I continually ask myself about the relevance of art and creativity. Is art relevant and why? I have been trying to understand the nature of duality and finding hope when we witness war. How do we navigate conflict? What role does art in its many forms play in creating the future and changing perceptions?
I have spent the past five years pushing myself to my limits, learning, exploring life as a entrepreneur, creating art and returning to writing again. At the end of 2023 I have emerged stronger in my art practice, knowing that living as an artist means embracing all of who you are. The only thing constant is change.
Self publishing is a fantastic way to create a printed catalogue of your art project. The images in a book retain the essence of place, the sounds heard and smells experienced there as well as a document of art created ‘on site’. Books can become ambassadors of your work, able to travel and represent you when you can’t be there yourself.
The old self doubt can creep into your thoughts when you are about to do something a bit scary, a bit out there, or wild and ambitious. It can completely derail all your plans and decisions. I call it “the wobbles”. It’s good to be prepared so you can know what to do when they strike.
Doing a small art piece everyday helps you feel ‘in the flow’. It’s like exercise or music, you need to practise to have a practice. I discovered how rusty I was at making an image using simple drawing techniques. Time to get serious with a daily practice again to regain confidence.
Can art become art activism? Is the pen or brush or song mightier than the implements of destruction? How can we build activism into our art? Sometimes it is the subjects we focus on that show their value through a currency of care.
My new drawing experiments I’ve been doing in the wetlands around my house have been totally liberating. I don’t try to draw what I see, I let what I see draw itself. It’s a collaborative process that embraces imperfection. In my books that’s achieving success.
Collaborating with the elements is a great way to make art. Watermarks and shadows, mud and sand all leave patterns that are unique and of the moment. Letting go of control of your images means that the other than human elements can take part in your image making. It all becomes easy and effortless!
What is your art process? Maybe process becomes the art. It’s what I have been experimenting with as I explore ways to capture the beauty of the Pottsville environment. Making marks with and in the environment is a new direction to explore for my final Masters Arts and Place project.
Rain puddles, upside down trees and floating bits of bark. These have started a mapping process for me of the Boorum Wetland, adjacent to where I live. Making maps is an exciting direction for my next art project. It’s time to reclaim the beauty of swamps and wetlands.
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.
The annual raft race at Porthleven harbour was a great finish to my time in Cornwall where I could reflect on my last artist residency in the UK. Now my challenge will be to return to Australia to bring this experience into my final project to complete the Masters Arts & Place program.
What are you own particular set of skills? It’s easy to undervalue what comes easily to you. Yet these same set of skills could be exactly what you need to develop and extend your own art practice.
Creatures of myth and imagination can call to you from the strangest of places. I am attracted to taking pictures of the strangest things, like rusted wire, abandoned buildings and patterns in the asphalt. They inspire me to tell their stories.
I have been lucky so far in my art career to not get badly burned but there are occasions when I have felt decidedly uneasy. Due diligence is needed as an artist, especially if you are travelling, spending money for exhibitions or when posting on the internet. Things can go wrong even with the best plans, so be aware!
Can artists save the world? Papermakers are giving it a try! Presenting at the International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists (IAPMA) congress in Dresden were papermakers from around the world, sharing ideas, goodwill and challenging us to find creative ways to be sustainable.
What does a landscape reveal? In Ireland the west coast is full of the relics of stone towers and castles where lives were lived and battles fought. What we learn when we travel is not always aligned with the histories taught at school.
What objects do you keep and what stories do they tell? Museums are great storehouses of stories told through the collection of objects. Souvenirs of place and time, preserved through fate or passed down through generations.
The Caledonian Pine or Scots Pine tree seems to symbolise all that is tough and hardy about Scotland. Through it I feel the tug and pull of my DNA, my ancestors voices in the wind, calling. I wrote a poem which became a drawing and then a video. I love the way the artistic process unfolds as you work.
Much of art research is collecting information or data, then conceptualising how this can be creatively expressed. Collecting data about the weather has become a rich source of inspiration in the Western Highlands for over a hundred years. I’m carrying it forward…
