“Much of the beauty that arises in art comes from the struggle an artist wages with his limited medium” Henri Matisse

I often use this quote to explain that working with what you have and allowing the found object to lead the directions you take, will result in a more artistically interesting work than if you try to force the work to fit your plans.

The workshop is aligned closely with my current work which involves looking for animal shapes in found twigs.

The value of the workshop is gained through the process of learning to look differently at the world by choosing a random twig and finding an animal shape within.

The workshop involves choosing a twig from among those provided and looking at it carefully from all angles, rejecting the obvious and searching for interesting shapes.

Restricted to using the found object as it is, only removing branches to simplify and allow the work to stand, and not adding extra twig legs or trying to make the piece too obvious, allows the participants to let go of preconceived ideas and free up their creativity.

About the Artist: Mikaela Castledine is an award-winning artist and published writer, with a degree in Applied Science and an MA in Literature, born in the WA Wheatbelt living in the Perth hills. She has been a professional artist for 30 years, working in collage and sculpture. She is best known for her crochet sculptures exploring our connections to animals, architecture and storytelling.