Ann Blockley - Creativity Through Nature: Foraged, Recycled and Natural Mixed-Media Art

Teasels and RosehipsWatercolour and inks, using wild rose leaves for mark-making.

This book explores whether an immersion in nature might help stimulate or re-engage artists in their creative process and help alleviate negative artists blocks. It also looks at a variety of more organic and possibly more sustainable practices and mediums. Nature is not simply a picturesque subject; it is wild, even uncomfortable, but also has the potential to rejuvenate and fill our senses with wonder and delight. Being connected with nature extends far beyond the visual, and the book is not only concerned with finding different ways to record nature but also how to be in a more natural way. It is not just about using watercolour; it is a holistic approach to encourage an art-making lifestyle that flows from a first-hand knowledge of the natural world, using mediums that are more friendly to that world. We will explore how drawing closer to our primal roots can be beneficial to ourselves, our art and our environment.

I want to delve into a darker, earthier kind of nature and establish more grounded connections with place. I have included many of my usual subjects such as hedgerows, landscapes and woodlands but, as the planet succumbs to increasingly frightening events, it felt appropriate to confront the very elements of nature too. We will adventure into the rituals, myths and magic that are becoming alien to us and invoke enchantment, a childish outlook or a beginners mind. Lets feel the dirt under our fingernails; go back in time to our foraging and gathering heritage. Let the guiding principle be to enjoy the process and intrinsic values of being creative within all areas of our lives, rather than concentrating on an end product. We will explore how we can create in alternative ways with a particular emphasis on found materials, reducing, reusing and recycling. Ephemeral and conceptual ways of working will also be looked at.

If we are mindful of what is happening in nature, it is likely to give back to us in immeasurable ways, nurturing our creativity, inspiring us and breathing back flow when our artistic stream runs dry.

Deep in the forest theres an unexpected clearing that can be reached only by someone who has lost his way.

Tomas Transtrmer

Quite recently, I thought I had reached the end of the road as an artist. I questioned whether I wanted to continue painting and was certain that I had written my final book. I felt that I had nothing left to say. But gradually, the bud of an idea formed and grew until my thinking blossomed. Some thoughts flourished while others withered, but once the main concept properly took root, within just two seasons my world had turned. I was excited to recognize being at the start of an adventure that was personally life-changing and realized that my ideas might resonate with other artists. This book is the fruit of my discoveries and my way of spreading these fertile seeds of thought about a different way to be an artist in the modern world. I have shared stories about how I have coped with and reacted to fears and situations that have affected my own creativity. I hope this personal chronicle will give you positive thoughts for moving forward with your own creative narrative. If the book is too autobiographical, I make no apologies. The only thing that I am truly an expert in is being myself and only by speaking from this personal position could there be strength and authenticity behind my words.

A few years ago, I had breast cancer. It is a common disease but it was a devastating time and I felt as though I was no longer me. I remember returning from hospital one desperate day and sitting under our magnolia tree. As I looked around our magical garden, I felt the warm sun on my back, heard the blackbird singing his tune and watched the flowers starting to unfurl. I remember thinking, Life goes on. Nature continues and as a part of nature so can I. I proceeded to hurl myself into a creative frenzy with my book