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VALERIE KIRK AM REFLECTIVE ESSAY The appeal of a residency is a deep immersion in a new, stimulating environment to discover, learn and completely focus on experiential learning and creative development. Carving time away from everyday life frees up thinking and making space. The usual lists, demands. and commitments are left behind and each day of the residency becomes more focussed as I concentrate on the project. In this way the time as an Artist in Residence is a precious gift and a great privilege. In the first and final parts of the residency I explored the collections at Geoscience Australia, learned about the earth and its vast history through maps, satellite photos, core samples, specimens, aerial and underwater photography, artists’ impressions, scientific illustration, views through microscopes, the library, data collection and analysis. The days were filled with introductions to areas of the organisation and the people with specialised skills and knowledge. From viewing macro bulk storage (vast areas holding the collection) to seeing the thinsection microscope slides, the experience was revealing and so stimulating. Behind a door with the sign, National Mineral and Fossil Collection, lies a Wunderkammer of micro fossils, bones from megafauna, Antarctic rock, silicon impressions, plaster casts, 3 D printing and actual specimens. Within the giant Compactus drawers the Gardner and Bruce Barnes thumbnail gemstone collections were immediately captivating – a world of minerals in pieces no bigger than your thumb nail, carefully presented and labelled, drawing the eye in to examine and wonder at the shapes, colour, lustre, transparency and structures. There I found my special place and in quiet times on my own I selected rocks, gemstones and fossils to make observation studies. Through my interest in fossils we visited Woolshed Creek with its exposed beds of ancient marine fossils in Middle Silurian mudstone, part of the Canberra Formation. The casual walker could easily miss the brachiopods, trilobites, pelecypods, corals and bryozoan fossils, but guided by Geoscience Australia experts and down on hands and knees the ancient world from 427 – 433 million years ago was revealed. In the first week at Namadgi National Park, I had the dilemma of how best to spend the precious time there – walking and exploring? Drawing and recording? Or settling and making? By week 2 the days had developed a rhythm of going out through the day, stopping to draw and make notes, take in the long vistas and close up details, eagles circling above, grasses and withering plants in autumn below my feet. With freedom to work spontaneously, I experimented with Gelli prints using grasses and leaves, charcoal rubbings from burnt tree trunks and immediate, playful weaving of colour and land texture on a small frame. In the evenings, with the fire providing warmth, I could settle at a table covered with a small collection of rocks, feathers, dried plants and art materials. I reflected in a sketchbook on the day and speculated about possible ideas and new works. Studying maps, books and objects I worked on more detailed watercolour, pen and ink and mixed media pieces. Image: Valerie Kirk at Geoscience Australia. Photo: 5 Foot Photography Page 24-25: Valerie Kirk’s photos at Geoscience Australia. Photos: Courtesy of the artist 23