The book I wish I had

I'm Shannon Amidon — a professional visual artist, writer, and community builder who loves nature, gardening, insects, books, rocks, and cheerleading creatives. I'm also the founder and director of The Verdancy Project, a multidisciplinary nature-based artist residency on 4.5 acres in Troutdale, Oregon.

Over the years, many artists have asked me how I started The Verdancy Project and whether they could do something similar.

For years, I answered it in conversations, over email, at the end of residency weeks. I thought about writing a blog series. Then maybe a chapbook. Eventually I realized this needed to be a full how to guide and Nurturing Creativity: A Guide to Building Your Artist Residency and Cultivating Creative Community was born.

I tend to stay behind the scenes here. I'd rather shine a light on our artists and the land than talk about myself. But I really feel like this can be beneficial for creatives.

Here's the story behind the story.

I launched The Verdancy Project in 2020, but the seed was planted about a decade earlier. I'd participated in residencies around the world and loved every one of them. Then I had my daughter, and suddenly the month-long model, the traditional residency standard wasn't available to me anymore. That's a reality for a lot of artists: parents, caretakers, people with day jobs, people without the time or financial cushion to disappear for four weeks. The privilege embedded in that model is real, and it always bothered me.

So I decided to build something different. I had experience launching creativity groups, workshops, mentoring, and community events but nothing remotely like a full residency program. It was exciting and terrifying in equal measure. I didn't know how other artists would receive me, whether they'd take TVP seriously, whether I even knew what I was doing. I launched anyway.

Almost six years later, I've learned an enormous amount. This book is what I wish I'd had at the beginning.

Nurturing Creativity is a practical how-to guide: finding your site, shaping your vision, building community, navigating the unglamorous logistics, and creating something that lasts. It's also the story of TVP, the mistakes, the pivots, the moments of unexpected joy and connection. And at its heart, it's about something I care deeply about: empowering artists to build what they want to build, outside of gatekeepers and institutions, on their own terms.

A practical guide for creatives ready to build something bigger than themselves.

The book publishes April 21st. I'd love for you to be among the first to read it. You can order it here