Following the week long residency in Porthleven at the beginning of March with 14 other creative students. We all had to give a presentation to a panel of judges. Following that presentation I was lucky enough to be selected to return to Porthleven for a further two week fully funded residency with only 6 of the other students. This time however we were asked to respond to the theme of Provenance in preparation for an exhibition in November at Sion Hill gallery and one in March 2019 back at the Life Boat Studio in Porthleven.

For the two weeks we were given a studio on the harbour in Porthleven where we could start to gather idea and work on pieces we had discussed in our presentations. We were greatly encouraged to work collaboratively as well as individually. It was an amazing opportunity to return and be able to fully immerse ourselves in the place enjoying both the natural beauty of the sea shore and cliff tops as well as the more urban environments. We visited local galleries such as Tate St Ives, saw four works featuring in the Groundworks exhibitions and attended the Flora Festival in Helston. Being able to work in such a different environment really breathed new life into my practise and encouraged me to experiment with new forms of art and new ways of printmaking. 

Drypoint plate in preparation for second Porthleven residency

During the two weeks the main body of my responsive work centred around making drypoint plates using the place and environment. I took some plates for walks across different parts of Porthleven using the landscape to make the marks needed to take a print. I saw this as a way of capturing a moment, a trace of place. I was also pleased when the others in the group became interested in my work and wanted to take part in making some of the plates. Deborah, (MA Fine Art) even let me attach one to her and she walked on the beach. Katie, (BA Fine Art) also took part in this. About half way through the residency I became interested in the effect of the sea on the land and the natural erosion which had been causing problems for the local community for a long time. Thinking about this I decided to put some of the plates into the sea and let the tide affect them. It was really the noticeable differences between plates in the sea on a calm day and those put out on a stormy day. It was a fascinating project which I really enjoyed.

This picture shows one of my drypoint plates in the sea.

Working with and looking at ephemeral printmaking (onto skin)

One of the other ideas I pitched at the presentation was using prints I made in response to the first Porthleven residency and then printing them onto skin, looking at ephemeral printmaking. I wanted to investigate the effect the sea would have on the pebble prints on the body in relation to the effect the sea has on the pebble son the beach. I worked with Mariana and Alex on this photoshoot and Mariana wore the prints and interacted with the landscape. We went down to the rock pools, Alex helped to choreograph small film sequences as well as think of different positions for Mariana to pose in. It was so interesting to see how Mariana danced with prints being on her skin and I loved the outcome when she walked into the water and the waves began to wash the prints away.

Katie and I had also been discussing the possibility of a collaborative performance piece using the Porthleven Holiday cottage webcam,. We worked on ideas throughout the residency and on the 10th of May following some advertising we performed live. I used some of my plates during this as well as getting others to create some during the performance.

I learned so much from this residency and am excited to continue to produce work for the exhibition following my return from Porthleven. I have made some great friends and hopefully will also be able to continue to work collaboratively with all of them in the future.