First drawings using ink I’ve made from acorn galls of a skeleton poppy head from my front garden...

Happy new year!

Inspired by increased time spent outside growing things over the past year, and also the fact that we’ll clearly be based at home for a good while yet, I’ve invented a ‘virtual residency’ for myself in my garden for 2021.

My aim is to give myself a clear focus for creating new work over the next 12 months, but with an emphasis on learning and developing new techniques and processes.

I’m hoping it will evolve as I go along, and it will need to fit in with working full-time, but I’m looking forward to investigating the inspiration outside my back door a lot more closely.

First (made up) rule of the garden residency - draw more. Second rule - try to use more natural materials in my work.