Alison Trim is a visual artist from Ireland, and MFA student at UBCO. During her residency at Woodhaven from September 2018 until May 2019 she regularly posted images, encounters and experiences from this particular patch of land. She has now returned for a second year at Woodhaven, continuing her record of sharing this space with nature.  

02/14/2020 Candy colours

As the days lengthen last years berry crop is still full of colours

17/01/2020 The Cold Continues

and curtains of icicles festoon the house.

31/12/2019 Happy New Year

Seeing out the old year at Woodhaven with a healthy dollop of snow

01/12/2019 Baby it’s cold outside

27/11/2019 November update 

 

November has been a busy month with not much time for blog posts. This beautiful deer that posed so picturesquely, and a squirrel keeping himself fed outside my window are a couple of the highlights to share.

29/10/2019 Forest floor fungi

Keep your eyes down low…

14/10/2019 Each has its own story to tell

   

02/10/2019 Day of the Triffids

 

Remember that book (or the movie)? Well that’s what the armies of dead, or dying mullein on the creek bank made me think of when I walked among them today.

25/09/2019 Round 2

A year from when I first arrived and I’m back at Woodhaven. It’s been a busy first few weeks, both on campus and amongst the wildlife here. I’ve only been back three weeks and we’ve already had a bear and a coyote pass through, the usual deer of course, and lots of birdlife. Here is the Great Horned Owl who has been around a lot, and turkey vultures who were making the most of a deer carcass left behind by someone else.

28/05/2019 Growing and Leaving

In two days time my residency here comes to an end, I’d like to thank Nancy, Wendy and UBCO for allowing me to spend time here, and leave you with some pictures of the amazing growth taking place right now, fungi sprouting, babies being born and the creek in full flow. Good to know it will all continue to do it’s thing quite well without me. On to the next adventure……

(PS. if you want to see photos of the next adventure then you can follow me on Instagram)

15/05/2019 The Greening of May

After two weeks away, coming back to Woodhaven the intensity of green is only matched by the fresh smell of the trees and the grass, which unfortunately photos cannot convey.

21/04/2019 Overhead

Spotted this hawk flying over Woodhaven yesterday, it seems to have an antennae attached, visible on the larger file, presumably for radio tracking of some kind.

12/04/2019 Spring is in flow 

 

The smaller creek bed, dry all winter, has slowly filled and the water level has crept its way down past the house, to ease the flow of the main Bellevue creek alongside it. This renewed flow of water represents spring as much as the green grass, the buds on trees and the flowers starting to appear.

03/04/2019 Critical studies comes to Woodhaven

I was delighted to have my Graduate Colloquium class come down to Woodhaven this past Monday, where members of the class, including myself, gave presentations on our thesis research to our classmates and some other faculty members who made it along too. I had dragged everyone out so far from campus to talk about my work in the setting that inspires it.

30/03/2019 Waking up 

This yellow bellied marmot has decided its warm enough now to stop hibernating and start in on his hectic schedule of sunbathing on the rocks every morning.

24/03/2019 Bush detective

This morning I followed a line of fur on the ground. Which led me to a pile of fur beneath a tree. Someone’s buried leftover breakfast. As they may be coming back to finish off this meal,  I think we’d better stay cautious.

21/03/2019 A casualty of winter

So, you remember this beautiful hornets nest from last autumn?

 

It didn’t make it through the winter so well….

06/03/2019 Morning Visitors

The wonderful thing about living at Woodhaven is that you never know who’s going to wander past the window when you’re washing up the breakfast things. Last week it was a raccoon without a tail (no photos I’m afraid) this week its these two very pretty looking coyotes.

25/02/2019 Woodhaven artwork at UBCO campus

 

So far. And yet, so very nearly…. bark rubbing and pencil on cut paper, is the work resulting from the rubbing of a ponderosa here at Woodhaven that I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. It’s currently on show in the Fina gallery at the CCS building up at UBCO campus in an exhibition called Making Senses, until 1 March.

06/02/2019 It’s chilly out there

05/02/2019 More collaborating with the ponderosa pine tree

Developing rubbing/collaborative drawings further, with one of my favourite Ponderosas on the land here at Woodhaven. Thanks to Paul Barnes for the photographs.

16/01/2019 New Year, New Semester

Trying out some collaborative drawing practices with a lovely big obliging Ponderosa

29/12/2018 

23/12/2018 Happy Christmas from Woodhaven

Finding traces of the Raccoon family who pass by the creek unseen.

09/12/2018 As the slowing and freezing begins

The creek is still running for now, but the icy shards are growing each night, and the shapes changing and evolving.

05/12/2018 Standing on the shoulders of…

29/11/2018 More school visitors 

Lines everywhere, in all directions, more children at play.

11/11/2018 School visitors

Last week, in absolutely pouring rain, a group of school children came on a visit to Woodhaven. I stayed inside in the dry and warm. A few days later I found traces of their visit among the trees. I don’t know which school they came from but I have to admire their persistence, and their refusal to let the rain ruin their day out.

03/11/2018 November

The path of the seasons is turning a corner and, with the rain, almost all the leaves are now fallen and the creek flows faster and louder.

24/10/2018 Seedheads

The beautiful October sunshine picks out every fine hair on its head.

21/10/18 The gold is gathering 

And everywhere I looked it was all yellow.

14/10/18 When things are looking up

 

With blue skies and on bright days the trees seem to stand a little taller. Their lines stretch up towards the sun, and draw us up along with them.

06/10/18 Home

Suspended amongst the yellowing leaves, the cloudlike form of a wasps nest creates swirling lines around the dark hole that serves as their doorway.

29/09/18 Tracing lines in the sky

I could watch, mesmerised, for hours while a hawk traces out his route, around and around in the blue clearing above. But he has other places to be.

26/09/18 A moment

A moment of focus and a moment of belonging. When all your senses are alert, your awareness is heightened and everything is suspended in that gaze. For just a moment.

23/09/18 Hieroglyphics?

Getting very excited by some carpenter ant trails found in an old bench. What are the ants trying to say? This is exactly what being an artist is for me sometimes.

21/09/18 A Richness of Surface

19/09/18 Looking down from the deck

She’s looking right back up at me.

12/09/18 First Explorations

Past the bike shed and the garden shed, follow the trail to the woodshed,
past the plank crossing the dry creek bed, and round to the left.
The trail gets less clear, under the shrub, the remains of something on the ground.
On through the brush keeping right of the bendy tree, back onto a clearer path.
Then left, past the dripping tree and round to the back of the studio.
Onto the driveway where I meet momma deer and her spotty young one.
Carry on to the right of the house and follow the dry creek past curtains of dead branches.
Turn left at the fallen tree and stop to talk to a squirrel.
Climb across stony ground to the bank of the creek and follow it upstream, to home.

Alison Trim is a visual artist from Ireland, and MFA student at UBCO. During her residency at Woodhaven from September 2018 until April 2019 she will be regularly posting images, encounters and experiences from this particular patch of land.