How can I be of service through my creative practice?

Anna Laurent on botanical art through history and photographing seeds

In this episode, Anna Laurent is my guest talking about her work at the intersection of science and art, researching botanical art through history and photographing seeds. She is passionate about

'understanding plants from the plant's perspective and plants from people's perspective'

Anna is an award-winning flora-focused writer, photographer, and artist. She traveled the world, researching the visual history of plant depiction, as well as collecting specimens for 'Dispersal', a series of photographs, portraits, exploring the form and function of seed dispersal.

In our conversation, we delve deeper into the world of seeds and Anna's creative journey, exploring them through photography.

'The reason for a flower is the fruit and the seed. A flower has evolved its form and its scent, its colours to attract pollinators, to produce a seed. And the seeds are really the future of the plant. The seeds are the whole purpose of a plant.'

Her work has exhibited internationally, at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London, the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard university and the University of California Botanical Gardens at Berkeley, as well as gardens in Amsterdam, Italy, Gibraltar, Sydney, and New York city. In 2018, the Royal Botanic gardens Kew commissioned a series of seed portraits to be permanently displayed alongside living plants in the Temperate House, the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world.

Her first book, Botanical Art from the Golden Age of Scientific Discovery (University of Chicago Press, 2016) examines the art and science of plant biology in 19th century wall charts. We also talk in this podcast episode more in detail about this book she wrote and the role botanical art plays in history, as well as Anna's current research and next book.

Anna was born in Boston, in the USA, and studied at Harvard University. She holds a Master's degree in History and Philosophy of science from the University College of London. Currently, she lives in London and was awarded a UK visa as an Artist of Exceptional Talent.

I first came across Anna's work in 2017 at the Chelsea Flower Show where her seed photographs were exhibited and caught my attention. Later that year, we met at her solo exhibition in London. Then in 2018, both her work and mine were featured in the same issue of INKQ, an independent publication at the intersection of art and science by a mutual friend of ours,Jessica Shepherd.

We recorded this podcast episode in December, 2019, since then a lot has happened in the world, but more significantly earlier this year, back in March, When I approached Anna with my idea to set up Dialogues with Nature Network, she agreed and became one of the Founding Members . It's been wonderful to work together over the past couple of months, setting up this creative support network centred around nature.

I hope you will enjoy listening to this podcast episode we recorded!

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Links from this episode:

• Follow @anna__laurent on instagram
• www.annalaurent.com
• https://harvardmagazine.com/2014/01/the-sorcery-of-seedpods
• https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/secrets-kew-temperate-house
• https://www.seedcultures.com/#/anna-laurent/

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About Dialogues with Nature Network here.

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If you enjoyed this episode, pleasesubscribe,
leave a review or share it with a friend.

You can find me as@walkinglanternoninstagramand ontwitter.

And if you are interested to hear more about Dialogues with Nature Network, please follow the new instagram account @dialogueswithnature here and sign up to the mailing listhere.

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Ways you can financially support this podcast now:

• One time donation ofa virtual cup of coffee here
• Become a regular patron supporting me with a recurring donation of £1 per month via Patreon here

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The music for the podcast is by Band of Burns ‘Now Westlin' Winds’ song that was recorded live at Union Chapel in 2017. I used this song with the band’s permission.

Follow Band of Burns on instagram here and their website for tour dates is here: https://www.bandofburns.com/

Mugdha Sapte on holistic healing, ayurveda, and rituals

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‘Trying to connect to nature itself is healing in a way, because it kind of gets you out of your own, I guess, worries, and thoughts and problems in your own mind and asks you to observe something.’

In this episode, Mugdha talks about an urge to connect to nature in a more sensory manner: smelling things, touching things and feel them that is different from simply walking in the park and breathing in fresh air. We also talk about Ayurveda, holistic healing and what ritual means to us.

• Mugdha’s online shopKindred + WildandInstagram
• a blogpost Mugdha wrote about Ritual v/s Routine
• Creative Countryside

Recommended books we talk about in this episode:

• Second Skin - India Flint
• Eco Colour - India Flint
• The Thinking Hand - Juhani Pallasmaa
• The Enchanted Life - Sharon Blackie
• If Women Rose Rooted - Sharon Blackie

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Dialogues with Nature Network has just launched. Find out more here.

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If you enjoyed this episode, pleasesubscribe,
leave a review or share it with a friend.

You can find me as@walkinglanternoninstagramand ontwitter.

And if you are interested to hear more about Dialogues with Nature Network, please follow the new instagram account @dialogueswithnature here and sign up to the mailing listhere.

—

Ways you can financially support this podcast now:

• One time donation ofa virtual cup of coffee here
• Become a regular patron supporting me with a recurring donation of £1 per month via Patreon here

—

The music for the podcast is by Band of Burns ‘Now Westlin' Winds’ song that was recorded live at Union Chapel in 2017. I used this song with the band’s permission.

