AnnaMargaret Art

Following my initial thinking about habitat words, I've begun to experiment with different ways of expressing/displaying/recording these words. I wanted quick results, so my first idea was to draw the word 'habitat' on some kitchen roll, wrap it around a scrap of thick vinyl wallpaper for stability, dampen it, and then sow some cress seeds along the line of my handwriting. I've taken photos of the first few days, and will monitor how/if the seeds grow, and whether there's mileage in the idea.  I'm not sure yet how this might translate into something a little more substantial for my project, or whether I might need to use a different 'growing' idea. It was incredibly fiddly to get the seeds to 'behave' and line up on the damp paper - as they became damp themselves they stuck together, to my fingers, and to the tools I was using.  If I take this idea further, I will look at less frustrating and more efficient ways of 'sowing' seeds! Day 1 D

  We had a site visit to Saltaire in January 2023, including a wander around the private allotment site, taking photographs in and around Salts Mill, and investigating the Old Washhouse Garden, to give context for the piece of work for this module. Letting the experience sink in afterwards, I thought about the definition of the word ‘habitat’, and related words and synonyms (one of my ‘things’ has always been around words). Playing with these words I realised that the ones that resonated deeply were ones like ‘home’, ‘safety’, ‘haven’, and so on.   I also looked at antonyms (opposites) just for balance, and again the words that resonated were the opposites of the words above, around the idea of being restricted, hemmed in, or feeling unsafe. I played with the idea of habitats as containers, literally and metaphorically, and created some different objects.   I chopped up an old, plastic milk carton and stitched it back together to make a ‘house’, plaited and corded different sorts of pl

Our current module focuses on the theme of Habitat, and we have been asked to produce a piece of work inspired by this to feature in the Saltaire Arts Trail in May 2023. To give us background and inspiration, we visited Saltaire in January 2023 to see Salts Mill, the private allotment site, and the Old Wash House Garden - the latter being the site for our art works.   I love how nature slowly encroaches onto, into, and through man-made structures, and the allotment, in particular, had plenty of evidence of this: moss and algae covers almost all wooden surfaces, metals are rusting, old bathtubs are full of life of all kinds, and plants overgrow them all. I like the fact that the old furniture has taken on a new lease of life in the allotment, and not just been thrown away once no longer needed in someone's home.  It feeds into my interest in re-using as much as possible for as long as possible. I was intrigued by how different elements became layered up with these objects.  The varn