09/10/2026
Catoctin Forest Alliance’s Artist in Residence Program
Art has been part of the history of national parks since the 1860’s when Hudson River School painters captured the majestic Western landscapes that became our first iconic national parks. Their awe-inspiring works spurred Americans to preserve those lands for future generations. Artist George Catlin, during an 1832 trip to the Dakotas, was perhaps the first to suggest the idea of a national park. Catlin traveled extensively and noted that Indian civilization, wildlife and the wilderness were in danger unless they could be preserved "by some great protecting policy of government ... in a magnificent park ... a Nation’s Park, containing man and beast, in all the wild[ness] and freshness of their nature’s beauty!"
Today, there are Artist in Residence (AIR) programs in more than 50 National Park Service units which preserve the connection between arts and the parks. Catoctin Forest Alliance (CFA) manages the local Artist in Residence program jointly with Catoctin Mountain Park and Cunningham Falls State Park. Artist selections for the program are made by a panel that includes local literary and art professionals.
The criteria that are used to do the selection include: technique, originality, and creativity; essence of the work complements area and would draw visitors to nature; work is appropriate for adults and children; work supports CFA goals (enhance education and appreciation of nature) and candidate shows willingness to work with the public and share talents.
CFA was established in 2009 as a partner organization to Catoctin Mountain Park NPS and Cunningham Falls State Park MSP. One of the CFA founders was artist Elizabeth Prongas, who began the local AIR program here in 2010 to bring a new and diverse voice and constituency to the parks. Since the inception of the AIR program CFA has welcomed 38 artists to the Catoctin Mountains. They have come from California, Washington, DC, Kentucky, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia.
The artists include painters, photographers, poets, writers, a videographer, cast metal artist, a wool felter, a journaling artist and, a fabric artist/quilter. The artists stay in an historic cabin in Catoctin Mountain Park or a campsite at Cunningham Falls Sate Park for two to three weeks and produce art influenced by the mountain setting. After the residency, each artist donates one piece of the art they created during their stay to the CFA AIR collection.
The AIR art collection has been on exhibit at the Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick, the Thurmont Library, the Emmitsburg Library and the Visitor Center in the Manor Area of Cunningham Falls State Park. The collection is permanently housed in Catoctin Mountain Park.
The Artist in Residence program not only strengthens the bond between nature, art and the outdoors but the sale of the art produces funds to bring children to the parks for outdoor learning experiences.
This fall we were privileged to have two artists doing residencies in our parks—Adrien Gehring and Jerry Brown. Both artists will be doing FREE programs for the public. For full details, go to https://catoctinforestalliance.org/cfa-calendar-events/
Meet the Artists: In Their Own Words
Adrien Gehring
OPEN TO NATURE: WE ARE WOVEN TOGETHER
Making art is an experience of removing barriers to openness and communion with the world. I practice embracing vulnerability, curiosity, and connection to my senses and really experience the world around me. Then, the art I make emerges from my open mind, heart, and energy. I let go of pre-existing expectations or judgments.
Nature is a location where I feel open and feel at home. Maybe you feel this way, too? The opportunity to spend two weeks as an artist in residence, immersed in the Catoctin Mountains is a gift that I’m so excited to explore. I look forward to waking up with the birds, wandering the woods each day, and allowing the wisdom of the mountains to shape my creative energy over my residency at Cunningham Falls State Park.
I have been experimenting with natural plant fibers over the past year, weaving and printing with the textures and shapes of leaves. I am excited to immerse myself in the ecosystem of the mountains and let the late summer season inspire me with her patterns, colors, and textures. I want to explore how we are all connected, woven together and interdependent with each other. I believe that nature is our greatest teacher of this truth.
As part of my residency, I will be observing a daily schedule of yoga, meditation, and walks to support my creative practice. Rituals help me still my mind, open my heart, and commune with nature. I invite anyone to join me on Wednesday evenings for a creative meditation walk, September 16 and 23, 6pm-7pm (sundown). On Saturday, Sept.19th at the Willian Houck Area Concessions Building and Sept. 26th at the Apples Church Pavillion, I will offer a demonstration and invitation to make your own eco-print.
I look forward to seeing you in the woods!
Adrien Gehring
Jerry Brown
I am a generic version of humankind. More precisely, I am octogeneric, having witnessed 82 ½ orbits of Mother Earth around Brother Sun. I am an avid walker. Well, perhaps avid is a bit too strong a word, but I’m certainly committed, averaging 7 miles per day with the constant companionship of my loving wife, Gina, and our exuberant and somewhat deranged Border Collie, Gunny. A walker, I am. A serious hiker, backpacker, wilderness stalker, forest camper, I am not.
I tell people that I am a Christian by birth, a Church of the Brethren by marriage, and a Yogi by choice: a disciplined twice-a-day meditator for the past 55 years, dedicated to ‘Yogastah Kuru Karmani’ (‘established in Yoga, perform action’ or ‘Fly United’) as a way of life.
I am a watercolor artist by way of a late-life career change. Long story short: I was a travelling showman/ variety entertainer for 52 years, then Covid came along and all of my venues got quashed. It was then, at the age of 76, that I first took up the brush, something I had always dreamed of doing, but never had the opportunity. I laugh that watercolor, for me, was like ‘Deja-vu all over again’ (Thank you, Yogi. Yogi??) Things got really good, really fast, and a highly respected and iconic gallery in Lancaster, PA picked up my work and now represents me.
This is the short version of a long history, and I share it so you might appreciate what I am bringing with me to Catoctin National Park for three weeks in September, where I will be Artist in Residence and life-as-I-know-it will be turned completely upside down.
I am coming to hiker’s paradise, where I will be living alone in the woods with birdsong, and dappled light, and vistas, and history, and Milky Way at night. Alone. Absent my usual ‘support team’ and with the companionship of only the ghosts of the historic past and the overwhelming presence of The Woods. A major shift from my life in Lancaster, PA.
I intend to hike every mile of the trails in the park during my three-week residency, taking it all in, and reacting to what I see – by painting. I am used to painting in studio, where everything is ‘given’ and nothing changes. While at Catoctin, I will be working on location ‘en plein air’ where nothing is given and EVERYTHING changes (all the time, all at once), presenting me with a major challenge and a steep learning curve. I look forward to the challenge of painting vistas, capturing the depth and the stunning beauty that causes us to gasp when we first see them, but never quite capture that feeling with our camera. I look forward to capturing the magic and mystery of the dappled light in the deep forest, the historic landmarks of The Park, and, with any luck, the color changes of the season.
I share all of this by way of invitation, hoping that you and your family will join me on this adventure. During my time in Catoctin, I will be posting regularly on both my website (www.3BWatercolorStudio.com ) and my Instagram account (), sharing paintings and comments. I will also be presenting three public events which are free of charge and open to the public. I hope you and your family can participate in any or all.
For more information on CFA and the AIR program, please visit www.catoctinforestalliance.org.
