‘Carys Owen Graham
‘The Sigh’
As I drove over the 17th Street Bridge and looked across at the newly restored riverbank, I felt an enormous wave of relief pass through me- as if the river was also sighing. In keeping with my theme of eco-sytems and inter-connectedness, I wanted to capture this feeling of deep relief in my drawing.
As I contemplated how to do this, I came across an article that guided me through the process of making my own ink. Some of the food stuffs I used originated in my Lush Valley Good Food Box- namely the beetroot and the spinach.
As I got ready to draw, I crossed the bridge a number of times to reconnect with the feeling I first experienced. Then I started drawing intuitively endeavouring to not think too much on purpose and to allow the shapes and images to convey the meaning.
It was a beautiful experience to draw with inks I had made in colours that are so soft and natural. As with my poetry, this drawing celebrates the wonders of the natural world with the aim of encouraging connection and hope.
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Reflection on ‘The Sigh’
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My initial ideas went through quite a transformation although the inspiration remained the same. I was encouraged to abstract my response to the rewilding of the riverbank called Kus-Kus-Sum. The thing I wanted to express is the visceral feeling of relief and joy I experience when crossing the river and seeing the newly restored village site. To connect with this, I crossed the bridge several times and rather than taking photos, I paid attention to the feeling in my body.
Since abstraction is a risk for me as I tend to create more realistic drawings, I spent some time studying the art of Anne Diener who has created many fragmented landscape drawings. I also endeavoured to approach my drawing intuitively- without a plan and without too much deliberate thinking.
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It was my aim to use inks for my drawing and as I researched various approaches, I came across an interesting blog post about making ink from vegetables and fruits. It grabbed my attention immediately and I went to my fridge to see what resources were there. I discovered some beetroot and spinach from My Lush Valley Good Food Box and some red onions and frozen blueberries. I also opted for some black tea that I had bought at the Tea Centre in Courtenay.
I set to work to grate, peel, mash and prepare the foods for simmering in a small amount of water. After about 15 mins I filtered the liquid and returned it to the pan to reduce. Following this I added gum arabica and a clove stick to the cooled ink. This process occured five times to achieve the five inks. It was enjoyable and also demanded concentration to be sure to follow the process carefully for each one.
When I tested the inks I was delighted with the colour palette. I found that the blueberry and the beetroot were strong enough to go in a couple of fountain pens I found. The other inks were applied by dip pen and paintbrush. It was quite challenging to control the ink with the dip pen so I proceeded slowly. I found that the blueberry ink went on quite pale but darkened with oxidation to give a pleasing effect.
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If I were to have more time, I would like to make inks with other fruits and veggies- perhaps golden beets, raspberries and spinach (to make it stronger/ darker).
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Many comments I received were regarding the pleasing colours. The viewers didn’t know it was homemade ink at first so I really enjoyed telling them and explaining that the colours were so beautiful because they came from fruits and vegatables. I was also content that people responded to my drawing with interest and feeling as I had created it without any discussions and honestly didn’t know if my abstractions would speak to others.
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This project taught me to trust my instincts and to not shy away from abstract art. I also learned that I enjoy making the materials that I will use to make my art. Perhaps I will try making paper in the future.
My drawing has a companion poem that I recorded and posted on my poetry website. It was foundational to my work and I was happy with the way I incorporated it into my drawing in a condensed form.
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The project links to my goal of portraying and commenting on the environment- it’s beauty and fragility. As with my poetry, my goal here is to celebrate the wonders of the natural world with the aim of encouraging connection and hope.