artist-IN-RESIDENCE
October 3-24, 2025
Ciel Skal
Ciel Skål grew up with an identity of caveats marked by a dividing of cultures and struggles between family, houselessness, and foster care. In adulthood, she found stability in her degrees of behavioral research, art history, and arts management leading to a fascinating career as an archaeological illustrator. After the unexpected loss of her mother in 2023, Skål turned to visual art full time as a means of processing her grief. Her work delves into themes of loss, generational trauma, identity, and context of place, drawing inspiration from her background and art historical research.
Artist Statement
The relationship between environment and the self is at the core of my process, driven by a fascination with how our surroundings shape us and, in turn, how we leave our mark on them. My large scale work begins by letting ink flow freely on wet paper, allowing it to disperse and settle into organic forms. These spontaneous blooms become the foundation for the faceless figures I carve from the chaos using watercolor, ink, and graphite to bring them into being. In the absence of faces, hands become language through touch – an expression of emotional nuances – and a peek at a resolving identity in relation to the space(s) we occupy.
I would like to extend my practice into a personal dialogue with Good Hart and the surrounding Lake Michigan. While becoming a keen observer of the local environment, I’ll take note of colors and textures, letting them influence this new series. Water for inks, normally gathered from the faucet of my studio, will now include the waters of the Great Lakes – the specific qualities of the water will affect the properties and colors of ground inks, creating unique and unpredictable formations to serve these new figural and abstract works. Away from the general rhythms of life and solely focused on this practice, I will let this dialogue serve as an archive – a living reflection on my forming relationship to the surrounding nature – and solidifying the work’s presence in Good Hart. This archive is one I hope to continue influencing my work long term.
Community Engagement
