I was delighted to work with Fruitbowls Community Garden over the summer on a Creative Gardens Mini Residency, funded by Dundee Climate Fund 3.0 and organised by Art and Nature Collective.
It’s a haven of care, kindness, humour and productivity just off busy Ancrum Road. After an initial discussion with some of the gardeners we decided on some activities over two full days and two half days, thinking about ways to see (and hear) the garden and it’s produce differently and to create with the plants alongside caring for them and then reaping the rewards. This involved photography, printmaking, inks, listening to the pond and microscopy.
The sessions:
We made concertina books full of cyanotype prints, having selected and collected plants for the cover prints and pages. We experimented with making inks from poppies, goldenrod and tansy and have plans to try more next year. A lovely light hearted session with my large format camera focussed on portraits of the gardeners which I printed in my darkroom and turned into cyanotype prints. An experimental session involved making phytograms which again involved careful choosing of subject matter and slow photography. The final session focussed on the pond. I brought my microscope and hydrophone, giving a new perspective and connecting us with the pond creatures through their voices! We also had a special guest in David Lampard from Dundee Naturalists Society for some pond dipping. His expertise was invaluable and added a great deal to the day.
Both the full days ended with food and music which was such an added treat and brought more of the gardeners in to see what we had been working on. Community is strong in Dundee and that gives me hope. I’ve come home with thrombocini, squash, carrots, onion, corn and a Dundee melon. Delicious.