Travelling by ferry with some of the participating artists on a cold and rainy day.

Finally… I am making the time to share with you the fruits of my time in South Africa as an invited participant of the Global Nomadic Art Project 2016 South Africa. I had such a rich and productive time there, that I slightly shied away from writing about it – I just did not know where to start.

The GNAP ‘Stories of Rain’ Art Project was an incredible journey through South Africa’s landscapes, myths and lively land art scene. Very well organized and carefully planed, we were treated to so many different places, warm hospitality, creative time in nature and an exciting selection of fellow artists. I appreciated the constantly changing small groups in which we travelled. They enabled us to meet so many local and international artists, exchange ideas and create together in a very unique way. Thank you to the GNAP team for this very special platform and project and thank you to all the many South African organizers, especially Strijdom van der Merwe and Anni Snyman,  who made the South African leg of the journey such a memorable one!

I have decided to split all my artworks into smaller groups and introduce them to you in separate blog posts. Trying to keep each one short and sweet, but still let you in on my ideas and thoughts as much as possible.

During the ‚Stories of Rain’ Art Project I continued with my rainmaker project and research. Can we create rain through a conscious and intentional creative process? I have used the surrounding landscapes and materials to explore different ideas from creating clouds out of stones or mud, performing a cloud dance and working with the idea of female tears being conducive to calling the rain.

First I will share with you one of my more familiar looking rainmaker works:

The final Rainmaker Cloud, Porcupine Hills made with earth pigment

In the following gallery I will share with you the story of how I created this artwork and rainmaker and show prove of the rain that followed. (Click to see larger versions of the images)

Collecting red pigment from the earth

Grinding pigments for my artwork

Making paint from earth pigments

Learning new skills, from Cha Davenport, our wonderful host and fellow artist. Together with Chris Lochner (botanical artist)

Painting on a rock on a very steep rockface

Close-up

Finally an offering of water to give thanks for the coming rain.

Close up of the water wetting the rock, lichen and small plants.

Me and the finished rainmaker cloud.

The final Rainmaker Cloud, Porcupine Hills made with earth pigment

First clouds appearing on the blue sky

Porcupine Hills – a beautiful place to stay – View from the Rainmaker Cloud towards our accommodation

Inspiration for the clay pigment painting coming from the walls of the Porcupine Hills guest farm.

Porcupine Hills – a beautiful place to stay

The rain always came, perfectly timed, when we were on the road again… here is the photo prove.

The rain always came, perfectly timed, when we were on the road again… here is the photo prove with a rainbow.

I loved the stay here! Thank you to our hosts Cha and Tony Davenport are such wonderful people and made us feel perfectly at home. The place is great – recommending it fully if you would like to break away from the city for a weekend or longer!

Porcupine Hills offers self-catering guest accommodation and boutique olive oil.  Close to Cape Town (100km) but a world away from city and suburban life.  This is the perfect place to escape into nature and spend time in a quiet, tranquil and beautiful space.

The underlying farm “Diepklowe” is a Private Nature Reserve within the van der Stel Cluster (four neighbouring conservation farms) and is designated as a Cape Nature Stewardship Programme area. It is a core member of the Groenlandberg Conservancy.

The farm was acquired in 2012 by Tony and Cha Davenport and their two sons, Justin and Tobin.