Page 22 - ALG Issue 3 2022

creative plotholders Gardening and art?
I acquired my lovely allotment plot about 18 months ago, in the depths of a damp winter. It is in Beaumaris, Anglesey, North Wales. To say I was thrilled to get my own plot was
an understatement. At last! – an opportunity to be able to combine my two favourite things: gardening and art.
I occasionally sketch on site, but to
be honest it very much depends on
the weather. Beaumaris is a coastal town, and we have some feisty south westerlies that rage through the allotments at times. So, for the sake of my sketchbooks, I tend to just absorb the atmosphere while I’m tending my plot, take inspiration and lots of photos, and work from my studio instead.
Allotments have always been interesting places for artists, and Beaumaris is no exception. Although the allotments have a spectacular scenic backdrop of the Snowdonia mountain ranges, the Menai Strait, and Beaumaris Castle, these are not the elements that truly interest me as an artist. The real excitement, for me, lies in the more mundane aspects of the site. The changing seasons and how this affects the plot; spent sunflowers in early autumn, taking on beautiful
and often weird shapes as they start
to droop and decay; the overgrown corners where natural plants & weeds thrive, creating small oases for insects and other wildlife; witnessing groups of colourful finches drinking and bathing at the birdbath; and the haphazard design of rusted corrugated iron fences, wonky wooden gates, lashed together with twine or rope, the weathered wooden sheds (some of which lean
at precarious angles following stormy weather) and even plastic compost
Not only my own freshly grown food but a constant supply of artistic resources to delight the eye
22 Allotment and Leisure Gardener
bins!! THESE are the true inspirations for my art.
I love “concertina” sketchbooks (long, extendable drawing books) which allow me to be spontaneous and create with freedom, endeavouring to capture
the unique atmosphere and life on
the plots. I work mainly in collage and mixed media using acrylics, ink, crayons, paper & magazine cuttings, collaged papers that I make myself, old photos, dried flowers and plants. I am able to be explorative, progressive, spontaneous and intuitive in my work. I hardly ever know in advance where anything I create will lead, a style of working which I thoroughly enjoy.
There is so much to enjoy with an allotment. Not only my own freshly grown food but a constant supply of artistic resources to delight the eye.
Jasmine Hughes