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Kristina Veasey

Visual Artist

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kristinaveaseyartist

Multi-layered artist. Sculpture, installation, crafts, digital art/sound/film. Identity, routines, connection, provocation, commonalities & difference

Visual artist Kristina Veasey will be sharing sele Visual artist Kristina Veasey will be sharing selected elements from her immersive installation, Capturing the Forest, alongside work created by local participants in her creative workshops. 

Through sculpture, ceramics, movement and film, Capturing the Forest explores new ways to access wild spaces and connect with nature. 

Kristina's artist's residency with South Downs National Park has seen her exploring her local landscapes of Friston Forest and the Seven Sisters Country Park. Through a series of creative forest workshops, she has been engaging with local people; exploring synaesthetic responses to sounds, smells and textures. Activities included remote forest bathing, polishing wild clay dorodangos, creating natural paints and brushes, and the development of a Forest Connection Kit for those who are unable to visit the forest in person. 

To discover more about Capturing the Forest follow the link in the bio
or come and chat with Kristina at the exhibition. 

#art #exhibition #immersive #forest #sevensisters

Image: exhibition poster sharing dates and times for Kristina Veasey's exhibition with South Downs National Park Authority. Days read Sat 17th Oct 10-5pm, Sun 18th Oct 10-3pm at Seven Sisters Visitor Centre BN25 4AD
Forest inspired ceramics, available on Etsy at Off Forest inspired ceramics, available on Etsy at Off-Kilter Works. Link in bio - every sale helps to pay for studio time, so I can continue to make. 🙏 

Field notes - 🌿 
In the forest understory nascent shoots raise their heads pushing aside the damp earth. Reaching towards the light, ferns unfurl from their tight curls. Fantastical fungi bloom, whilst insects make their homes amongst fallen leaves and branches. I sit motionless, amongst this activity, just absorbing the moment. And then I start to make. Led by my senses, I let my hands work in harmony with the clay, with no agenda.

Reel: A series of images showing a small ceramic sculpture evocative of plant life, glazed in greens and iron oxides.

#ceramicsculpture #ceramics #forest #sensory #EnvironmentalArt
Enjoying my artists residency at @southdownsnp and Enjoying my artists residency at @southdownsnp and exploring Seven Sisters Country Park. I actually live just up the road so it is somewhere I'm quite familiar with. What has brought new excitement to it, is being able to explore it alone. I am fortunate to have my own mobility scooter, but I also rely on someone else to unload it from the car and assemble it for me. It isn't super reliable either, so generally I need someone with me when I take it out.

Being able to just book a scooter from the Visitor Centre and go out independently feels incredibly liberating. Being able to stop as often as I like and examine things I've seen, pick random things up, rummage about in undergrowth or collect seed pods are activities I love. If I'm sat in the dirt watching beetles for twenty minutes, I want to do it without someone behind me with ants in their pants, itching to get walking again. (I do say this with love in my heart though, my partner and I just have different ways of enjoying our time in nature). So to be able to just sit and watch, and enjoy the landscape, and do a bit of painting, has been a novel experience, and one I loved. And its one I'm going to be doing again 🙂

#access #artist #sevensisters #disabled #wildspaces

Reel shows artist riding a mobility scooter through natural landscapes and painting.
Living with chronic illness and/or disability can Living with chronic illness and/or disability can make spending time in nature more complicated. Accessing wild landscapes with its uneven terrain, stiles, kissing gates and nowhere to rest, presents barriers often unappreciated by those with the privilege of good health. 'The great outdoors' can often become 'the great unknown'. The barriers aren't always marked on maps and websites and asking passing ramblers about access reaps highly unreliable results.

This summer I wanted to access a little chalk stream I'd heard had parking near by and was shallow enough for a paddle. The wooded path from the carpark was about 400m to the stream so I needed to use my mobility scooter. As we assembled it no fewer than seven people walked up the path from the stream. Each one reassured me that the access was good and I'd have no problem getting there. Only one of them actually mentioned the gate and the little bridge I'd need to cross. When I inquired if it was a kissing gate as my scooter can't get through those, he admitted he wasn't sure, but he was certain the bridge on the other side of it would be fine. There was a slope but no steps. Even he was surprised that he couldn't accurately recall the dynamics of a gate he'd passed through less than ten minutes previously. 

And this is what I mean by 'health privilege'. When your health is not an overriding factor in how you navigate the world, these things don't even register. Why should they? It's how it should be, of course, but for those of us whose every move or decision or plan has to involve scanning the ground, advance research and weighing up bodily cost, it's a whole different ball game. As it turned out, it was a kissing gate. And the bridge was far too narrow and had steps up to it. Which goes to show that accurate information is key and we can't rely on passers-by, we need good solid accurate information

Social media groups for disabled ramblers offer platforms for shared user-experience, which is an absolute gold mine. And it's been heartening to see increasing numbers of organisations providing more detailed info. Some even have Trampers available for hire 

(No beds yet, though!)

#access #landscape #nature
How do you connect with and benefit from wild spac How do you connect with and benefit from wild spaces when you can not access them in person?

There are many reasons why a simple walk in the countryside might not be possible: inaccessible terrain, sickness, work schedules, mental health issues, caring responsibilities, lack of transport...

In this residency with South Downs National Park @southdownsnp I have been engaging local people with different ways to build a forest connection, even when they are unable to visit in person.

