From quiet walks to impromptu woodland exhibitions, nature has guided a deeply personal art journey for Woodford Arts Group member Emma Liebeskind, who shares how Epping Forest became both studio and sanctuary
Walking through the woods on my way to work, I don’t need to be reminded of how lucky we are to live in South Woodford. The past five years have not been easy ones for my family, and the forest has provided a source of solace and continuity in tumultuous and changing times.
Little under a decade ago, I was offered a place on the City Lit Fine Art course based in Holborn; an independent adult education college unlike any other. Its life-changing arts course proved to be the catalyst that shifted my mindset away from being exclusively a sometime schoolteacher and mother of growing children towards becoming a self-declared artist and evolving a self-determined art practice.
Landscape has been my preferred genre to work within for many years. I live on the edge of the magnificent Epping Forest and trees inevitably appear as prime subjects in my drawings and paintings.
About five years ago, lockdown forced an even greater focus on my surroundings, and I was encouraged to find different ways to respond to the local landscape besides the act of starting and making a finished drawing. This has led me into adventures in forest art, which are both sculptural and performative.
Recent changes in woodland management of Epping Forest led to the clearing of the invasive holly and ivy, which had hidden the trunks of ancient trees for decades. Suddenly, the character of the woodlands became exposed to the human gaze.
I have drawn portraits of familiar trees from observation in one such glade over several years. I jokingly refer to this space as an outdoors studio, as it sits very close to my family home, on the edge of Mill Plain. Extending the act of drawing into a public space, it feels like an inevitable next step to experiment with hanging the drawings on the trees themselves.
Artists typically share their artwork on Instagram, and for a while, these tree portraits, hung temporarily using makeshift wooden poles, became the hallmark of my postings. Perhaps the high point of my tree project was on the occasion I used the highly regular trunks of young birches to stage an exhibition of my tree drawings. The show lasted for little over one day, and was probably only noticed by deer and the odd local walker as they passed through the wood.
To view more of Emma’s art, visit emmaliebeskind.co.uk
For more information on Woodford Arts Group, visit swvg.co.uk/wag
