Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have been an artist in residence at Manship in Gloucester MA, both virtually and in person. I received a learning grant from NEFA to research, explore and connect with the Gloucester fishing community and working waterfront.

For me, working with 'data' is like taking the exposed film to the dark room. It takes time as the image slowly moves into focus. The unexpected happens and perspectives shift.

I have invited amazing artists to collaborate with me on this project. Craig Winslow (video light), Jessica Zollman (production coordination, photography) Miles Ewell (sound),Neha Ewell (sound), Aaron Wisniewski, Lindsey and Stina as Alice&the Magician (scent).

After an extended visit as a team with great folks in the community, we now are steeped in our own creative processes. Scheduled zoom meetings every few months allow for us to continue weaving the proverbial net. We share, reflect, critique and ask questions before we go back into our own process. In addition, there is fundraising, grant applications and still the site to be finalized. Those aspects happen in Gloucester, by Manship our host. That part of the process feels much like being on a fishing boat at sea. There is no finite schedule nor outcome.

"That's why it's called fishing and not catching." Jimmy T, a Gloucester based fisherman of many generations, wisely said.

Isn't life in general more like fishing than catching ?

Are you interested in being part of this project? Want to contribute with in kind donations, money or just have a question? Please contact me for more information: erika@erikasenftmiller.com

During the pandemic, together with a friend and fellow artist, we created our own residency program. A conversation about the dream of another artist residency that would allow for uninterrupted studio work and critique opportunities, lead to a lamentation of the restriction the pandemic imposed, as well as the drawbacks of shared bathrooms and sometimes forced conversations in unfamiliar environments. I suggested a new format of artist residency that fit within the limitations of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

We created a resident artist residency, each of us in the comfort of our own studio, working according to an agreed schedule with facetime studio visits and reading discussions at the end of each day. We both loved it so much that we now are in our second resident artist residency.

My project for this week is to create visual narratives and scripto-visuals for “NetWorks” project.

This week’s structure and commitment will allow me to leave my role of project managing and completely live in the right side of my brain as well as my body/gut. That’s where I will work from and allow myself to be scared and surprised.

For past scripto-visuals see Medium.

A fundraising gala for The Current,Stowe, VT Art center, was the spark to make a new dress/costume. The theme was “wild” as in colorful.

I am currently intrigued by the color electric yellow - yellow with a slight hint of green. In addition, pink seems to be the color of the season. Here in Burlington,Vermont, shopping for fabric is limited to repurposing existing garments and one local Jo-Ann’s Fabrics store. At the store, I found the perfect yellow and pink lycra fabrics. The colors bright, the material stretchy to allow for unrestricted movement in a tight long dress.

I wanted additional layers for added drama, maybe inspired by watching the Met gala. Tulle isn’t my thing though. In the “utility” section of the store, between plastic for slipcovers and thick canvas for boat cushions, I found camouflage netting. The perfect amount of ruffle while allowing the layers underneath to shine through - visual drama with a ruffly sound effect. Now I was excited - free from tulle.

Part of this dress is a fishing net - made by myself. The openings are state regulations - I learned the fine art of net mending from Captain Joe in Gloucester, MA during my artist residency and research for my multi-sensory installation the "Net Works."

The trail/ skirt is camouflage material used by hunters. In short, it’s an ode to my fishing friends (close to my heart) and hunters (close to there ground - where I live)

You can see more of my wearable art/soft sculpture costumes on vimeo.

See images of this dress on my IG.

Like most of my projects, Watercooler 1820 - 2021?, the multimedia installation I created for NBOSS, Bennington museum in 2021, had a gallery/workspace iteration during the spring of 2022.

Now, its third iteration exists on this website. Check out the project page.

In addition, last fall, I began a collaboration with the amazing glassblower Rich Arentzen and his team at AO Glass in Burlington VT. We created water glasses that celebrate the gift of fresh good drinking water. You can see a video of the glass in action on the Watercooler project page.

If you like to own one or several of these wonderful glasses, email me your order: erika@erikasenftmiller.com

Last year I made my first film, in collaboration with filmmaker par excellence Lukas Huffman. We had two immersive viewing experiences. These were truly multisensory experiences with live performance and other adventures at surprise sites.

The Vermont International Film Festival invited us to create a new boundary breaking film experience.

Now, 4 months later, these experiences are unfolding on my Instagram account. I love playing with these different sites. How can a project be immersive and alive on IG?

Check it out here on IG

Last fall, Lukas Huffman and I made a film. The film is set in an alternate reality, two curious life forms search for social connection.

Kintsugi Angel is an experimental short film inspired by the emotional toll of COVID-19 and the resilience of the human spirit.

It premiered as a private viewing event at a car salavge yard on a dark Friday evening in April.

New viewing events:

Susan Calza Gallery, Montpelier, VT October 7-9.

Vermont International Film Festival, Burlington VT, October 29.

It's been a bit more than two years ago that I started working with Manship artist studios and residencies, Gloucester MA, as an artist in residence. NEFA supported this site- and community specific project with a learning grant. The generosity and openness I have been met with, both in the arts and the fishing communities, has moved and buoyed me beyond this project and my wildest imagination.

August 11-14, my collaborators joined me for a few days of immersive exploration and research of site and community. Manship Artist Residency hosted all of us and was a great "basecamp." Late night and early morning brainstorming sessions around the large kitchen table fueled body and soul.

The generosity and creative energy in the fishing community (special thanks to James Tarantino and Ann Molloy) is mirrored in this group of talented artists who are on board for creating a multisensory immersive experience for and about Gloucester's working water front for 2023, Gloucester's 400 plus celebrations.

In this next stage of the project we will each be working in our own studios as well as process via shared google docs and zoom meetings.

