Collectively, what sparked our initial interest in the bluebells at Marton Wood above all else was their vibrancy and the way their heavily saturated pallet contrasted with the earth tones in the rest of the environment.
What solidified our interest in them, following this, was when we were informed on how easily British Bluebells breed out of existence. The Spanish Bluebell, we were told, is much more popular and consequently is the most commonly planted in gardens. However, the seeds of the Spanish bluebell easily hybridise with its British relative and consequently, the large body of solely British bluebells found at Morton Wood are something to be protected.
Our groups work features the depiction of both breeds of bluebell, in hopes of bringing attention to this issue and how, whilst similar in appearance, their differentiation matters.
This impacted our works stylistic choices in trying to provide different lenses in the depiction of the bluebells, through various 2D mediums such as water colour, digital illustration and wood burning.
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This Spring, Chrysalis Arts has been a part of a Second Year BA Fine Art project at York St John University. The project, Seeing the Wood from the Trees, aims to help the students respond creatively to Marton Wood and to consider their artistic practice in the context of ecological issues.
Read more about it in our News Story: York St. John Students Engage with Marton Wood.
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