Drawing Process
Waterlilies in one of the lagoons in Boorum wetland, Pottsville Waters
How do you describe your art practice? Is it the methods you use, the materials, the medium? i’ve taken to calling myself an artist with a socially engaged practice. It suggests concept and engagement rather than straight painting, drawing or photography. I am forever trying to describe what I do and it often depends on what the project is about as to what methods and materials I will use during the process of making art.
For my new project I am going to film my processes of making marks as much of the work may be fugitive or ephemeral. By this I mean that the patterns that sand makes on paper don’t last but they become a photographed image that does. Or I may wrap paper around trees or use reeds to poke holes in my paper. I’m not sure yet how the images will be made, but I do know that I have termed it experimental art activites.
The reason for all these descriptions is that I am writing the proposal for my final project for my Masters Arts & Place, which needs to include the what, why and how, even if the outcome is not assured. I am committing to making a film and a series of artist books. The process will be a form of mapping to share the beauty and connection to nature that is often threatened with increased housing developments in marginal, flood prone areas.
In our local shire there are many such sites which have been cleared, filled and are now in the process of massive construction. Increased human activity threatens the habitats of endangered wildlife like koalas and the Bush stone-curlews. We need to value wetlands and scrubby bush as essential for species other than human to survive and thrive.
So my maps will be a type of pattern language, ways to find beauty in the often misrepresented marginal places. There are plenty of places in Australia which have boardwalks giving access to fragile ecosystems. However if people can’t access bushland, it is too often dismissed as having no value (to us). I want to change that narrative or at least create something which might help bring awareness to the beauty of such places.
The other day I took a piece of thick paper down to the beach. It was already marked with mud from the flood event of 2017 so I didn’t feel precious about the paper. I wanted to see if it would stand up to being put into the surf so I could draw the patterns of the waves and sand while it was in the water.
It was such a fun experiment! I was so pleased with the video footage, I decided to start exploring process as art. I’ve always been an admirer of John Wolseley and the way he gets into a lagoon and smears mud and ink on his paper. I’ve tried burying paper before with mixed results. So now I’m going to start making mud marks in the wetland swamp areas. I’d better put on some mosquito repelllent first!
Process drawing experiment at the Pottsville beach (still from a video).
