Take a behind-the-scenes look at the art-making process with stories, inspirations, and creative insights shared in the blog.

Art Musings: Inside the Studio – Insights into the Art Making Process

Nicola Bouwer Nicola Bouwer

The Art of Collage: Exploring Techniques, Inspiration, and Personal Expressions

In 2018, I took a mixed media artist’s workshop with teachers Rosenclaire in Italy. We did exercises like photomontage, where we placed a colourful animal or object into a setting—one interior and one exterior—while being mindful of vanishing points and light sources. This is where Pet Cemetery was born. It started as a collage, then a print, and eventually a painting. Collage lets me use found images to create new narratives, going beyond simply using photos as references.

 

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Nicola Bouwer Nicola Bouwer

7 Good Reasons Why Winter Deserves a Second Chance

Let's be honest, living a charmed existence with 9 months of summer in South Africa makes winter feel like a shock to the system.

If you're not a cold-weather person (like me), hibernation might seem like your only option.

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Nicola Bouwer Nicola Bouwer

For the Love of Art: Where Feelings are more Important than Words

We've all been there – standing in front of towering art pieces in acclaimed museums, the written explanations too academic and the font type too small to grasp at first glance. Yet, as we stand there, something stirs within us – a feeling, an admiration, a connection that needs no explanation. Valerie Kabov refers to this as the ‘essential uselessness' of Art – it doesn't fulfil any survival need (honestly Art won't keep us warm at night), but it does resonate deeply with our souls!

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