Artist Q&A
Nel
One of my earliest words was one of my own making, a word meaning music, according to my Mother, though it sounds a lot like ocean to me. When I listen to the sea, losing myself in its sound, I am struck by how long it has sung, how ancient its song. I think the impulse to create goes way, way back.
Where shall we begin, when did you start making?
I have been referring to drawing as “a practice”, in an attempt to get away from traditional expectations, for the last twenty five years or so. But, where I find myself now, is given sharper definition by more recent events. Though I hesitate to mention Covid, it wasn’t all dire. The pandemic was a chance to step back, and many embraced the opportunity to stop and reconsider.
We heard a lot about the benefits of adopting a low-key life style - an abrupt change of tune for the mainstream given its previous line in implied criticism, but gratifying to find so many in agreement with me. We were being encouraged to take our time and pay attention! There was solidarity and a sense of agency. We could appreciate how much we have close to hand, and take a good, honest look at our relationship with the environment.
Where do you practice?
I’ve been taking a sketchbook with me to the numerous doctor and hospital appointments that elderly parents, plus a few of my own, entail, (thanks for the tip, Katya). It helps to alleviate the strain, and I’m finding an unintended humour in the situation.I am more at home outside though, in a natural environment, and I think of my practice as spending time there. Maybe it’s just that, no more, no less.
I’m lucky, living on the Gower Peninsular. I grew up here, and identify with the coast, burrows, wood, farm and common land - all so familiar, and yet, what do I really know? I welcome a fresh perspective. I have thoroughly enjoyed Laura Dutton’s visits, walks with a fungi focus. Sharp eyes, curiosity, enthusiasm and more than a little knowledge: unsuspected wonders underfoot, home-ground become strange.
A workshop with Stacey Keay (www.we-are-woven.co.uk) proved similarly eye-opening. Since she came to Gower a few years ago, Stacey has developed a process of direct botanical printing, using freshly gathered plant material from around her studio. There was an appreciable “Wow!” moment to this introduction, when results were revealed. In an email I wrote effusively of, “the vivid colours, yellows and greens, all from the plants,” and that, “I had come away with such a sense of the complexity, not just of the natural world, but how much more there is to the stuff of our surroundings, more than we can ever know.”
Tell us about your influences and engagement with the wider world.
The focus on drawing practice through the early 2000s undoubtedly influenced my direction. The movement coincided with my move back home, and the need to locate my work. It proved an informed and supportive resource.
Stimulating discussion and exhibitions proliferated. The Jerwood Drawing Prize toured with selections of work. They seemed determined to stretch parameters as wide as possible, while, at the other extreme, a small exhibition of Leonard da Vinci’s drawings from the Royal Collection, spoke for itself.
Another influence, at around the same time, was the Alexander Technique. A discipline for mind and body, it is the knack of not interfering and allowing a body’s natural poise to assert itself. Simple, if evasive, the principal can be applied to almost anything. Drawing is one example. By disregarding the outcome the emphasis changes, freeing the process of ingrained preconceptions, which tend to interfere. It becomes an invitation to be in the present and open to possibilities. Who knows what may emerge, or where it may lead. When I draw, “I’m only ever finding my way”.
The way I relate to my hypersensitivity is informed by the Alexander Technique. The experience suggests benefits on a wider scale. Maintaining open and balanced relations is an approach that also applies within our ecosystem. We could do less. Nature’s come-back during lock-down was, to my mind, a prescient demonstration of how effective the principal can be. When we don’t interfere the natural way of things will reassert itself. Our current attitudes are contributing to ecological distress. But, there is less of a disconnect than I thought, and, with recognition of a mutual relationship, our innate sense of connection will only deepen and grow.
Let’s take a walk.
