During my residency at Nocefresca in Sardinia, I was able to explore the landscape and source different types of clay from the island. Sardinia has an incredibly rich soil due to its unique geographic features which enabled me to find vastly different types of clay within close proximity of one another. Different sites produce clay of varying chemical compositon and mineral content. The blue/grey tones in clay indicate poor drainage and lack of oxygen during saturation, whereas more rustic colours in clay indicate the presence of oxygen, converting ferrous iron compounds into the ferric condition. After extensive research and meetings with the local soil scientist and geologist, I was able to locate where I could find what I was looking for during my time on this beautiful island.

After extracting the clay, I would then begin the filtering process. Depending on the consistency I wanted, I would control the amount of sand, stone and organic matter removed from the wild clay before use. I was able to use the resulting aggregate after screening to create textures for some paintings. This process fulfils an important role in my artistic practice by reducing waste and working in a sustainable manner as well as being involved in the creation of these works from their inception.

This series was inspired by the buildings in the beautiful small town of Mills in the province of Oristano where I was doing my residency. I found the contrast between sections of flat and brightly coloured exteriors and adjacent naturally textured building materials striking and wanted to convey the spirit of Milis though this body of work. It also provided an opportunity to experiment with colour relativity as different colours of clay would produce varying visual effects depending on the colour of the neighbouring stripe.