Drawn Toghter - When Art Meets The Natural World

DRAWN

WHEN ART MEETS THE NATURAL WORLD

Words: Suzy Holland Images: Clare Payne

Clare Payne, the Biosphere Artist in Residence - hosted by Manx Wildlife Trust and funded by the IoM Arts Council - says her year will be ‘steered by the public’: engaging with the community, inspiring those who might not usually be involved with art, and will, most of all, be a collaboration.

Clare’s mis-matched (her words) CV includes a degree in Zoology, teaching, presenting, video creating, photography – she was a wedding photographer prepandemic - and a family background of arty parents and an AS level in art. “Art was my solace during lockdown,” she says now. “That hour-a-day exercise habit took me outdoors and I found art and nature overlapped not just then, but now everything’s opened up again.” Her interest in the great outdoors, not just from a scientific point of view but also as an artist, meant the Biosphere residency role could have been tailor-made for Clare. Leigh Morris, CEO of the Manx Wildlife Trust agrees:

“MWT is delighted that Clare Payne is our Biosphere Artist in Residence and I believe she will be a key part of how we aim to connect with far more people in the Isle of Man about #ManxNature – our social media hashtag for the year - which is a key aim for us in 2022. Clare is not only a fantastic artist, using a diverse range of techniques, but also a wonderful, enthusiastic communicator and educator.”

Clare began her year with a short survey, asking the public how they’d like to be involved. For Easter, Clare and MWT joined the Bridge Bookshops in Port Erin and Ramsey in an Easter ‘egg-stravaganza’ egg-painting contest open to children and adults and she is also running a series of ‘Painting in your pjs’ online workshops to encourage artists of all abilities, and none, to pick up pens, pencils and paintbrushes to celebrate the beauty of the Isle of Man.

The first big MWT/Biosphere event of the summer is a Bioblitz, taking place in Groudle Glen on Saturday 7 May.

“A Bioblitz allows us to record all of the biodiversity in a designated area and on a specific day,” explains Clare. “The public will have the opportunity to find and identify birds, plants and animals, with the use of ID apps and with the help of our onhand specialists. Groudle Glen has a great variety of habitats - woodland, freshwater, marine and coastal – which means it’s a brilliant opportunity for people to connect with their environment and the incredible creatures within it as well as learning more about them.”

Then the annual Festival of the Sea will take place in Port Erin in July. For this Clare is planning a collaborative large format art installation, which will be put together during the day. When I spoke to Clare in early April she didn’t want to give away exactly what this might involve, although she did hint that it might be a mosaic, with themes including the transient evolving nature of, well, nature and, an island favourite, rubbish both biodegradable and imperishable. Intriguing!

But that’s not all: more events across the Island are planned during the year, including at the Ayres Nature Discovery Centre/Trail and the Ramsey Forest project which can be accessed via Ramsey Hairpin and stretches towards Sulby. Clare’s hope is that her residency leaves a legacy for the Island, not just in permanent art installations, but also a more emotional legacy with intergenerational involvement in both nature and art. There is also a personal legacy for Clare: “I see the romance in the name of nature and also in the conservation of our environment. There is such good work going on here, including the conservation of the habitats like the sea grass beds, the monitoring and mapping of basking sharks and dolphins, seals and puffins and of course the unique sanctuary of the Calf of Man. If my residency draws attention to all of these projects, large and small, and encourages more people to get involved in conservation, then I’ll know it was all worthwhile.”

Leigh Morris echoes these thoughts: “We are excited at seeing how Clare uses art to help MWT engage with a far wider and more diverse audience, and I am certain that all those who join her for a session will learn lots about nature, create some wonderful art and have lots and lots of fun!”

For more information about the Biosphere Artist in Residence programme, and the planned series of events and how you and your family can take part, please see www.facebook/clarepayneart and www.facebook/ manxwildlifetrust on Instagram as manxwt and clarepayneart. Or visit www.mwt.im. If you’d like to add your own art or suggestions on social media, please include the hashtags #ManxNature and #ManxNatureArt