I did some fieldwork on my own last night — walking about 4 miles around Wellfleet Center and Harbor. I’m hardly new to Wellfleet, but I’ve never really walked it the way I am this summer. On a bike or in a car you miss details and the nuances of spaces. Walking is proving to be a wonderful process of discovery.

Some people say that a camera keeps you from seeing a place. I’ve never really understood that idea. For me, a camera is a compositional tool — something I use after I’ve see the place. It’s a way to isolate a space or an object or an idea. It’s a way of taking notes on what I’ve experienced.

I shot a lot of photographs last night, and driving home I realized that I had enough visual information to certainly make a suite of new work — but likely enough inspiration to keep me busy for a year. I’m honestly not sure the motif of streetscapes and architecture is what’s going to fuel me this summer, but it’s at least worth a try.

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Fieldwork Saturdays in Wellfleet

Organized by Pete Hocking & AMZehnder Gallery

This summer, we’re inviting creative people — visual artists, photographers, writers, and others — to join us for community fieldwork sessions in Wellfleet on Saturday afternoons from 2:30  – 5 PM. This is not a workshop and there will be no instructor. Spending time in a place, looking deeply, taking notes, and allowing the place to soak into memory allows one to bring meaningful experience into the studio — and to ultimately work more intuitively.  The sessions are also designed to strike up conversation and relationships among Outer Cape artists. You’re invited to look, to draw, to paint, to photograph, to take notes, to write — and especially to connect with other creative people in our incredible community. These sessions are free and you’re welcome to join us as your schedule permits. Come for one session or all sessions! 

We’ll meet at AMZehnder Gallery at 25 Bank Street at 2:30 PM on Saturday and we’ll conclude the start of Gallery Night at 5 PM. 

Questions? Contact phocking@gmail.com