by Julie Dodd
For Lauren Connolly, being Artist-in Residence in Great Smoky Mountains National Park during November was the ideal time.
“I had heard that November in the Smokies was a quieter time compared to the bustling summer season. While I missed some of those earlier happenings, I’m so grateful my residency was in November,” Connolly said.
“In just one month, I witnessed such an incredible range of seasonal changes—hot days in the high 80s, the last monarchs migrating through, the mountains glowing in autumn color, the final leaves falling, the shift with the time change, and eventually snow topping the peaks as temperatures dropped into the 30s,” she said.
A multidisciplinary artist and certified naturalist from Cincinnati, Ohio, Connolly works in watercolor, photography and nature journaling.
As Artist-in-Residence during November 2024, Connolly expanded her own work as an artist and helped park visitors connect with nature through art.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) is one of more than 50 National Park Service locations that sponsor an Artist-in-Residence program. During 2024, GSMNP hosted five artists – one a month from July through November.
Friends of the Smokies supports the Artist-in-Residence program by funding a furnished apartment inside park boundaries and reimbursing artists for art materials.
Challenging herself as a watercolor artist
Connolly said she wanted to use her opportunity as Artist-in-Residence to challenge herself as a watercolor artist.
“Before the residency, I only painted 9” by 12” and smaller,” she said. “Through the Artist-in-Residence experience, I really wanted to push myself to grow as an artist. So, for my professional quality paper, I only brought 11” by 14” and bigger to push me outside my comfort zone.”
“Autumn Colors of the Gatlinburg Canopy” is a 22” by 30” watercolor that was a month-long challenge for Connolly during her residency. That painting is at the top of this post.
“My rule was that I had to paint a different leaf species every day, and I had to paint it that day. A few days got too busy so, I had a day or two with a backlog,” Connolly said.
“The reason for the challenge is that I wanted to make sure that every single day I got out into nature, and I put a brush to paper,” she said. “I started at the top left and went as if reading a book — from left to right and top to bottom. So, leaf one is from day one, and so on. What really stood out during my experience in the Park was the leaves, so I wanted to make sure I captured that somehow in one of my art pieces.”
Interacting with park visitors
During her residency, Connolly led art sessions with park visitors at the Oconaluftee and Sugarlands Visitor Centers.
“My most memorable highlight from my residency was co-creating a giant open-journal-page canvas with visitors. Together, we painted bears, elk, flowers, and handwritten reflections of what the Smokies meant to them. I interacted with hundreds of people, from 8 months to 80 years old, from all walks of life, each taking a moment to pause and contribute to the art project,” Connolly said.
“This collective piece became more than artwork. It was a living story of the park’s beauty, resilience, and inspiration to conserve. Standing back, I saw the Smokies interpreted through many hearts and hands, and I felt the power of art to connect strangers through a shared love of nature,” she said. “That experience remains a guiding star for how I engage communities through art and conservation.”
Lauren Connolly’s website & social media
Website: wilddevelopmentsstudio.com
Instagram: @wilddevelopmentsstudio
TikTok: @wilddevelopmentsstudio
Podcast: Wildly Unplug (available on all platforms)
GSMNP Artist-in-Residence program
This is the third of a series of blog posts about the 2024 artists: Anna Marie Pavlik, print maker (July); Kyle Petersen, photographer (August); Grayson Cooper – illustrator (September); October – Nicki Allen, quilter (October); Lauren Connolly, multidisciplinary artist (November).
You can find out more about the Great Smoky Mountain National Park Artist-in-Residence program and the application process on the park’s AIR website.
The submission deadline for the 2026 AIR program is Nov. 2, 2025 to March 1, 2026.
About Friends of the Smokies
Friends of the Smokies is the official nonprofit partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Through private donations, fundraising events, and specialty license plates in North Carolina and Tennessee, Friends of the Smokies raises money to fund needed projects and programs in the national park that would otherwise go unfunded.
Learn more about how to get a Friends of the Smokies license plate at BearPlate.org. You can make a direct tax-deductible donation at our website. We are also grateful for those who pitch in at our donation boxes throughout the park. Every gift makes a significant difference for our beloved Smokies.
Sign up to receive our monthly e-newsletter and email updates at friendsofthesmokies.org/stay-in-touch/