The Printed Garden, Naturefact Artifact was the project name of Jenny Peterson’s three week artist residency in the Wimmera during October, 2019.
The Garden Wall of The Printed Garden project was an exhibition of nature prints made by local people with the guidance of Gippsland artist Jenny Peterson. The prints were installed onto bird netting along one wall as the workshops progressed and more prints were made. ‘Naturefact’ refers to the botanical specimens brought to the studio to be used for printing. They were plants gathered in the Wimmera region including crop samples from Marnoo and Horsham, grasses and weeds gathered from Mt Arapiles and Natimuk, plants from people’s gardens – things that grow locally. The ‘Artifact’ was the material we saw in the gallery. An artifact is something made for a purpose and has the history – a memory – of being made with someone’s hands.
Other works in the Printed Garden exhibition were made by Jenny in her Gippsland studio, some works on paper included nature prints of Wimmera plants. Over a period of eighteen months and occasional visits the project was developed by Jenny making local connections with people and places. "This is a project which could work anywhere! Plants are something that people respond to as viewers and participants "
A recommended book on this technique is 'Impressions of Nature: a history of nature printing' by Roderick Cave, published in 2010.
The Printed Garden project builds on her current practice of working with found objects (road signage) and travelling country roads. Driving and looking, exploring the landscape, the verges and looking down to ground level.
Download the workshop flyer that was used ....