I'm thrilled to be selected as the 2021 artist-in-residence at Clifford Gouldson Lawyers at Toowoomba.  Over the course of eight weeks, I will be visiting their office every Friday to meet their staff and clients, work on new concepts and conduct some mini cyanotype workshops. I will be creating a new body of cyanotype on fabric works combining photos of elements of local architecture and flora in the region.
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On my first week I spent the morning exploring Queens Park and the botanic gardens, taking photos and collecting some samples of flora that I found on the ground. I then spent the afternoon at the CGL office chatting with staff and meeting some of their clients. Had some great conversations about art and looking forward to my next week in the office.

I was recently contacted by a poet, Sally Denshire, who wrote a poem in response to my cyanotype artwork Flourish, that was the winning artwork in the Flying Arts Alliance Qld Regional Art Awards in 2020. To be gifted this poem that beautifully describes my artwork and current art practice is such a joy. Thank you Sally.
 
A Lineage of Ecologies

Each sea blue petal, gathered

in honour of Detritus, was slow

stitch’d  into this teeming quilt,

this bowerbird mandala,

this cathedral rose window

in the navy night,

this rock pool in kaleidoscope.

And now the Seaweeds, from

Photographs of British Algae

to whom Flourish is indebted,

wave from their 19th century pages

in a lineage of ecologies.

  Sally Denshire

Sally Denshire PhD is an occasional poet based in Albury, NSW. She enjoys crafting poetry in response to selected works of art. Please visit the following links to read some of her recent ekphrastic poems:
‘after Horses’  
https://riparianalbury.com/2017/11/17/after-horses-painted-by-ian-fairweather-c-1960/,
On Joy Hester’s late portraits of girls’ 
https://not-very-quiet.com/issue-7-september-2020/
‘A Lineage of Ecologies’ after Flourish by Leanne Vincent, 2020
 https://riparianalbury.com/2021/01/23/a-lineage-of-ecologies/ 

Day 4. Trip to Lithgow. Lithgow reminds me a lot of my Queensland home at Ipswich. The people seem familiar, some empty shops, and a strong mining history is evident. The town has a lot more commercial/industrial heritage buildings than Ipswich, is very green and is nestled among mountains. More studio work in the afternoon and a local walk, and again lots of cups of tea and white-hot chocolate to keep warm.  Back in the studio I prepared some more materials for my upcoming workshop and made some digital negatives. Also set up my wildlife camera on a tree behind the studio to see if could catch and wildlife activity overnight.
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Today I received my digital Testamur from Deakin University, which means I have officially graduated in absentia. Just a little Graduate Certificate in Museums Studies that I started last year. What I learnt during these studies has already informed my curatorial practice as well as my art practice. Life is a constant journey of learning!
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Day 5. More comfortable in the studio. Today I made some changes to the layout of the studio as I become comfortable with my processes and start printing some sample cyanotypes on fabrics. I also brought in a blanket and pillow for the old and very cold leather lounges that have become my thinking and laptop space. Set up a tea and snacks stations so I don't have to keep popping back to the cottage. This studio has a kitchen with everything you could need and lots of items that come in handy for my work. Checked the wildlife camera memory card over breakfast and found I had captured a wallaby. Will be interesting to see what other wildlife is around the cottage. Had a surprise visit from a local today who popped into the studio to welcome me and a quick chat. It's been great to pick up some local knowledge from my visitors.

Day 6. Very cold and rainy today. Lots of hot drinks again and wrapped in blankets. Did some web research and cut out a lot of fabric circles ready for exposing when the sun returns. Checked my wildlife camera and unfortunately didn't capture any activity overnight. I heard some different bird calls today, when the rain eased off. I wasn’t unable to spot them though. Hopefully I will be able to photograph them over the next few weeks. I attended the community BBQ at the fire station this evening and met some more of the locals. They were a wealth of information and I asked lots of questions. Feels good to be right next door to the fire station in case anything should happen. They told me the last big bush fire to come through this area was in 2013. There is only one road in and out of Mt Wilson and Mt Irvine so if anything happens to that road, like a bush fire, the community is completely cut off. It's great that so many of this community support the fire station.
 
Day 7. Working in the studio . Another cold day working in the studio. Popping outside to photograph birds when I hear a new call. I’ve listed 11 bird species around the studio so far. Still waiting to see the Gang Gang Cockatoo. I've been told it makes a creaking sound, which I have actually heard outside although I thought it was just the trees making that noise. lol 

Anyway, I've had a very interesting and creative week and am looking forward to the next 3 weeks. 
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I'm thrilled to be selected as one of eight artists who were awarded the Mt Wilson Artist in Residence Scholarship for their 2019/2020 residency program. I will be the first artist to live and work in the old school house and teacher's cottage, located at Mt Wilson in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, 

During my stay I will be experimenting with  photographic and printing techniques and will be conducting a Cyanotype workshop for the local residents, an open studio to meet the locals and visitors to the region, and staging an exhibition of my work made during my four weeks residency.

As Mt Wilson and Mt Irvine are garden communities with several hiking trails through the Blue Mountains, I'm looking forward to making work about the natural environment and photographing this region in their spectacular Spring season.

I will be writing a blog during my residency and sharing my progress on social media. So if you are interested please check back to my News Blog and my Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/LeAnneVincentPhotographer/

                                                            Merle Thornton AM