Charlotte Semlyen

This was my first artist residency, and my plan was to immerse myself in the land, celebrating the majesty and sacred aspects of nature. I was extra lucky to be going with my daughter Elsa, a recently-graduated artist who also responds to nature in her work.
 
Arriving at this most beautiful and welcoming of places, we spent a few days in wondrous disbelief: how could this magical space be just for us? I could have spent hours watching light move on the mountains and heron glide across the estuary. I found myself a favourite sit spot, where sea, mountains and oak woods all convened, and this is where I returned to when I needed guidance or grounding.

I began mapping my walks into a concertina sketch book, a project I’d had in mind for years. I loved the process of reflecting on each journey I'd taken, remembering the shapes I’d carved into the land with my footsteps. I became drawn to making simple map shapes that appeared to move on the page like figures dancing. My text became more minimal, and had different focuses (I mapped a walk with an old friend using our conversation topics, a walk with fatigue recorded the symptoms I was noticing). My maps help me remember the feeling of connection with - and belonging to - the land.
 
Being witnessed and recorded by artists when I modelled for the Draw portrait session was another profound experience. I wanted my pose to embody themes of autumn, which was happening in the external world, and inside my body as menopause. Learning to rest properly has been crucial for my health, with autumn teaching me to slow down and let go. This opportunity was like a performance piece where I could express my feelings about autumnal rest by lying on the studio floor, oak leaves scattered around me.
 
Meanwhile the stimulation of all this excitement and beauty, art and inspiration was becoming quite intense. There was no pressure to produce work, but I wanted to honour the spirit of the place, respond to my ideas and make meaningful work - a potentially overwhelming combination! I attempted to ground myself with barefoot walks on slippery river stones, and towards the end of the second week, I took to my bed for a day.
 
The next morning, still wobbly, I laid long sheets of rice paper, feathers, sticks and pots of ink on the studio windowsill and drew the birds I'd been watching and hearing all fortnight. It was as if the attention I had paid them had soaked me in their essence, and the images just flew out. It was very special to find that flow state during my last few days.

Elsa and I were the first parent/child artist pair at Mawddach, and were aware of how precious this experience was for our relationship, as well as our artistic development. We were open to collaboration, and while we did draw each other and make shared drawings (playing walk, stop!, draw, swap!), our true partnership was in the way we interacted. Halfway through, we held a crit using a model Elsa learned at uni - I’d never had my work looked at so deeply before, and it was powerful to hear her thoughts and feelings. Before the residency, I’d been concerned about getting pulled into ‘mother mode’, but what I hadn’t anticipated is that Elsa could mother me when needed, that mothering is an act of love not confined to parents! Perhaps because uniquely we were together as artists, we found new ways to support each other practically and emotionally as well as creatively.
 
I will be forever grateful to Scarlett and Jake for giving us this incredible, generous opportunity. Returning home was a little unsettling, like I had left part of myself in Mawddach. For two weeks, we lived in a beautiful universe where art and kindness were the most important things, and now I need to find a way to keep them alive in this world too.

 
M oss, moon, magpie, mud. Mushrooms, mountains, marsh. Mother, model. Magical, mystical.
 
A rtists, Arthog, autumn.
 
W aterfalls, woods, wildness, wonder. Wren, weather, wind, water. Walking.
 
D unnock, drawing, daughter.
 
D raw, dinner, diolch!
 
A corns, apples, art, awareness.
 
C ymru, community, Cadair Idris. Clock chimes, crow calls. Chaffinch, colours, creative, CAT.
 
H eron, holly, hawthorn. Hospitality, homely, heaven, heart.
 
Charlotte Semlyen
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