Joya AiR: Week 1

In March of 2024 I made my way to the tiny community of Vélez-Rubio, in southern Spain. I was picked up in town by Donna Beckmann, the warm and lovely woman who runs Joya AIR with her husband Simon. Both are amazing artists in their own right, and have worked tirelessly for years to make Joya the remarkable place it is today.

The residency is about a half-hour drive from Vélez-Rubio, nestled amongst hills patchworked with almond and olive orchards. The site is off-grid and climate-positive, both a space of artistic expression and a testing ground for sustainable water and energy systems. The whitewashed traditional farm house is bright, welcoming, and filled with art. There are few places in the world where I have felt so at peace as well as so creatively stimulated, and I quickly realized that two weeks might have not been enough to fully dive in to my projects!

The courtyard of the residency building, dominated by the most beautiful old olive tree. During my time there the courtyard functioned as a space for gathering with other artists as well as for quiet reflection.

Natural artifacts collected on walks around the property and nearby roads.

I was excited to find clay in a nearby dry arroyo, and immediately gathered some to test.

Experiments with using foraged clay as both sculpting material and as slip. As I did not sieve the clay it retained a lot of grit and was quite “short”, meaning it cracks easily when bent. It took some practice to get it to hold curved forms. Processing the clay by hand was a laborious but satisfying process, allowing me to connect deeply with the material.

Watercolour sketches of dessicated pomegranates. My studio was a comfortable, calming space with a window that overlooked a row of olive trees.

The almond trees were in bloom during my time at Joya. These sketches are from one of my several sketchbook walks, attempts to connect and become more familiar with the land.

Furrows in the farm field, painted with dirt from the fields. Below is the subject of this quick portrait.

The culmination of my experiments with local clay. I find the texture reflects the character of the land beautifully. Heartbreakingly, this piece (and most of the others) did not survive transit home to Canada, so it exists only in photographs.