Rochester resident Kenna Fosnacht was acting on a whim when she applied to the Chateau d'Orquevaux Artist Residency in France a little over a year ago. The residency, based in a historic chateau in rural France, aims to establish an international environment where artists of all mediums can explore their art and share ideas. “The Chateau d'Orquevaux Artist Residency emphasizes the human experience and the creative process.
The residency creates an environment for the artist in their quest for personal growth and artistic expression — while reinforcing that the end product is not necessarily the principal focus,” the program states on its website. “I read the mission and thought, ‘I really resonate with what they’re doing. It’s so beautiful.
I would love to create here,’” Fosnacht said of the residency program. Fosnacht began painting with watercolor at the age of 10, when she came across her father’s old art supplies and a sketchbook of his paintings from a Centralia College course. “I just fell in love with the medium then and there,” she said.
Inspired by her childhood in Rochester, where she played along the Chehalis River and Scatter Creek, saw the salmon runs and collected mushrooms in the forests, Fosnacht sought a career in conservation and environmental science and centered her art around nature. “I’m very passionate about inspiring people to be connected with nature and discovering that magic in nature, and also seeing things with a childl.