Discovering nature through art

Artist Lionel Playford led a community based art project to explore and appreciate the landscape of the beautiful Raven Beck at Renwick through outdoor drawing and photography expeditions and indoor art workshops with people from Renwick village and the surrounding area.

There were three stages to the project with two walking/sketching/photography excursions at Raven Beck, four indoor sessions to design and make a collective but singular work of art (using what was created, seen and experienced outdoors to create something reflective of people’s feelings for nature and landscape), and the exhibiting of the artwork.

The project was an artistic celebration of the beck, based on the participants appreciation and knowledge of the wildlife, human history, mythology, and geology of the Raven Beck near Renwick. A diverse group of people, of all ages and interests, contributed their imagination, ideas, and craft skills, and Lionel guided the group in creating an exciting and meaningful, collectively designed and made, work of art.

The final artwork celebrates nature and our shared feeling for it, and is now on public display in the Methodist Church in Renwick.