Prior to the DYCP, my work as a community art facilitator was separate from my personal practice. I wanted that to change. One of my concerns with this was use of materials. Leading groups/projects, I struggle to justify single-use items, mediums that are toxic or harmful to the environment in some way (especially those being washed into our waterways) and found I was accumulating excessive amounts of ‘waste’ material for reuse.

Working with interdisciplinary artist and researcher Andrew Howe on the production of plant-based inks, pigments and paper, I was able to envisage what my practice could look like in terms of material use and sustainability. It opened up areas of research and allowed me to consider long-term production, working cyclically with the seasons. I got the chance to experiment with various mordants (citric acid, alum, soda ash, ferrous sulphate and copper oxide) as well as sharing in discussions regarding particular plants. During my time at Bodenham, I gathered small samples of plant matter for the production of inks and pigments. Late summer/autumn provided berries: sloes (blackthorn), haws (hawthorn), guelder rose and dogwood. I worked with leaves and twigs from the cider orchards and collected alder cones (abundant) and oak galls (limited). Spring was excellent for young willow and spindle shoots, fired up for charcoal. New nettle growth made excellent paper pulp. Pigments later became watercolour and oil paint. As my collection grew, I began to consider how I might use them to represent certain poems/words, and which techniques might be suitable. I was also able to share these mediums with others, taking them to community sessions and projects; opening up discussions about the materials and bringing another layer of connection to our local landscape.

In my final visits to Bodenham Lake, I took with me a selection of papers and inks. I visited key sites across the reserve, each with a poem in mind. I spent time with each location, writing out a poem, reading it and rereading it until I had it to memory, then found a spot to tuck each piece away, to leave with the reserve. This was an attempt to say thank you, to at least try to give something back to the place that had given me so much.