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Group : Jennifer Shaughnessy, Aoife Duncan and Anthony BurkeLocation : The Wetlands, Limerick

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Group : Jennifer Shaughnessy, Aoife Duncan and Anthony BurkeLocation : The Wetlands, Limerick

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The Westfield Wetlands in Limerick was such an interesting site to be assigned to for the duration of the drawing project. The surrounding area was full of flora and fauna, quiet and relaxing and also a lovely walk.

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One of the most interesting aspects of the wetlands was the reflective surface of the water. The reflections were present due to light bouncing off the marsh grass and reeds that were plentiful within the area I was analyzing. The smooth, flat and shiny surface of the water caused a mirror like shadow image directly underneath the land.

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I was also intrigued by the twisting and turning lines that were created by the branches and the twigs within the wetlands. The wild and uncontrollable lines have a Gothic element to to them which is something that I am interested in. I like to include Gothic tropes in my work which allows the piece to have a sinister presence and quality.

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As the project began, I decided to challenge my concept of drawing. As I watched the YouTube link that was provided along with the brief I came across many compelling questions and arguments relating to ideas of drawing.

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Drawing Talks - The limits of contemporary drawing ?

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Avec : Agnès Callu, historienne, Musée des Arts décoratifs, CNRS-Institut d'histoire du temps présent, Kate Mac Farlane, co-directeur de la Drawing Room à Londres, Elsy Lahner, curateur art contemporain, Musée Albertina, Vienne, Brett Littman, directeur exécutif du Drawing Center New York.

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Drawings were defined as 'studies', 'provisional and notational' and a 'thinking process' - although I agree with these statements, drawing can also be a finished work of art. The artist's imagination is the only limitation when it comes to drawing.

Usually I would draw with charcoal or pencil but I wanted to push myself and be experimental throughout the project. I started using found objects from the Wetlands to create my images. I tracked a snails path on paper and also took some rubbings from trees and leaves.

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I began with simple sketches to find my area of interest. I found myself repeatedly drawing the linear structure of the marsh grass that sat above the water line. I used various materials such as wire, paint, thread etc to see what approach worked best.

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The weather definitely had an impact on my visits to the wetlands. I found it was always very windy when I was there causing the trees, plants and grass to move in a particular way. I tried to bring this aspect into my own work by using a straw to blow the paint I was using in different directions. Even though this technique is associated with a fun childhood activity I thought the outcome was quite successful and it gave the image a nice aesthetic. I enjoyed using this process as it was unpredictable and every image had different outcomes to the one before.

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As my drawings took on a dual world aspect, it was clear that the work was relating to opposites, light and dark, above and below, good vs evil, real vs imaginary.  I decided to expand on this topic as I worked with the concept of above and below.

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The above part of the image would be light, mimic the beauty of the Wetlands and have a peaceful element to it. However the reflective dark bottom half of the image would be the complete opposite. Within this half of the image I began to be very experimental and attempted to create an imaginary underwater world that would be home to the marsh creatures that are hidden below the unknown secret lairs of the marsh land. While reflecting on the images, I realized that they were somewhat similar to my recent work from my degree show where I created female figure with hair as the main element of the character and these images reminded me of that hairlike quality.

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Drawing back into the images, I began making jellyfish like structures attached onto the flowing lines. I also tried drawing houses and an imaginary city but there was still something missing. I then decided to draw human like creatures to reflect on the spirit of the Wetlands. I wanted the audience to connect with the images so having a human presence was key to this. I created a large drawing piece, challenging myself by working with a larger scale than what I am comfortable with. The gradient background was made using paint. In these images I decided to draw characters falling, reaching and floating in an array of positions. Each character has their hair connected to the dark, distorted and Gothic structure of the underwater grass.

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I attempted to repeat the image but in this case the gradient background was made with charcoal.

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I was quiet happy with the outcome of the drawings exploring the idea of above and below through the reflective surface of the water of the Wetlands.

