At the start of January 2024 I began a 12 week project with University of Bristol students as part of my MA Fine Art module for collaborative practice. We foraged natural material from the grounds of Cannon Hall Museum Park and Gardens in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Using seasonal restrictions as a starting point, we focused on making carbon black pigments through a process of making charcoal. We found some of the charred material was so beautiful we couldn’t bring ourselves to grind it up for pigment, so we kept some for display as sculptures in their own right. Using the renovated historic greenhouse in the walled garden, we processed our pigments and made dozens of colour swatches as part of a mindful painting exercise.
The findings from our collaboration were displayed in the historic greenhouses within the walled garden at Cannon Hall Museum Park and Gardens during the Summer of 2024.
Foraging for blackberry brambles.
Preparing plant material for charring process.
Charred brambles in tin.
Detail of charred bramble. I saved this one because it was too beautiful to grind up.
Workshops in the North Range at Cannon Hall Museum with University of Bristol students.
Filtering charcoal to make ink in the North Range at Cannon Hall Museum.
Students processing charcoal to make watercolour paint in the North Range at Cannon Hall Museum.
Grinding charcoal before making paint in the North Range at Cannon Hall Museum.
Students making colour swatches from their paints.
Installing the colour swatches in the restored historic greenhouse within the walled gardens at Cannon Hall Museum.
Details of hanging swatches.
Detail of a colour swatch.
Outside view of the historic greenhouses where the installation took place.
View from the entrance of the greenhouses.
Inside one of the greenhouses.
Exhibition cases displaying the process of making colour.
Exhibition showing recipe sketchbook and finished outcomes.
