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It has been a very expanding and affirming experience spending time at the Mawddach Residency, sensitively hosted by Scarlett and Jake and alongside lovely fellow artist Anna. We had a good mixture of deep conversations and respectful quiet. To have use of a studio in a new space was exciting and after a few days I fell into a new rhythm that reflected the tides of the estuary outside the window, sweeping into the studio each morning to rearrange thoughts from the day before and then heading out towards the sea. Each day at low tide I walked along the estuary to the bridge to explore the secret worlds revealed when the tide is out; beautifully carved patterns in the sand and treasures swept in on the previous tide. These treasures were taken back to the studio to sort through, some returned to the water and some brought home in my suitcase to press into clay later. Although I was always alone under the bridge, I could sometimes hear people walking overhead and enjoyed the secrecy of this. I spent time in the magical woods and bogs behind the house, taking photos with a little clip on fish-eye lens on my phone to try and capture the otherworldliness of the place. I was captivated by many things, how the roots cling to the rocks, the mossy worlds on fallen trees and the bracket fungus the size of a car tyre.
As well as photos and works on paper I brought back lots of words, snippets of ideas and things to think about, prompts such as 'what do the trees do at night?' which I had taped to the wall to help my process. I have so much to work on from the experience and I think it will stay with me for a long time, both the internal and the external landscapes. Clare Day
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