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Constantly experimenting with different ways to display the work, I made a folded horizontal drawing on a long piece of paper. On one side the line were green and going upwards (like the marsh grass) and on the other side the lines were black and going downwards (mimicking the reflections and the roots of the grass) I liked the outcome so I began finding more ways to bring this sculptural element into my work.

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After creating another large piece drawing, I decided to make certain folds in the image. The resulting image took on a 3D overview. The folds were to help emphasize the idea of layers and also that repeated falling activity that the characters seem to be doing.

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The variety of drawing styles and techniques in the class were great. Everyone responded to the project in their own unique way.

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Aoife's work is from a historical perspective and her approach to the drawing project was very intriguing. Her 3D wire drawings deal with ideas of tension pulling and energy. She was interested in the history of the Wetlands and delved into creating imaginative drawings based on the well that exits under the Wetlands water. It was very interesting to compare my work to hers as we both were assigned to the same location, we both were engaging with the underwater, unknown and the unrevealed yet her take on the project was very different to mine.

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I really liked how small and delicate each object was layed out on a large white sheet. Aoife then began to draw what seemed like the shadows of the objects back onto the paper. These lines reflected the way dowsers found wells via tracking ley lines with rods.

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I also found Trudie's work interesting as she began drawing with yellow wool. Her drawing project location was the top of Dunnes Stores car park where she described the area as very industrial and very grey. It was the bright colured pipes that caught her attention and she began drawing these maze like images consisting of yellow lines.

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Working with different materials is something that I love doing and I liked that she began drawing these structures with wool, something linear yet easy to manipulate.

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Throughout the drawing project I began looking at contemporary artists who used different drawing techniques and processes yet had a similar concept to my own work.

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Ghada Amer draws and paints with thread. Her early drawings were simple line drawings and silhouettes of female figures made from embroidery on paper. Her work is about fantasy's, fairy tales and love. She says "Everything I do now is about drawing". In this video she discusses why she chooses to draw with this material.

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FIT ARTSpeak lecture series 2014 Ghada Amer

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Uploaded by Technology Development Team on 2015-01-07.

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Test 7, 2013, embroidery and gel medium on canvas, 20 x 20 in, 50.8 x 50.8 cm

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Dreaming of Felipe RFGA, 2010, acrylic, embroidery and gel medium on canvas, 28,25 x 31,5 in

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Leah Beggs is another contemporary artist that I examined during the drawing project. Her paintings have always been about the way she uses the paint and in her artist statement she states 'sometimes it's about pushing the paint around the canvas, willing it into its place'. This statement really resonated with me as I was dealing with the same thoughts during the making of my blow paint drawings. Some of the paint drips in Beggs work are visible and I really liked this effect, showing the artist trying to catch that fleeting moment. I also thought the outcome was similar to my uncontrolled blown lines.

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Leah Beggs, Contemporary Irish Abstract Landscape Artist. Living and creating on the edge of Connemara along the Wild Atlantic Way.

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Untitled, 2013, A Journey Through Connemara

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Untitled, 2016, Finding Time

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Emma Critchley is an artist who works with photographs, film and audio visual installations. Her work explores the human relationship to the underwater environment. On the artists website there are interesting pieces of writing that I found very interesting in relation to my own work.

'The breath, an exchange, an invisible circulation, an ebb and flow that allows for the continuation of life. Its path provides a link between internal and external. Like a silken thread it elegantly weaves its way, stitching body to environment, reminding us of our dependence on that which surrounds us. External enters internal. Internal reaches to external. It is like a free spirit, an embodiment of life, freely flowing, rhythmically playing between worlds'.

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Emma Critchley - Visual Artist - Underwater Photography and Video / WRITING / At the Still Point of the Turning World

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Emma Critchley is a visual artist specialising in underwater photography and video.

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Surface series, 2012, photographic prints, 102 x 102 cm

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Suspended diptych, 2015, photographic prints, 61 x 50 cm

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Suspended, 2011, photographic print, 153 x 102 cm