Follow Band of Burns on instagram here and their website for tour dates is here: https://www.bandofburns.com/

Ali Mackie on painting, joy and the art of bright

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In this new episode, I’m talking to Ali Mackie, who is, a painter and mixed media artist based in the Chilterns in the UK. We talk about wide ranging subjects, encompassing all what it entails to live and work as an artist, including motherhood and how that experience influenced and informed our artistic journeys and how in its own magical way has given some weight to what we do now and, what we pursue as artists. We also talk about Ali's work in great detail.

Her main subject is nature and her inspiration comes from the landscape that captures her attention. She uses lots of unexpected colours in her work that is, part of her unique way of not only translating into artworks what she sees but expressing joy and beauty of her subject. Nature portrayed with bright colours plays an essential role in her paintings, collages and mixed media work. She also comes from, an interior design background, which, she tells me more about in our conversation, and how she draws on those experiences in her current work, both as a small business owner and as an artist.

• Ali’swebsiteandInstagram
• Artists Support Pledge
• Ali’s Artist Support Pledge page

Recommended resources to read by Ali:

• Elle Decoration
• Michael Morgan RI in Waterstones
• Outlander - Diana Gabaldon in Waterstones

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If you enjoyed this episode, pleasesubscribe,
leave a review or share it with a friend.

You can find me as@walkinglanternoninstagramand ontwitter.

And if you are interested to hear more about Dialogues with Nature Network, please follow the new instagram account @dialogueswithnature here and sign up to the mailing listhere.

—

Ways you can financially support this podcast now:

• One time donation ofa virtual cup of coffee here
• Become a regular patron supporting me with a recurring donation of £1 per month via Patreon here

—

The music for the podcast is by Band of Burns ‘Now Westlin' Winds’ song that was recorded live at Union Chapel in 2017. I used this song with the band’s permission.

Follow Band of Burns on instagram here and their website for tour dates is here: https://www.bandofburns.com/

Bex Partridge - Everlastings, An ode to the art of drying flowers

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An ode to the art of drying flowers.

In the latest episode here, available today, I talked to Bex Partridge, a floral artist who you may have come across on instagram as @botanical_tales. She recently published her first book: Everlastings.

In this interview she talks about her creative practice in great detail: all aspects of growing, foraging and drying flowers. I asked her what the word everlastings meant to her. What she responded to that question is one of the reasons what makes this episode a great one to listen to! There are lots of gems here in this episode worth hearing.

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• Bex’swebsiteandInstagram

Order a copy of her book: Everlastings from here.

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Recommended books by Bex in this episode:

• Wilding - Isabella Tree
• Wild about Weeds - Jack Wallington

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If you enjoyed this episode, pleasesubscribe, leave a review or share it with a friend.

You can find me as@walkinglanternoninstagramand ontwitter.

And if you are interested to hear more about Dialogues with Nature Network, please follow the new instagram account @dialogueswithnature and sign up to the mailing listhere.

—

If you appreciate the time and effort that goes into making this ad-free podcast, you can financially support this podcast now:

• One time donation ofa virtual cup of coffee here : £3
• Become a regular patron supporting me with a recurring donation of £1 per month via Patreon here
  

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The music for the podcast is by Band of Burns ‘Now Westlin Winds’ song that was recorded live at Union Chapel in 2017. I used this song with the band’s permission.

Band of Burns on instagram here and their website is here: https://www.bandofburns.com/

How can I be of service through my creative practice?

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As we find ourselves in the midst of these uncertain and disorienting times, I keep asking myself this question that probably many of you ask yourselves, too:

- How can I possibly be of service with what I have? through my creative practice?

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Dialogues with Nature podcast is back.

In this episode I’m pondering about where I am now, where we are all, the changes I’m going through and what we are experiencing at a global scale. I’m talking a lot about hope, how nature and a creative practice can be a solace, especially in our current times. Thinking through how creative work can continue in our dynamic times, how I could nurture more resilience through my practice and what possible ways there are moving forward.

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References from this episode:

• On Being podcast episode with Rebecca Solnit
• The entrepreanour, Tara Macmullin, whose work I find inspirational, the host of What Works podcast
• The poem by Emily Dickinson I refer to
• The piece titled ‘Lockdown’ that was originally posted on instagram by the author that I read aloud at the end of this episode
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Ways you can support this podcast:

• Donate me a virtual cup of coffee here
• Become a regular patron supporting me with a recurring donation of £1 per month via Patreon here
  

Interested to hear more about Dialogues with Nature Network I’m setting up?

• Watch the replay of a live virtual presentation I did on Monday here.
• Read my presentation notes from it here.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review and share it with a friend. You can find me as @walkinglantern on instagram and on twitter. And if you'd like to receive a newsletter, sign up to the mailing list here.