Coulter is the fifth and final artist to take advantage of the program, which gave artists the opportunity to work with The Grand’s resources and focus solely on art while also living within the building.

While he enjoyed art from an early age, Coulter was not initially set on being an artist.

“I found art by accident,” he said. “I had wanted to be a pilot, and that just wasn’t in the cards. Art had always been something I had done.”

When Coulter went to college, he was part of the first crop of digital artists. The potential for design and artistry using computers was just beginning to be realized, and he seized on the opportunity.

Brad Coulter shows off some of the wood blocks he has created for his letter press artwork. The letters start from very small models and can take on varied forms when finished.

“I had a background in digital art and I was able to translate that into a career in graphic design.” Coulter said. “And so I’ve worked as a graphic designer about 25 years. I moved away from [personal] art. I got a career, I moved across the country, and I [started to get] burned out in my design career.”

This burnout led him to rediscover printmaking after taking an extended education course on a whim. He credits this with bringing the spark back to his career and his joy as an artist.

“I started studying printmaking as an undergraduate student and really just kind of fell in love with the process and the medium,” Coulter said. “It rekindled my passion for [art] and reinvigorated me.”

After receiving his Masters in Fine Arts in 2013, he has worked as a printmaker, graphic designer, and professor.

In his residency he has worked mainly with letterpress printing and creating his own letters out of wood blocks. His first and favorite piece he created was inspired by area thunderstorms.

“I was getting acquainted with the space and and listening to the muffled rain and thunder in the cellar.” Coulter said “So I made a couple of sketches that were typographical responses to the weather and the space. I typically work with a more muted color palette [and i wanted] to push myself further into elements of color I’m not comfortable with.”

Moving forward, he looks to continue working on some of his unfinished pieces as his time at The Grand ends. Not having enough time is the one part of the experience he regrets.

“I knew that The Grand offered residencies up to three weeks.” Coulter said. “When I was applying I thought ‘I don’t have any idea what I would do for three weeks’ and now I wish I’d gone for the three weeks.”

Besides this, Coulter is thankful to The Grand for allowing his work to thrive.

“They didn’t put a lot of conditions or expectations on what we were going to do as long as we were down here making and experimenting,” he said.

There are plans to dedicate a space with work from all of the resident artists to be displayed sometime this fall.