September 2019

This was an organic project that unraveled throughout a day at High Park in Toronto. My intentions were to sit in the park and have my experience guide my work. I was previously influenced by the work of Time Knowles, in particular, his ”Tree Drawings”. I was inspired by the idea of giving nature free reign in the artistic process, and allowing nature to speak for itself through mark-making. The following images are process shots from the project, which involved making an ink from Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), applying the ink to various plant leaves and flowers, and letting the plants be moved by the wind to create marks on paper. 

The following video was taken later in the same day. Attracted to the fluid flow of shadow on the concrete, I attempted to capture the light beams as they fell on the ground by outlining them in Buckthorn ink. The process investigates transience, impermanence, the fluidity of nature, and the futility of trying to capture it.