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I arrived at the residency with bold plans to dive back into my large-format geological paintings after two years of a slower pace of work due to growing and raising a baby boy, who came along to Mawddach Crescent with me along with my husband, a non-artist, as caregiver. I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to re-establish my practice in this way - the combination of the space offered by the residency along with the time freed up by my long-suffering partner meant I was able to spend at least 6 hours painting most days around childcare.
In the end, while I came away with a huge selection of sketches, reference photos, maps and ideas to bring into future geological work, the work I made was not the work I expected, as I couldn't stop painting small flash studies of the estuary and the views around the house. On reflection, it was strange to think that I could dive back into my most evolved form of work after time away, as well as to think that motherhood wouldn't change the way I thought about my work. As it was, I painted at a lightning pace, trying to get every second of painting time out of the residency and reassuring myself that I still 'had it'! There was time for the geological reflections I really value, particularly the serendipitous discovery that the rocks the house is built on were formed in an estuary, 500 million years ago and very similar to what we see today! It really kicked off some ideas around the intersection of present day and ancient spaces, and how to separate my work from time and human viewpoints. I was so grateful to Jake and Scarlett for offering time for some kind, incisive and sharp criticism on my work (which I asked for, and I asked them to be sharp with it!) which highlighted areas of future development as well as giving me a bit more direction for my practice. If I take one thing away with me, it's that description which Jake's probing questioning elicited, that I view my work as an act of worship towards great and uncaring natural forces. What do I do with this idea? It's clear, though, that my time by the Mawddach isn't done and the world is sending me signs to that effect. Having never heard the word Mawddach before in my life, at Earth's Canvas, the art and geology symposium held two weeks after my residency (which I spent the last two years of my life organising) I heard the name no less than three times, spoken by different artists and presenters in their talks! If that isn't the estuary calling me back, I don't know what is. website
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