We have been immersing ourselves in the natural world through remote forest bathing, exploring synaesthesia, examining our connection to nature through art, and expressing our sensory responses to forest stimuli through movement. Together we made brushes from forest materials and used paints made from clay, charcoal, chalk, ivy and apple trees. We polished balls of clay until they shone like jewels, and we shared our processing and insights with one another.

I feel very privileged to share this space and to hear from other people's perspectives. What is shared can sometimes be precious or deeply personal, or an activity might take them outside of their comfort zone. I can prep as much as I like for a workshop, shaping it and giving it body, but ultimately it's the participants who give it heart. I feel immensly grateful for everyone's input and generosity of spirit. A massive thankyou to all who came. 

All of our shared learning and exploration is feeding in to additional co-creation sessions with individuals and small groups. In these we are developing the Forest Connection Kits we've been trialling with care home residents living with dementia, chronically ill people, disabled people, people who are housebound, and people experiencing end of life care. 

All the workshop artworks will be exhibited alongside elements of my Capturing the Forest installation, at the Seven Sisters Centre in October. A separate post about that is coming soon!

#forest #art #health #capturingtheforest #southdownsnationalpark

Reel shows a creative workshop in progress with people gathered in a room exploring forest materials and painting
I'm not suggesting you need to take your bed to th I'm not suggesting you need to take your bed to the forest in order to relax and improve your health, but that's exactly what we did!

When I was in the midst of my first forest project I had an accident that left me bed-bound for several months, then housebound for a further 3. During this time I wished the bed could lift me up and fly me to the heart of the forest, like in Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

My desire to go to the forest went beyond my project plans, and stemmed from a very real health need. At a time when my body needed healing, the benefits from forest immersion were out of reach. Raising serotonin levels, increasing the number of Natural Killer Cells and a lowering cortisol levels are just some of the benefits from inhaling terpenes released from trees. Scientists report that these benefits can last for up to a month after a forest visit.

Rest can be such an essential part of health maintenance and recovery. Resting in the right places is even better (even without a bed).

#forestbathing #southdownsnationalpark #capturingtheforest #wellbeing #health

Reel shows 3 women taking turns to lay on a bed in a forest glade.
Three spaces have become available for Saturday's Three spaces have become available for Saturday's creative/forest/sensory workshop. Let me know if you're interested.

It is a free workshop with lovely people in a lovely converted barn on the edge of the forest. What's not to love? 

No artistic ability required, but will be equally interesting for artists as well.
More info in the link on my linktree in my bio🌳🍁🍄🪾🪺🍂🐝🦋🪲🦊🦔🦇🦡
🍂 🪾 Born from the forest floor. 🍂🪾 The 'Wild & N 🍂 🪾 Born from the forest floor. 🍂🪾 

The 'Wild & Naked Earth Vessel' is officially live in my Etsy shop, Off Kilter Works (see my linktree in bio) 

Let me introduce you to the raw, unrefined beauty of the 'Wild & Naked Earth Vessel.' Created after a fresh October visit to Friston Forest and hearing the crunch of dry autumnal leaves beneath me on the trail. 

Encrusted with authentic wild clay dug directly from a local forest, I have left it entirely unglazed on the exterior to show off its iron-rich, natural terracotta color.  Underglazes, oxides, and slips add earthy, rough textures that emulate the leaf-strewn forest floor. 

"Harnessing my synaesthesia I translate deep sensory responses into physical materials. My practice is an active conversation with nature that manifests in unique hand-built pieces that serve as small portals into the natural world." 

Ethical practice:
The wild clay used in this piece was gathered responsibly, and with explicit landowner permission, from an East Sussex woodland. 

Display:
The crumbling textures of this rugged art piece  forms a striking indoor artwork or garden focal point. Whilst beautiful unadorned, it's small aperture allows presentation of delicate flora, unusual branches or dried seed pods. 
• Price: £150 (Includes Free Tracked Shipping)
• Dimensions: Approx. Height 13cm Diameter 15cm

About the artist:
"Kristina is an international artist and former Paralympian who brings the intense focus and discipline of the world stage into her artistic practice. As a neurodivergent wheelchair user, she views life through a unique lens and much of her work is drawn from her lived experience navigating barriers and finding moments of connection, commonality and difference. She is interested in sense of place, sensory experience and everyday routines. Her work is detailed, nuanced and multi-layered. She is a prolific multi media artist driven by an imperative to create. Her work spans sculpture, installation, video, sound and crafts. Notably, her sculpture, 'Meander' is a prominent public installation on the renowned Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail. "

#WabiSabiDesign #forest #TexturedCeramics #WildClay #CeramicVase
Just reviewing footage from our Capturing the Fore Just reviewing footage from our Capturing the Forest workshop where we embodied and interpreted elements of the forest; wind, water, trees and wildlife. Was going to share some of it on here, but setting it to music gave it a whole new vibe and seems to have revealed a hidden rave!

#forest #movement #southdownsnationalpark #unexpectedtwist #artist

Reel shows workshop participants making physical movements akin to dancing.
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Interested in holding a workshop?

Find out more about Walk the Line and other workshops Kristina has facilitated here.
Beyond the Torch Run workshop by Kristina Veasey

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Contact Kristina

Email Kristina here.

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