I first stepped on the grounds of Craigardan in the summer of 2017, during the first year of its existence as a residency. My dear friend, Emma Silverstein, was the first resident intern, and I showed up in a road-weary daze, having traveled alone by car after a year of living by myself in Minnesota. Born a Northeasterner, it may have been my preconditioned need for anything familiar, or the obvious beauty that immersed me as Emma and I walked through the forest and over the creek to get to her home there, but I fell in love. The walk itself excited me to think, “I am going to come back here.” The second time I visited Craigardan was for a rock 'n’ roll show where Emma was performing, at a place called the Recovery Lounge in Upper Jay, New York. I was able to watch Emma and many other talented folks in the Adirondack Park region. At this point I was already signed up to come back to Craigardan in the summer of 2018 to be a resident intern, managing the ceramic studio and making my art pottery.
![Ausable River. New York. 2018.](https://studiopotter.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_browser/public/IMG_6940.jpeg?itok=dTM8_s7f)
![Resident Artist, Renqian Yang at Craigarden. 2018.](https://studiopotter.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_browser/public/IMG_6886.jpeg?itok=aaT9Dhu2)
![Lily Fein's studio at Craigarden. 2018.](https://studiopotter.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_browser/public/IMG_6989.jpeg?itok=a3E0j57V)
![Lily Fein's work in Craigarden Studio. 2018.](https://studiopotter.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_browser/public/IMG_6856.jpeg?itok=oOfqHbBj)
Ausable River. New York. 2018. ![Ausable River. New York. 2018.](https://studiopotter.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_thumb/public/IMG_6940.jpeg?itok=N2N3QmWr)
![Resident Artist, Renqian Yang at Craigarden. 2018.](https://studiopotter.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_thumb/public/IMG_6886.jpeg?itok=jLZ24Iju)
![Lily Fein's studio at Craigarden. 2018.](https://studiopotter.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_thumb/public/IMG_6989.jpeg?itok=4Fqvu3zz)
![Ausable River. New York. 2018.](https://studiopotter.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_thumb/public/IMG_6940.jpeg?itok=N2N3QmWr)
![Resident Artist, Renqian Yang at Craigarden. 2018.](https://studiopotter.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_thumb/public/IMG_6886.jpeg?itok=jLZ24Iju)
![Lily Fein's studio at Craigarden. 2018.](https://studiopotter.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_thumb/public/IMG_6989.jpeg?itok=4Fqvu3zz)
![Lily Fein's work in Craigarden Studio. 2018.](https://studiopotter.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_thumb/public/IMG_6856.jpeg?itok=PT29hRgj)