Day two of my collaboration with Suna Imre was to experiment with mark-making through birdsong. This is a meditative process that Suna has been practising. By listening to birdsong early each morning, she creates spontaneous ink brush marks responding to the sounds.

We walked to the top of St. Catherines hill in Winchester where we laid out large scrolls of paper and tubs of black ink on the ground. Our first birdsong notation we did together, working on the same scroll using large paint brushes. We made marks to the sounds of the birds, the wind in the trees, passersby and planes in the sky.

We then worked on individual scrolls, creating large marks with no plan and responding to the sounds of the present moment. We poured water onto the ink marks letting them disperse, creating movement and fluidity.

Supported by Suna, I found it liberating to be able to draw with no judgement and be completely free with my expressive marks. I felt that I was able to let my subconscious express rather than consciously making it into something. Making art in a public space among trees and sitting on the grass, rather than in a contained studio at a table, took me out of my comfort zone and gave me a fresh environment to create.

It gave me another opportunity to connect with the natural environment, this time through sound rather than material. It allowed me to slow down, be present and listen.

Suna Imre Website

St Catharine’s Hill

Meditation through creating

being present in the moment

listening and mark-making to bird song

the sound of the wind in the trees

drawing with complete freedom and no judgement

large scale, expressive

sharing and listening to each other

Using plants, local resources and materials

weaving and ceramics seen as womens work

collaboration through mindset and process