Artist: Georgina Willoughby X Nature Festival 2023

Working with Nature Festival for the first time was an absolute thrill! We created “Paint the View”, which gave Nature Festival the chance to select an Artist in Residency for Coorong.Life, and that Artist hosted the event. Georgina was the first, and I’m incredibly grateful to her for that. She made what seemed like a massive task for me look simple and wonderful. All our guests loved the experience, and it’s because of that first year’s success that we run this event yearly with SA Nature Festival. I look forward to creating an easy environment for our artists to arrive, talk about painting, and have nothing else to do. All because Georgina helped me get started. Thank you, Georgina - Kate

Artist Bio

Georgina Willoughby is a Visual Artist, Printmaker and Designer working from Stone & Quoin Studios on unceded Kaurna Land. She specialises in creating unique state and limited-edition prints on paper and handmade wearable art which seek to convey a sense of place in her work, responding to the natural and human-made elements within place and landscape. Her semi-abstract compositions reflect a personal visual language of intuitive mark-making in which organic and textural shapes and motifs are exploited through layers of various combined printmaking processes.

A graduate of Adelaide College of the Arts with a major in Printmaking, Georgina regularly exhibits in South Australia, focussing on themes of place, landscape, and environment. Her accessory line thoughtfully translates her original art into colourful, wearable expressions of her visual language.

Georgina is a member of Stone & Quoin printmaking studio based at Manton Street, Hindmarsh.

Q: When you first entered the Nature Festival x Coorong Life collaboration for the Artist in Residency, what were you expecting — and what did you enjoy most about hosting the class?

A: I thought what a great opportunity to connect with new people who might be curious to try something new (art making)! Workshops are always great fun, especially when it’s uniting a bunch of strangers through a shared activity. I thought there might be some people new to painting and perhaps some experienced painters seeking a special subject environment.

Q: After the workshop, what did a typical day look like for you during your residency at Coorong.Life?

A: I made sure to sleep as much as I needed each day. The comfortable accomodation and waterfront environment was super conducive to rest and relaxation. I’d then make breakfast and coffee and head up to the sweet studio shed which held my drawing kit, to make a plan for the day. My overall plan for the week was to explore some experimental plein air approaches to printmaking using handmade brushes made from locally foraged materials. This entailed daily walks for materials and place-based inspo, so I made sure I learned about local walking loops and places to explore. I treated each day like a working day, blocking out time in the morning to work, have lunch, walk and resume experiments til 4pm. The evenings were for cooking, walks reading and more rest!

Q:Now that some time has passed, what advice would you share with future participants stepping into this residency?

A: Coorong Life has everything you need for a comfortable stay. There are few distractions and lots of quiet to think, focus and be, so I’d recommend thinking about how you want to best spend your time, then pack your creative kit accordingly. Maybe focus on just one or a few things you’d like to achieve or explore in the timeframe and really focus on going deep in that exploration. As an artist, this residency lends itself particularly to immersive plein air making, place based research, creative writing, sound/field recording or songwriting. The Coorong is a culturally and ecologically charged place. Plug yourself in!