Cesis, Latvia
8th September - 18th October 2020
While on residency at Rucka I worked on my 'Dissecting the Specimen' project. The project explored how we engage with plant matter, its physicality and ephemerality. Using a range of materials across drawing, painting and sculpture, I focused on the pattern, form and texture to break the specimen down into its physical components. The resulting work aimed to detach and distort from the original specimens in order to reframe and refresh the ways in which we view and engage with the natural world around us.
Nature Patterns in Watercolour and Vein Drawings in Cerne Relief
Spherical Specimens in Clay
Cubic Specimens in Plaster
Workshop with students from the Art School in Cesis
While on residency, I also conducted a 2 day workshop with students from the art school in Cesis, who were currently taking ceramics classes. The aim of the class was to engage the students in a specific method in my practice, while also connecting them with local plant matter.
The first day of the workshop focused on collecting specimens from Rucka Park and then imprinting them into clay. A week later, the children then painted their fired ceramics and this was where their unique styles really shone through, see images to the right.