a deep dive without the hustle bustle of Cape Cod life. What a joy to bring my new casualist approach to monotype printing here in the desert! I also dipped into the joy of creating ephemeral assemblage mandalas with rusty spare parts from the metal shop as a way to try something new.

In this gallery, you will find photos of my favorite spots on the property along with monotypes and monotype collages available for sale from this series of works. All unframed works are $300-$500 - please feel free to contact me via my gallery, @fourelevengallery or at @slayterart both on Instagram.