Dirt in the fingers, clay in the toes oozing life We emerge from the body screaming with life, on a journey that returns us to the dirt, to feed the creator of life the earth. As it is about how we connect with the land as humans, from the carnal nature of birth to our turning to dust at death. Be that ephemeral, ethereal, or physical through body, mind, or spirit. We are never really disconnected from the land but we do choose to ignore it.
Our bodies, skin, and bone are not all we are, we have other connections with the world around us, with the earth, sky, and nature, our instincts, soul, or spirit however you call it, the essence of nature is in us all.
Residencies, are great ways to focus the mind and contemplate the progression of an arts practice, I have only done a few and they are really fulfilling and each time have moved my work further on its path and creted a more indpeth connection with what I do and the world around me.
Painting and drawing are fundamental to a creative mind, from sketching ideas to creating a finished work of “art”.
I use painting and drawing as a way to relax but also as a form of research to explore colours, materials, and matter that relates to the subject I am researching, sometimes these become works, and sometimes they are simply research…
My practice explores the extended field of drawing and painting which incorporates, many types of materials, here is a selection of work from pencil, charcoal, detritus, and found objects to oil paints and inks…
The landscape has always evoked experiences ranging from awe-inspiring to contemplative. Tracing the origins to the 18th century and the enlightenment notions that nature is controllable, to the 19th-century belief of its transcendental power.
In my work landscape and the environment, are used as a framework to investigate further the relationship between nature and culture.
Post-Landscape gives rise to the social, political, and philosophical landscapes we inhabit. This work is looking at these interrelationships through the female gaze, as an artist and mother. I have been exploring the landscape as an extension of humankind, to see how our relationship with nature could change.
Residencies…
Royal Drawing School Residency at Dumfries House,
Paintings, Drawings and photography…
Casey was the co-ordinator of the artists’ residencies, which take place all year round except Christmas. Run by the Royal Drawing School (another of HRH The Prince of Wales’s initiatives), they were devised for its alumni and last for between one and four weeks. More than 200 artists have set up their easels in the studios since they opened in 2013, and they often return. “We also have residencies in Tuscany,” says Catherine Goodman, the Royal Drawing School’s Artistic Director and co-founder, “but the ones at Dumfries House are the most popular – I think because it’s such an inspiring place and there’s so much going on.” The artists are chosen by a jury of influential art-world figures who meet twice a year in London.
ROYAL DRAWING SCHOOL RESIDENCY AT DUMFRIES HOUSE, SCOTLAND
In February 2018, my university, Glasgow School of Art, awarded me a place on this fully funded, two-week residency at the end of my Fine Art MLitt Painting Masters. This international program provides four artists with catered accommodation, a private studio, and complete access to the Dumfries House Estate.
The programme emphasizes working from observation and developing new work. I spent my time investigating the vast grounds around the buildings, taking influence from the wild nature of the trees and the hidden corners of overgrowth. I found trees naturally shaped as animals in my eyes and ancient moss roots laying a path to follow. There were intriguing old buildings dotted around, which spiked my interest in photographs.
Trees, Seeds, Rituals at The Basement Galley
The Basement Gallery was a quaint, small place I stumbled across while visiting Canada. We got talking, and they asked me to stay on and do a residency of my observations as a first-time visitor to the area. How would I explain what I found? How would I draw what I saw?
Trees, Seeds, and Rituals, is what came of this residency, from observing the nature and the city, as it emerged from hibernation, the snow melted, and the city awoke.
RITUAL INK DRAWINGS
Residency - studio 11, Folkestone ‘The object can not be contained’