Leah Cook wrapped up her time as the Granite Falls artist in residence last week. There was a farewell event held at The Rock to celebrate her and all her work while she was staying in town, as well as the unveiling of the Wonder Boxes she’d been working on with the High School Ag Welding class. Cook said, about her experience, “This community artist residency has been a unique, one-of-a-kind experience for me. It took a lot of work within the community to create the program, and I’m grateful to the City, the Arts Council, and Upper Sioux Community for the partnership that brought me to Granite Falls and made all this possible.” Cook also expressed her gratitude for the stories shared with her, saying, “I got to see the best of this community--people welcomed me warmly, were quick to help me out any time I needed a hand and showed up to take part and support the things I was doing. People shared stories and reflections with me and trusted me enough to share their ideas too. Granite is a creative place, and that reaches far beyond just the Main Street. I really loved partnering on projects with so many different parts of Granite Falls’ community and seeing that creativity from every corner.” Cook has returned to Maine where she originally hails from.