Earthly Residuum

I had a revelation at yoga today (this is where revelations seem to happen of late) that my artistic expression is currently hemispherical with a distinct overground and underground separation. I called a series of paintings ‘Hemispheres’ in 2022 and at the time it seemed to express a very vague idea of darkness and beauty in balance but the notion is becoming clearer to me. In the same way I am viewing my paintings as boneyards below ground but pretty above ground. The earthly goo I am finding so satisfying in the compost heap with its fungal forms, critters and botanical divarications are so different to the delicate, white, much prettier paper forms I am creating from the goo. I expect becoming too literal about the distinction will take me back to old habits of trying to tie it all up too neatly with a bow and strangle the idea. What I am seeing however is a a gentle revelation of sorts: the earth, the bones, the earthly residuum, the cycles and light, pretty and gooey in the same instance.

I googled the term ‘earthly residuum’ and the first result details decomposition of bone, leaving mostly calcium phosphate, which seems fitting. I do see the earth as a boneyard and my work seems to have pulled into this particular creative lay-by for a pitstop and to take in the view. I started to draw the critters of the CH but got bored quickly, I don’t see my work going down the insect route other than the fireflies. I remain open however. The fungi seems a more interesting possibility and I am immediately drawn to the floral forms and delicate patterns.

Dryad’s Saddle, also known as Pheasants’ Back

I have been mushroom hunting in Savernake and found these Dryad’s Saddle fungi, which are about the size of a side plate. They are so beautiful and I feel the surface patterns might provide some inspiration for the compost drawings that fell short. I have also ordered some liquid latex and was wondering about casting fughi in paper or similar, although I don’t think I can cast paper with latex moulds. I have some paper clay I ordered just before the end of term and I might be able to use the latex to create a thin, slurry like paper ceramic cast. Fungi has been turning up for me quite a bit and seems to be relevant to the compost heap in so many ways. After reading Anna Tsing’s Mushroom at the End of the World, it seems fungi can be the symbol of precarity and hope.

I have started to learn about common types of bracket mushroom found in the UK - https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2021/10/bracket-fungi-identification/