Meet the team: Craig Winslow and Jessica Zollman, Portland OR; Miles Ewell and Neha Ewell, NYC, NY; The team of Alice & the Magician, Burlington VT;

Moving and creating between land and water at the working water front.

Mirror Vision 1787 – 2022 NBOSS 2022, Bennington Museum, Vermont.

I created this installation as an invitation, a chance to reflect on how we see ourselves, each other, and our surroundings in the context of what lies behind us.

This installation spans the distance between two convex safety mirrors installed in mirrored fashion on opposite sides of a tree along a wooded path at Jennings Brook, and several mirrors located in the museum, including an early one from 1787.

For continued play, we made super sweet viewfinders for you to explore Hindsight, Foresight and Insight. You can purchase these limited edition handcrafted viewfinders in the museum giftshop or by contacting me directly.

What is The Head Stretchers Society?

One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. - Oliver Wendell Holmes

The super elastic mind of Michael Jager and his team, the designer powerhouse Solidarity of Unbridled Labor created a video series of people who stretch minds and inspire. I had the honor to make it into the ranks of the Head Stretchers Society. Check out "The Curious Lefty."

Filming and talking about my work and my process was a treat. I had a blast dancing at 5 am in the bowl of a skatepark followed by barefoot dancing in the woods. The director's and team's engaging questions inspired me and certainly stretched my mind beyond the known. I hope these video portraits do the same for you.

With the great support of a NEFA learning grant and a residency at Manship in Gloucester MA, I am working on a proposal for a multisensory project for Gloucester, MA and its incredible fishing community at the working water front.

By connecting with the community both virtualy and in person, I have met amazing people, heard important stories, had generous access to the archives at Cape Ann Museum, inhaled incredible smells, learned to mend fishing nets, toured a fish processing plant and had my first dory rowing experience.

Now, back in my studio and steeped in the process, some questions keep pushing to the center:

What makes a project meaningful for both the local fishing community as well as visting art enthusiasts?

Can site specific work span past, present and future?

Can a multisensory installation be both playful, open minds, create empathy and shift perspectives?

Can such an installation make new and mend old relationships?

Follow the unfolding of the project on my IG as well as here.

The Water Cooler 1820 - 2021 from the show at Bennington Museum in southern Vermont has completed its mission.

As we are entering the second winter with Covid in the mix, Zoom meetings and remote working seem to be here to stay in some iteration.

In 2022, The Water Cooler will appear in a new light and new context. I am very excited collaborating with the amazing team from karmabirdhouse.com

What makes an, albeit fleeting, conversation meaningful?

How important are in person chance encounters?

Is a meeting around the water cooler different from a meeting at the coffee shop or at the supermarket?

These are some of the questions we are asking.

Stay tuned for more details

• hydrate - reuse - recycle -

Water Cooler 1820 - 2021 started as an outdoor sculpture and evolved to a pentaptych (I had to look up what a five piece visual art work is called:)

1) Jennings Brook runs through the grounds of the Museum and is worth a trip in itself. The damm was created around 1820.

2) Water Cooler 1820-2021,the sculpture, stands right next to the brook.

3) Walk the beautiful nature trail to the museum and find Water Cooler 1820-1823, the original stone ware water cooler,in the permanent collection in the museum’s Early Vermont Gallery. Jamie Franklin, the curator recorded a wonderful audio tour for this.

4) Water Cooler mug was a collaboration with Burlington Potter Dan Siegel. You can purchase your own water cooler mug in the museum store.

5) Listen the Water Cooler Talk, the audiotheater, while you stand at one of these water coolers or sip your beverage of choice from your water cooler mug at your desk during a zoom meeting with your collegues.

The sculpture exhibit is open through October 2021.

We are entering year two of THE pandemic and our lives are taking place on our screens. I continue to explore ways for multi-sensory multimedia art experiences, ways of fueling our sensory world while we live in the digital world.

The two year long performance series OffSiteOnTime, 2017- 2019, still feels very relevant and I hope it offers inspiration and ideas for fellow artists and anyone intersted in keeping our senses engaged and our humanity fueled.

I look forward to hearing from you with projects, questions, comments.

OffSiteOnTime on instagram and on vimeo

Last year, I was invited to an artist residency at MARS in Gloucester,MA. I also received a NEFA learning grant in support of this residency.

Before I was able to work on site, COVID put a stop to all plans. The residency is now virtual, until I can safely visit. Despite (or because?) the circumstances, our ‘network’ has been strong and continues to grow. I am grateful for so many inspired and generous conversations via phone, FaceTime and Zoom with the MARS and Gloucester community.

I feel a strong connection and commitment to place and people. The pandemic continues to push me beyond familiar paths in exploring new ways to develop truly site specific work from a distance.

Read more here.

I'm so pleased to share the first video by Micah Dudash of the OffSiteOnTime series. This performance that he filmed happened in 2017 at The Vermont Arts Council in Montpelier and was the seed of a two-year project that examined the lines between performance and installation, audience and performer.

If you're interested in learning more about the project, head to the Vimeo page and check out the description.

With the new demands of wearing a face mask when in public I have been playing with ideas and variations of masks - how wearing a mask changes my breathing, my interactions, my movement. Within the restriction are possibilities: I just made 6 different masks for my friends. They look more like social sculptures and we are ready for a masquerade ball. The German 'Maskenball' literally tanslates to mask ball. Different personalities of masks transforming different faces.

I started a new "drawing per day" series where I make a drawing using the same three media: blue chalk, red oilstick and a graphite pen on a 14 x 18.5 cm sketch pad. The materials were a gift from my daughter. I make each drawing at breakfast, processing a dream or emotion that arrived the night before. The strict limitations of media, paper and time allow me to dive quickly and freely into the process and, lead by my curiosity, to witness what emerges on the page.