Bernheim’s Regional Artist in Residence Rachel Singel, spent this past May at Bernheim where she extensively explored the landscape and furthered her knowledge of the local ecology. Lines are the building blocks of her world and realized through the mediums of drawing and printmaking. Having spent most of the past few years in the printmaking studio as an Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville, this time of total immersion into Bernheim’s landscape has reestablished Singel’s connection with the natural world and sparked a desire to create new work responding to the intricacies and depth of natural forms that surrounded her.
Initially motivated to create detailed drawings of Kentucky’s endangered tree species, Singel was ultimately inspired by the complexities of the natural world during a season where nature is in a visible state of constant change. Drawing and making prints through the process of etching gives Singel the capacity to capture nature’s complexity. Paper-making with natural fibers has also played a dominant role in Singel’s residency at Bernheim – most specially with the invasive species, Asian Bittersweet and Tree of Heaven. These experiments have prepared her for better paper making and have been added to her large paper making binder, which serves as an education tool.
The month of May passed quickly, but is only the beginning of Singel’s experience as Bernheim’s 2018 Regional Artist in Residence, as she plans to return methodically throughout the year. She is currently an Artist in Residence at Art Print Residence in Barcelona before traveling to Andalucia, where she will take a non-toxic printmaking workshop at Grafisk Eksperimentarium. These experiences will feed into and inform the work she continues to create that is inspired by the Bernheim landscape. See more of Singel’s work at www.rachelsingel.com.