When you’re not sure what path to take, that middle of the night insomnia can yield some ‘eureka’ moments. Such as revealing the solution to what art to create during my Art 4 Takayna residency in Tasmania over Easter.
All in inspiration
Possibilities
There are so many things you could make, it can be hard to know where to start. I’ve been making blank notebooks using up old prints that I folded to become the little book covers. Creating these notebooks has put me back into ‘maker mode’. What will go inside them? The possibilities are endless.
Connecting to Nature
After seven months away from home, I realise that I have taken where I live somewhat for granted. Yet is is one of the few remaining habitats for the endangered Buruwagan (bush curlew) whose distinctive night call is becoming my own call to action.
Trying New Things
Invoking the spirit of Michelangelo, I tried out stone carving. I find it difficult to create in 3D but was keen to try new things. Starting with no clear plan, I hoped that the stone would to speak to me. It did!
Settling In
Finding a cosy nook to read in feels like home, especially when it is wet and windy outside. The ghosts of great writers, thinkers and artists once tarried here or walked the 1,200 acre grounds of Dartington Hall estate in South Devon. It’s easy to imagine their benevolent presence as I settle in this year of post graduate study.
Sea Fever
The sea is a poem, a song and a fever. It’s where I resonate with the lines from John Masefield’s poem Sea Fever, listen to the slap of water in Dylan Thomas’s fishing boat bobbing sea and look for Emily Dickinson’s mermaids in the basement. Sailing, ferries and boats are a part of my sea fever yearning.
Why Create?
Creativity is a blessing. It takes you outside of yourself to a place that is “out of time”. It is akin to connection with something greater, the divine, the universal life force.
Awe and Wonder
In turbulent times, there is an urgent need for art to pay attention to the ordinary wonders in the world.. To give them form, to really notice and document life’s everyday beauty. To communicate the awe and wonder of being alive.