Mugwort Ink

HOLE & CORNER ARTIST RESIDENCY

I had the most nourishing time with Mugwort in London, dreaming up a new creative driection for my art..

The week commenced with my dear friend Claire Loussouarn, a fellow student for the past few years on our course at the School of Intuitive Herbalism. Claire is a movement artist, filmmaker, herbalist and anthropologist. Her movement practice is based outdoors in dialogue with nature and the more-than-human world. We’ve enjoyed some beutiful collaborative movement and creativity rituals together over the years.

She is about to publish a movement book ‘How to be feral: Movement practices to rewild your body’ with Triarchy Press, which invites us to free our bodies from the restraint of social and cultural conditioning.

We went out onto Hackney Marshes, to a place Claire has been moving every month for the past 3 years.

I was honoured to be introduced to this special place on the liminal edges of the big city. A place with so much Mugwort, growing so tall, that it felt like we were concealed on a deep forest away from the busy city.

We dropped into the Mugwort’s space and tuned in. Before allowing movement inspired by being in relationship with Mugwort, to flow through..

It was such a beautiful experience, and some of which we captured clips of on film to share.

This movement and harvesting of the plants in their place, was my initiation into the week..

I took Mugwort with me into the Hole&Corner HQ for a week of plant-inspired creativity.

To begin with I wanted to see what colours I could find in Mugwort..I’ve many experiences of different colours coming for uncertain reasons - and I was excited to find that a gold colour came from one stage of dye extraction, and another process gave incredible deep emerald greens..I’ll share more details about the recipes with my online subscribed membership community..

We suspended a huge wand of Mugwort from the ceiling to dry ad for harvesting throughout the week.

This large quantity of drying plant along with the aromatic steam filling the space from brewing teas and dye pots was quite the transcendental space to slip into a creative bodily space..

I planned to draw Mugwort still life in a vase, but found that I became intrigued by the intricate beauty of the single leaves which I’d gently teased off of their stems. Each one so unique and so elegantly structured. I’m reminded of the beautiful Mugwort leaves curling into repeat patterns in William Morris’ famous prints..

I felt to draw a few of the single leaflets which I’d become quite magnetised to.

I then translated this onto wood and took a couple of days to hand carve them into woodblocks for printing.

This practise is quiet and restful..I enjoyed the opportunity to work with my hands more than usual - it feels healthy.

The inks were reducing and ready to mix with plant starch to thicken and test print..

I tried out a few different types of paper, a few different recipes of the ink, varying consistency, colour and modifications with ph levels..

I’m listing a few of these prints up on my website shop for purchasing.

Each one a unique print.